What Does A 19th Century Woman Look Like?

There was a paintbrush long before there was a camera, so for a long time the artist was the documentarian at large.  What we "see" today is limited to what he "saw" yesterday.  

So what does a 19th century woman look like?  I closed my eyes and saw her...

and her...

and her...

And her... Wait a second! Who's that to her right?  She's the representative for the 19th century Aborigine who was brought to the light by Lynda Edrige.  Do you see Venus?  Which one is she?  Can she be both?

Not only did the Aborigine female have the sense to have her breasts free while European women had hearts bound in corsets...

But we came from her too.

Maybe we'd recognize her more if we only touched her. Not for experiment for understanding.

If beauty is nature, then the Aborigine woman is the trees, the birds, the earth.  Her roots have been here since the beginning of time, she sings to the forest and it responds, and when we mistreat the earth she cries.  

She would like to be freed to roam, but captured by the artist.  

And If You Aren't Born Rapunzel You Can Buy Rapunzel

Ghanaian women aren't allowed to get perms until after high school so their hair doesn't act as a distraction from their studies. 

For those who are "follically" challenged, the WIG is an option.

It's symbolic of their transition from girls to women, this HAIR.

But men have also used hair to prove their maturity and status.  Today both men and women wear wigs to make up for hair loss or a genetic hair shortage.  But if nature clearly didn't intend on us having long hair, why are we so bent on acquiring it?  

What about natural beauty?  If wigs are supposed to make me beautiful, then why do they itch so bad.  They're supposed to make me more attractive to men, but once I've lured him in with my theatrics, I can't let him touch me for fear that he will learn the truth.  But isn't the truth beauty anyways?...

  An 18th century male in America wouldn't walk out of his front door without his wig.

He wasn't going to sign the Declaration of  Independence without it either.

And since Ghana was colonized by the British, their government officials still meet adorned in wigs.

Marie Antoinette, Queen of France would never have been seen without her dandy hair piece.  

Her hair defined the style of the times, but it also represented the useless spending of the King who purchased beauty for his family instead of BREAD for his people.  As a result, his loyal subjects would become an ugly mob.

And they weren't going to let Marie live, or die with her wig that had cost France everything, but rewarded them with a Revolution.

Today whether a White Woman

Or a Black Woman

The Beauty you read about in FAIRY TALES is at your fingertips.  And depending on the wig you can be Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine, or Mulan.

And while it's beautiful, just like the dream, even in real life this image is intangible.  Does Beyonce look approachable to you here?  Does she look like she'd dive in the ocean with you?  She can't.  It would destroy her hair.

Does Kim Zoliak look like she'll give you a hug?  Probably not, it would flatten her curls.

And doesn't she kind of look like a MONSTER?

Wigs can produce beauty, but they can also make you look funny

Or fake

Or a hot, exploited mess.  Someone call social services on this mother, please!

I think the Ghanaian school system has it right.  I mean who is BEAUTIFUL and who is the DISTRACTION in this photo?

Could Rapunzel Be Saved Without Her Hair?

Just imagine the endless things a woman could accomplish without hair?  How much time she'd save each day from washing, combing, styling, profiling?  How much money could she save without the expensive blowouts, the dyes, the gels, the sprays, the clip-ins, sew-ins, and extensions that come from her head, but not from her mind.  

I think it's a conspiracy.  Men market so many hair beauty ideals to keep us in front of a mirror and not in front of a book.  

A woman with flowing hair is beautiful (even an ugly woman can be beautiful with good hair because it masks her face, but that's another blog).

But a woman with a solid mind has the potential to be a revolutionary.  She is focused.  She is true beauty without masks or fears.

SINEAD O'CONNOR ripped a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live to protest child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.  In this act, she sacrificed her career, for her voice.

NATALIE PORTMAN succeeds the revolutionary "V" in his objectives of destroying the totalitarian that has come to power in 1980s United Kingdom.  Upon learning the "truth", Portman's character, "Evey Hammond"has her head shaved so she can get to work.

DEMI MOORE in "GI JANE" is the first woman to train to be a navy seal.

SIGOURNEY WEAVER couldn't have fought extraterrestrial creatures with hair and highlights in "Alien"

AMBER ROSE wouldn't have stood out from the sea of women trying hold Kanye West's hand without her bold and rebellious style.

But Hollywood didn't create this look.  While so many European nations used shaving a woman's head as a form of punishment, the women of GHANA saw it as beauty, both aesthetically and functionally.  A shaved head showcases a smile, and makes the 105 degree heat bearable.  

From left to right, meet BENITA, (can't remember next girl's name, sadness), CHARITY, EVA, and STELLA who I met this month on my travels to Ghana.  I was in a small village called Anloga.  I taught them how to "hi-five", and they taught me so much about beauty.  I rarely step outside without having my hair combed forward in front of my face (I'm extremely self conscious about my forehead, maybe we'll discuss in the next blog, probably not), but these girls taught me to bask in the wind and showcase the beauty of me, my African, and not my American self.

