Greek Mythology for Teens: Classic Myths in Today's World by Zachary Hamby

Author:Zachary Hamby [Hamby, Zachary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: education, Secondary, Teaching Methods & Materials, Arts & Humanities
ISBN: 9781593637170
Google: K39MYgEACAAJ
Publisher: Prufrock Press
Published: 2011-11-15T23:43:24.679701+00:00

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DISCUSS

What do you think would have happened if Zeus had chosen between the three goddesses? Why do you think this?

What is the male author of this story saying about female jealousy? Is it a fair assertion?

What does Achilles’ single spot of invulnerability tell us about human nature?

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The Price of Beauty

The new kid walks into the lunchroom. Immediately, all eyes are on him. He looks completely normal, except for his head, which is so pointed that it’s shaped like a traffic cone. The lunchroom goes dead quiet. Everyone’s in shock. This is the best looking guy the school has ever seen. In the next 6 months, the new kid goes on a steady string of dates. All of the other guys are jealous, wishing their heads were pointy like his. The new kid has quickly become the most popular boy in the school.

What’s wrong with this picture? If this new kid came to your school, would he receive the same reaction? Probably not. That’s because in our culture, a pointed head is not a sign of attractiveness. But, in another time and another culture, it was. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

The culture you were born into is responsible for the way you view almost everything, and beauty is no exception. Remember the cone-headed new kid? In many cultures from ancient Egyptians to Native Americans, the shape of a man’s head showed his handsomeness and intelligence. To achieve the desired shape, a male infant’s head, when it was in its most moldable state, would be bound tightly with rags. Some cultures’ technique gave the skull a flat-topped look, while others elongated and pointed it, resulting in a conehead. If his head had the right shape, he was an attractive guy.

And, what about the girls? The culture of feudal China thought the sexiest part of a woman was her feet. Incredibly tiny feet (called lotus feet) were what most Chinese women (and their prospective husbands) desired. This feature could occur naturally, but most often it occurred by having the girl’s feet cruelly and tightly bound with rags during her childhood. Some went so far as to break the foot arches before they bound them. With constricted growth, the feet became miniature deformities. The result was the desired “beautiful” feet, but a lifetime of walking agony.

You might be glad that you weren’t born into either of these cultures. You might like your rounded head and normal-sized feet, but our culture and media have their own stipulations on what it takes to be beautiful. Most magazines set a clever trap. On the cover, there’s a picture of beautiful person who probably looks 10 times better than you do. You say to yourself, “Man, I wish I could look like that.” Luckily, you notice that the magazine features articles that tell how you can look like this too. You buy it immediately. The magazine has played its trick.

Our culture may not be in the business of deforming babies, but people today are obsessed with conforming to a concept of beauty.

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