Canon EOS 5D
ƒ/3.5
50 mm
1/250
100
At one time, the solid metal coils were thought to be protective against tiger attacks. They have been since subsumed into decorative shackles of conformity.
22 responses to “Growing Up Karen”
-
That is a good part of the reason why it is cruel. It may look pretty and exotic but here, we would call it child abuse.
-
aghtike96: Our local guide introduced them as a subset of the Karen hill tribe. And it’s a common result for a google search for the region. Would you say they are Padaung instead?
Tradition is a no excuse, IMHO. It just means lt’s widespread, like religion.
-
aghtike96:
It is the same as female circumcision. Not because it is done all over the Muslim word is it acceptable. In North America, we call this and other such rituals that harm others female and child abuse. It is against the law. This is a matter of respect for human beings. Period. So if such necklaces were used in the United States or in my country, Canada, there would be serious repercussions.
Steve, I am glad you said something as I initially decided not to speak up so as not to start an argument but this is a serious matter and we MUST speak our mind to protect innocent children. I also like the comment that you added about the coils now being simply shackles of conformity as this is exactly what they are. Often, ancient ways have their purposes that today are obsolete. Societies need to constantly analyze and revise rituals and traditions to update them or discard them if necessary.
-
These children are still forced to do this because it brings tourists to their village and, hence, makes the village money. When I was in N. Thailand I refused to go see them because I didn’t want to be part of that abusive system. See burmalibrary.org/reg.burma/archives/199711/msg00221.html
-
Great photo
Far to many incorrect statements here though.. The rings ( or coils to be correct) do not stretch the neck. They force the shoulders and collar bones down. The coil does NOT support the head. The coils can be removed at any time with no ill effects. The coils are removed occassionally, but not everyday only because its a lengthy procedure. Many women are now removing the coils or not even starting to wear them. No one is "forced" to do it. The women are encouraged, but not forced. Its a tradition that goes back many generations.
If you want to talk about abuse, start thinking about breast implants for 15 year olds, or crash diets in the name of fashion. There are so many more examples of bad behavior in the west, all in the name of fashion, than what these people do in the name of tradition
-
roger: There was a Discovery (or similar channel) documentary on these, and they stated there that their necks were too fragile to remove the rings. Now that doesn’t mean they don’t do it sometimes (for cleaning, etc, who knows), but they can’t walk around without them. It makes perfect sense that it stretches the neck, due to all the spaces between the vertebrae and is done slowly over a long period of time.
Oh, and why isn’t circumcising boys considered child abuse? They had no choice, and have to live with it all their lives. Isn’t it the same idea?
Still a good pic 🙂
-
interesting controversies in these comments!
with all due respect, i tend to think that forcing the shoulders and collarbones down is completely synonymous with "stretching the neck". visually, there is surely no argument about the augmented distance between the two points?!
regarding male circumcision, well – the reasons for doing so can be different, and the consequences of living with it throughout one’s life do not really equate with the consequences suffered by many young girls treated in such a brutal fashion. one could argue about the equal brutality involved in circumcising young boys, but in my understanding there are much stricter rules about hygiene enforced.
irrespective of any religious basis for doing so, there remains an issue of hygiene and "ease of maintenance" that actually carries many benefits for circumcised males. i can’t see any benefit at all for female circumcision.
however, madrigar, i do see what you are saying if we are to brand "body modifications performed upon minors without their consent" as "child abuse".
-
biotron – I don’t think that personally, I was responding to Mimosa’s comparison of female circumcision. Thought since that topic was brought up, you might as well throw in male circumcision also. I wouldn’t necessarily relate the neck stretching to circumcision myself for what you already mentioned – hygiene, etc.
-
In my mind, any harm done, emotional or physical, against an innocent person is abuse. This is a general comment.
As for female circumcision, for the past several years, I have heard quite a lot of doctors, sex therapists and female victims talk in great details about what it is. A child or young woman is held by force against her will by a few men while a woman uses a knife or often a razor blade to cut off the part of the female body (I am just being discreet here) that normally would have permitted her to have pleasure in sexual intercourse. Often, more is cut off. This is done without antiseptics and local anaesthesia, in unsanitary conditions, even on the ground outdoors. Then, the young girl is left to bleed, sometimes to death. She very often has an infection which causes incredible complications for the rest of her life. She can have other infections through the years. She also often has permanent problems urinating because her body has been partly closed. (I am not being technical here just to be discreet.) When she comes to North America for example and consults a doctor, he can treat her infections, do some surgery to repair painful scar tissues, open up closed spaces but he cannot undo one thing. The girl of course can never in her life have sexual pleasure. This is the purpose of female circumcision. Her right as a woman and as a human being to enjoy her body and sexuality in general has been completely taken away. The direct repercussions of this is that a man can have control over his wife. This is abuse. Millions and millions of women have this personal history. Doing harm to a person or anything against their will is abuse.
Whomever is responsible for young girls and women to wear tall coils on their necks for most of their lives, even if only part of the day, is being abusive in my opinion. Adults are responsible for the care of young children until they are old enough, until their brains are completely developed, to use good judgement. When adults influence them in behaviours that are not healthy for them, the children grow up not knowing better. They emulate the adults and think it is alright. Any adult who says to a child, from now on you are going to wear a coil around your neck, is consciously or not doing harm to the child.
Can anyone really argue about this? Would you want your own daughters to wear such coils? If not, then ask yourselves why. Your honest answer is as good for them as for any female. I speak my mind because I care.
-
Great picture! It brings back a lot of memories of a 2 day hike I did outside of Chiang Mai to a very remote village of Karen Hill tribe. I wonder if this could be the same village as this shot: http://www.stigphoto.com/photogallery/photo.php?photo=723&ex...|72|…
-
The long neck is not acheived by forcing the head upwards. Its acheived by pushing the collarbones down and changing the angle of the ribs. There is no extra space between the vertabrae.. even a very old X ray from Nat Geo shows this
Do a search on google. There are many many pics of women who have removed the coils and live a normal life. There are also many photos of women wearing the rings playing football
The only oppression going on is from the Thai government who wont give the women any status and freedom to move from the camps
![](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/250/buddyicons/392732@N23.jpg?1180427105" alt=)
Leave a Reply