Mideast men go under knife for manly mustaches

[seabeyond]

Thick, handsome mustaches have long been prized by men throughout the Middle East as symbols of masculine virility, wisdom and maturity.

But not all mustaches are created equal, and in recent years, increasing numbers of Middle Eastern men have been going under the knife to attain the perfect specimen.

Turkish plastic surgeon Selahattin Tulunay says the number of mustache implants he performs has boomed in the last few years. He now performs 50-60 of the procedures a month, on patients who hail mostly from the Middle East and travel to Turkey as medical tourists.

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Christa Salamandra, an associate professor of anthropology at City University of New York, said that "traditionally, a luxurious mustache was a symbol of high social status," and had figured heavily in matters of personal honor in the Arab world. Men swore on their mustaches in sayings and folk tales, used them as collateral for loans and guarantees for promises, and sometimes even shaved their opponents' lips as a punishment.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/29/world/meast/mustache-transplants-middle-east/index.html?hpt=hp_t4

__________________

i had no idea.

[RKP5637]

1. Interesting. Humans are a bizarre species. I guess it's much like decorative male birds and the like

[seabeyond]

2. sure. it does point to the human of it. nt

[noamnety]

3. Ugh

My hope was that equality would come in the form of women having less pressure to surgically alter their appearance, not men having more pressure.