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Showing posts from January, 2011

Cleavage, Women's Thighs and Global Location

The first time I ever noted the frenzy over women's chest areas was in Swaziland.  The international media was fascinated by the Reed Dance, 'Women parade around like THAT?' they seemed to scream as they happily snapped away. But at my school in the middle of Manzini, Swazi school girls practiced for traditonal dance competitions dressed in what was normal for traditonal dances: bare chests and all.  Having read all the rants and raves about women and cleavages in Eurocentric literature and media,  I looked sideways at teachers during those traditional dance practices, hoping to see signs of, at the very least, embarrassment...but there was none whatsoever.  The teachers seemed to only be occupied with whether the girls were following the beats.  This puzzled me for years until another puzzle came along...African men's frenzy over thighs.  Whereever thighs were flashed around as I grew up, drama happened. Short skirts hollered at here, short-shorts criticized there,