12-Inch Necks: How Women Torture Themselves for Beauty in the Far East

Last month, during my trip to Myanmar, I met a group of women with 12-inch necks wrapped in brass coils.

“What?” you may be exclaiming in horror. “No way! How could that be? Isn’t that painful? Why would they do that to themselves?”

But really… why are you so shocked?

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Throughout history, women have tortured themselves to look beautiful. In ancient Mayan times, the women would attach a board to their female children’s heads and dangle a bead in front of them, resulting in flat heads and crossed eyes. In China, feet were bound so that adult women walked in tiny steps (with assistance) on five-inch claw-feet, and in Africa the Mangbetu tribe of Congo bound their heads so their skulls looked extremely elongated.

long necked tribe of Myanmar
MuLe was one hell of a guitar player…Even though she had to lie the guitar flat to see the instrument

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Frankly, things haven’t changed that much.

Even today, people still go to extreme measures. Women inject their faces with botulism and plastics, insert silicon bags all over their bodies, and break bones… all in the name of beauty. But rarely do you come across an ancient tradition practiced in this day and age of computers and globalization – which is why it is so rare and fascinating to see the women of the Padaung Tribe of Myanmar, whose necks are so long they are sometimes called the Longneck tribe or the Giraffe people.

for the full story and history – click HERE.. and seriously – watch the video… I got them to add animation and it’s pretty cool. Even if some dude committed beastiality with a dragon.