But note that if nothing else, the example shows that cultures vary in what they consider to be obviously unattractive.
That’s not necessarily true—we don’t need to look too far from our own culture to see intentional downplaying of attractiveness (modesty, “evil eye”, etc)
I was gonna write more on this topic but then decided to just go and check what the anthropologists report the Mursi themselves say concerning lip plates:
My interpretation of this is that it’s less about sheer beauty and more a way of being what in our culture we’d call “put together”. A woman who does not wear her plate during the ritual periods when being put together is necessary is perceived as what we’d call “sloppy”, and it would be associated with a lack of discipline in other areas of life. (It’s also a tribal identity marker and a way to make money from tourists, of course)
The plate definitely maps onto something which is present in our own psychology, but I’m not at all convinced that it’s attractiveness. I think you’re right that it doesn’t actively ruin attractiveness, which does indicate malleability.
(By the way, historically the anthropologists first thought it was an anti-rape measure (but the Mursi denied it), and then they thought it was a beauty mark which determined higher dowry (until it was discovered that dowry was set at birth). That second misconception is probably why it circulates on the internet as an example of divergent beauty standards. That’s not to say that it isn’t divergent beauty standards, but it’s not just that.)
That’s not necessarily true—we don’t need to look too far from our own culture to see intentional downplaying of attractiveness (modesty, “evil eye”, etc)
I was gonna write more on this topic but then decided to just go and check what the anthropologists report the Mursi themselves say concerning lip plates:
http://www.mursi.org/pdf/latosky.pdf
Even after reading, it’s still not quite clear.
My interpretation of this is that it’s less about sheer beauty and more a way of being what in our culture we’d call “put together”. A woman who does not wear her plate during the ritual periods when being put together is necessary is perceived as what we’d call “sloppy”, and it would be associated with a lack of discipline in other areas of life. (It’s also a tribal identity marker and a way to make money from tourists, of course)
The plate definitely maps onto something which is present in our own psychology, but I’m not at all convinced that it’s attractiveness. I think you’re right that it doesn’t actively ruin attractiveness, which does indicate malleability.
(By the way, historically the anthropologists first thought it was an anti-rape measure (but the Mursi denied it), and then they thought it was a beauty mark which determined higher dowry (until it was discovered that dowry was set at birth). That second misconception is probably why it circulates on the internet as an example of divergent beauty standards. That’s not to say that it isn’t divergent beauty standards, but it’s not just that.)