Rebekah’s Reviews > Beauty and Misogyny: Harmful Cultural Practices in the West > Status Update
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The author argues that modern beauty practices can & should be interrogated against the UN's standard of international "harmful traditional practices" - such as foot-binding, female genital mutilation.
Femininity is the behavior required of the subordinate class of women in order to show their deference to the ruling class of men.
— Jun 19, 2026 07:22AM
Femininity is the behavior required of the subordinate class of women in order to show their deference to the ruling class of men.
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Jun 19, 2026 07:25AM
"This concept provides a good lens through which to examine practices harmful to women in the west - such as beauty practices. But western practices have not been included [thus far]. The implication is that western cultures do not have harmful practices such as female genital mutilation that should cause concern ... western beauty practices from makeup to labiaplasty do fit the criteria and should be included within UN understandings. The great usefulness of this approach is that it does not depend on notions of individual [consumer] choice; it recognizes that the attitudes which underlie harmful cultural practices have coercive power and that they can be changed."
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Lip fillers, botox, BBLs, lash extensions, tanning, false nails... yikes
The UN standard asks whether a practice is 1) damaging to the health of women/girls?
2) understood to be performed for men's benefit?
3) understood to create stereotyped sex roles?
4) justified by tradition?