The beauty continued at the Sunflower School in Accra, Ghana

And travelled to Parliament, the heart of the capital city

When I was walking out of Parliament, these girls ran over to me requesting photos.  I was so honored and intrigued.  For most of my trip I had been looking at the Ghanaians in awe, but failed to realize that they saw a spectacle in me.  I learned that Ghanaian girls aren't allowed to get perms until 18 due to the distractions.  The schools want them focused on books, not style.  I wasn't allowed to perm my hair until 13.  

I think BLACK WOMEN in America spend too much time on their hair.  Today little girls are getting perms at 4, and spending aftershool time in the hair salon, and not at the library.  Chris Rock's "Good Hair" wasn't just a comedy, it was a documentary as well.  Maybe the 21st century revolution of the black woman is only a haircut away...

Does RAPUNZEL really need to be saved?  Or is her prince just bringing her down from her tower, and power of mind?  Is it a leash?

And Let's Not Forget About The Women Who Aspire To Look Like Men....

There are many degrees in the transformation from Adonis to Venus.  We've already discussed tomboyism, a degree which I reached in my elementary years, so lets' start at androgynous women.  Or women who are born with features that look manly or that are riding the line between male and female.  

I think the most famous woman with this look is the Mona Lisa.  There are many conspiracies that the woman painted below is actually a man.  What do you think?  Do you find the confusion beautiful?

Then there are women who just enjoy enhancing features that are typically popular with males.  In our society it is almost normal to see a woman with breast implants, but we are still in awe of the female body builder.  What do you think guys?  Do you want to take her out on a date?

Or there are women who just prefer to look like your everyday male in a non extreme way.  They don't want to look like they're wearing the costume of a man.  They really just want to look like a man.  These women wear their hair cut shortly and loose close as not to define their curves.  These women can be found next door...

And they can be found in Hollywood night clubs where DJ Samantha Ronson spins...

And they can be found on MSNBC where Rachel Maddows has her own news journal show.

Hollywood cashed in on telling the stories of women who are going through this transition from male to femal.  "Boy's Don't Cry", starring Hilary Swank is a movie about a real woman named Teena Brandon who lived her life as a man, Brandon Teena, and died for it when some male friends discovered she was really a female.

And in "Shakespeare in Love", Gwenyth Paltrow played a man to get on the stage.

And now we have women who don't just dress in men's clothing or work out a lot to have muscle features like a man, we have women who actually change their sexual organs to become male.  Most famously, Chaz Bono, formerly Chastity Sun Bono.

And if you thought the bullet stopped there you were wrong, we have woman who become men, and then have babies!?

Is this freedom to cross the beauty lines liberating?  Is it feminism?  Is it beautiful?

What Happens When We Switch Beauty Identities? What About the Men Who Want To Look Like Women?

I like the natural attributes I have that make me look like a lady, but I'm not a huge advocate of enhancements; whether it be heavy make up, hair extensions, or plastic surgery.  I just don't like to set false expectations.  I want you see ME!

However there are men who are attracted to the dandy of women's fashion and cosmetic trends.  The art of it I think is beautiful, but also ironic, because drag queens are beauty wise better at being lady than me!  

I think Rupal is a beautiful woman and a handsome man.  It's so unfair for him to have both! Haha!  But this dual lifestyle can't be easy, as he would say "You Better Work"!

No, I mean it, you better work.  For a man to succeed at looking like a woman they have to shave all their facial and chest hair (unfortunately some women have to do the same), and manipulate their make-up in a way to  lessen their adam's apples and their define cheekbones.  This above routine is what I avoid as women. 

Ecco's History of Beauty discusses machines and how humans could see the beauty in what the machines produced and the actions of a functioning engine, however they saw the actual machine as ugly.  I think the routine of putting on make-up is monstrous.  For me, it is a cosmetic propaganda machine!

However, Hollywood has been successful in the borrowing of beauty ideals between males and females.  If "Annie Hall" was a hit, then "Tootsie" was an earthquake!

And actually one of my favorite movies!  Dustin Hoffman is a really hot and endearing woman.

And I can't say I minded seeing Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo in tights!  

And I think we've accepted the imagery of males DRESSING like women in modern society for entertainment and laughs, but the attitude changes when a Adonis actually wants to be Venus.  There's a difference between a man wanting to wear lipstick and a man wanting breasts.

Male to female sex change operations are taking a huge step across beauty and gender lines.  Some people feel the same way about these operations as they do machines.  The product can be beautiful, and the fact that we have the technology to make these changes is fascinating.  However, they find the fact that some men desire to make this change ugly.  What do think?  Are the above images beautiful?  Or are they monsters?