Adornment

The body is a stable and predictable biological model; however, it is in many respects linked to societal values and cultural norms. This is why the physical appearance of a person is shaped not only by genetic factors that cannot be changed but also by practices of beautification. Body adornment is cultural to a great extent, as it is evident from different practices in different cultures, while the media remain powerful disseminators of beauty images and the ideal appearance. Adornment is a consumer-related [Page 8]concept because consumers purchase items from the market, including both instruments to apply and images to select and adopt, and engage in discourses about physical appearance in different consumption contexts. Each person's appearance might be different due to different consumption practices, and each culture might have different norms and ideals.

Tribal people have typically been perceived as applying body art to decorate their bodies, where symbolism is evident, and to keep their cultural identity, involving such concepts as age, sex, religion, and position in the group, as well as more specific symbols like marital status, intimidation of the enemy, respect for dead members, and spiritual states. History is full of examples of people living in ancient times who were interested in changing their appearances. For example, the first tattooed man, discovered on a mountain between Austria and Italy, lived about 5,000 years ago, while body piercing featured prominently in Ancient Roman, Egyptian, and Indian cultures. Victorian females wore corsets to make their bodies into an hourglass shape. In other words, every historical era and each culture, including today's consumer culture, has its own ideas about adornment.

Adornment can be of three types: first, temporary adornment practices such as makeup; second, permanent adornment practices such as tattooing; and third, using accessories and other related ornaments to beautify the appearance. The first category involves reversible forms of body modification, including makeup, hairdressing, and body painting. Makeup is the application of lipstick, eye shadow, blush, mascara, skin care products, nail polish, and other cosmetic substances to enhance or protect the appearance. Makeup is a summary term that may not clearly distinguish between decorative and skin care cosmetics. Hairdressing includes coloring and styling of hair in different forms. Some people may prefer to use a more “natural” color, sometimes just to conceal gray or white hair; others may choose different and “unnatural” colors. Hair is considered one of the most powerful symbols of individual and group identity because it is extremely personal and public at the same time. Body painting, unlike permanent forms, is applied to the surface of the skin and hence temporary. For instance, it can be done with clay, as in tribal societies, or henna dye, as in India and the Middle East. It is also considered as a subcategory of performance arts, where artists attempt to make particular statements.

The second type of adornment involves permanent forms of body modification, including tattooing, piercing, and cosmetic surgery. Permanent decorative forms are associated with more enduring constructs, like gender, group affiliations, and cultural norms and notions of beauty. Tattooing and piercing are particular forms of body art, and the consumption of tattooing and piercing has become a mass-consumer phenomenon. Today's consumers are getting a tattoo not only to pay attention to the symbolic (and many times subcultural) meaning, but also to beautify their bodies. Tattooing is commonly perceived as a creative extension of the self by many consumer behavior researchers. Piercing in the West is a way of self-expression, while it may denote social traditions and rites of passage in non-Western societies.

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