16 febrero 2010

tamil bigotes

toward an anthropology of (mustaches &) beards

In Tamilnadu, mustaches are virtual seals of masculinity. As far as I know, all Tamil men, except those in the acting profession, wear mustaches. This is not simply my perception. Mustaches stand in metonymically for men, just as earrings and a bindi worn on the forehead do for women.
-from Susan Seizer. 2003. Stigmas of the Tamil Stage. p 165


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