Thursday, October 20, 2011
Noses
I have had plenty of comments on my nose, been told my whole life it is the "Nugent" nose, but never have I been told that dynasties were waiting within my nose. Outside of my own parents, I don't think I have ever had a positive comment about my proboscis. That isn't to say it constantly gets made fun of, just that I have had both negative and neutral comments, but have never been truly complimented regarding my own personal booger farm. I would say the closest to a positive comment I ever had would be the remark of a man who sat next to me one day. We had previously met a few times, but he turned to me and said, "I'm sorry, but I never noticed your nose before, its kind of magnificent." It is a very interesting idea to me that in another culture, perhaps my nose would be respected, even feared. It also reminds me how little I really understand about eastern cultures. I had an Indian friend in middle school who was not allowed to shave his unibrow, and had no desire to, because somehow it was a matter of pride to him. Midnight's Children has brought me to come more to terms with my enormous sniffer, and also has piqued my interest about how various cultures react to certain human aesthetics. On a side note, I couldn't stop thinking about Rocky and Bullwinkles "Fairly Fractured Tale" involving a prince cursed with a nose like a casaba melon. There isn't much more of a connection, but I hope somebody appreciates the reference.
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Abe you’re not the only in class with a large nose. Mine is huge, you could land a plane on this bad boy. I can definitely relate to both Saleem and yourself on the whole issue of large nasal cavities. It made me feel good that somebody, somewhere on this earth had been given mad props for the size of their shnaz. As far as me getting any compliments on my nose I think I may have gotten one. When I was at a house party junior year in high school, this one girl told me I could dress up as Toucan Sam for Halloween and I would have the greatest costume ever! I think that’s a compliment because Toucan Sam is a boss. But anywho, there are many “strange” things to be found in different cultures across the Asian continent. If you want to learn about something that is really weird to us westerners, read up on the kathoey or “ladyboys” of Thailand. In a nutshell, this culture encompasses transgendered peoples as well as effeminate males (sometimes homosexual), and is widely accepted by the people of Thailand. Because Buddhist culture teaches tolerance as well as the idea of “karma” the kathoey are generally welcome in both private and public spheres of Thailand. One high school even decided to install a transgendered restroom for its nearly 10% of the student body that often found itself identifying as kathoey. More on that below.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1820633,00.html
Sometimes its hard to think past out everyday life and norms. Seems funny to take a step back and realize there is no perfect looking person. Here in America the skin and bone five ten blonde is depicted as our direction in attraction. But this is not a general feeling. Indians who appreciate and cherish large noses comes off strange at first. Yet im sure Americans attraction to malnourished looking females comes off as pretty weird too. In some tribes the larger you are, the more desired you are. A woman who is larger means she will make a good wife, one who is not without and is able to provide. In some areas being large is needed and wanted in order to assure they will make it through winter. Every culture has different appealing attributes. The nose is a great example in this novel and the fact that new light was shed on your own facial fixtures is awesome. I hope that people gather the same idea from this not just with a nose but any part of them they find to be a focus. Had it not been for people in Saleems life who told him this wonderful news of his nose, he may have felt it a curse instead of a gift.
ReplyDeleteP.S. your nose is not large at all, I read this and instantly thought Dang, if he thinks his nose is big mine probably is as big as i thought!
I adore all of your noses! Perhaps they are the reason you're able to "sniff" out such good ideas and comments from the texts we read!
ReplyDeleteNoses are definitely a fraught facial characteristic -- often used as indicators of racial, cultural, or ethnic. Do any of y'all remember the debate about the noses of the characters is in Disney's Aladdin? http://reviews.wikinut.com/The-Controversy-of-Disney-s-Aladdin/1cq374to/