Modified Fingernails †Symbols of Social Essay

Western association has not been traditionally attuned to see luggage compartment adornment as a form of social status. then everywhere the years people in the West attribute it to less developed societies which lay emphasis on rituals. Thus tree trunk revision was seen as an articulation of values which were essentially non western. (Krakow, 1994). However this does not appear to be the case any more(prenominal) as a greater number of people be willing to modify their bodies thus making proboscis beautification acceptable thereby giving a soulfulness social as well as individual identity in a baseball club.Body modification is thus seen as enabling a person to exemplify and attenuate him or her personality by means of alteration of natural color, shape, tone and tenor. By decoration such as din painting, gloss and enhancement, a person passel project himself in the manner he wants others to perceive. Thus a girl with ample nails, fully adorned with polish is seen as one who is in tune with the social image of individual who has arrived in society. As greater numbers of people argon adopting this mode, nail or other forms of soundbox adornment is becoming an bearing of actual position held by a person in society.Thus by external embellishments a person is able to define herself to others. Increased acceptance of this practice is indicated by forms pick out in nail adornment such as gluing of plastic to increase the length of the nails so that bright colors, paints and sparklers throw out be applied to these. (Andersen. Taylor. 2005) The reason for extension of nails is quite obvious, this is to enhance visibility by dint of added length of the body object which is otherwise quite innocuous.By making it longer, the same can be decorated and make more noticeable. But the process also needs specialized treatment, which can come about at a certain level of monetary standing indicating the link between riches and length or adornment of nails . As societies become more complex, they tend to provide opportunities to people to define their status through adornment of the body. Nails be perfect symbols of such social embellishment. The first requirement of a well kept hand is absence of manual labor.Thus there is obvious connection between a person of high society and well kept hands which indicates social as well as wealth status of a person. This has been ancient tradition and has been carried forth in the modern World. (Peters. Lock, Eds, 1999) Since a large degree of artistry of the body is now made by instruments as lasers, surgical and other tools by experts this has become expensive. Thus body art studios and fingernail manicure specialists have established high end shops, where they are able to manipulate your nails to the craved shape, size and color.By being exclusive in nature, they establish a distinction of frugal status. As society has evolved thus body art has assumed proportions of social as well as wealt h standing. (Jeffreys, 2000). Over a period this distinction is also translated from overall to individual social status. Thus a person who has manicured, well kept finger nails is associated with wealth as well as standing through a process of exclusion. This exclusion works first monetarily in that as it is expensive those who cannot afford it are denied an opportunity of being in the same class.In the second stage it is seen to work socially as shapes, colors and contours are so distinctive that a person wearing a superior vestige of nail polish is easily identified as one who can afford it and hence ipso facto assumes high standing. Thus from abhorrence as practices which were aboriginal to adoption of body adornment as a form of exultation of ones arrival in high society, fingernail manipulation has assumed a social symbol even in Western society today.Vantoch (1999) explored this evolution of the new American female by denoting the large number of nail adornments of differen t colors and shapes present in a pre teens room. The girl was sporting what can be described as talons, two inches long finger nails. (Vantoch, 1999). The fingernail was converted into a symbol of expression of the persona just like any other accoutrement at a very azoic age in life. The refined development of the art of the make up in modern measure is also responsible for such an evolution.Thus nails have been converted into objects of art and ornamentation by use these for nail jewelry, nail art, air brush design, sculpturing of nails as well as providing leafy vegetable glitter. This has also provided a common touch thereby enhancing a wider number of females in society to higher standing. (Vantoch, 1999). Most interestingly it denotes how society has evolved, from considering these as a possible aboriginal practice to be abhorred by the West, more and more people are using it to express their state of social as well as economic evolution.The utilitarian view of nails as sym bol of health has been known over the ages and is seen to continue even to this day. Thus fingernails are many times the first to be seen by a doctor. ( build, 2005). Yellow or green fingernails invariably indicate ill health, a bronchial disease or other conditions which are diagnosed by the family physician. When nail problems persisted, these also indicated that the person required sustained treatment. The ultimate in nail care which has emerged is a combination of health, fashion and social status.Manicure and the higher forms of nail care and manipulation seen in good societies today is seen as a symbol of the rich, as one who has arrived in society and also just about body who maintains good health. How long will this trend persist remains to be seen, for there are many periods in human evolution wherein short nails were as popular as long. Reference 1. Anatomy. (2005) Anatomy of a healthy fingernail. Accessed at http//www. cnn. com/HEALTH/library/WO/00020. htmlon 23 March 2 007 2. Andersen, Margaret L. Taylor, Howard F. (2005). Sociology The Essentials.Belmont Thomson. 3. Jeffreys, Sheila. Body Art and tender Status Cutting, Tattooing and Piercing from a Feminist Perspective. Feminism & Psychology, Vol. 10, No. 4, 409-429 (2000) 4. Krakow, A. (1994) The Total Tattoo Book , bare-ass York Warner Books. 5. Peters, Charles, R. Lock, Andrew. (1999). Handbook of Human Symbolic Evolution. Oxford Blackwell. 6. Vantoch, Vicki. (1999). Fingernail Fashion Choices. The Washington Post. December 28, 1999. Accessed at http//www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/style/feed/a41653-1999dec28. htm on 23 March 2007.