Commonplace 2

I'm going to go with the view of women again. So in the U.S., the hour-glass figure is seen as attractive. Those types of people are seen in car commercials, in the Carolina Hurricanes cheer-leading squad, etc.

In Mauritania, overweight women are seen as attractive. For family honor, women must marry well. To marry well, you have to be overweight. Girls can be force-fed in order to marry them well. "When men make love, they want to hold on to flesh, not bone." I heard that on an ABC News spoof one time. I guess I'm supposed to see a specific example of where the commonplace is used in an advertisement or something, but this is what I have so far. Nutrition didn't matter. These girls have a significantly lower life expectancy. That is a specific characteristic of commonplaces in that they are followed without questioning by the community. I find it fascinating. I also find it fascinating that different societies have different unquestioning commonplaces about the same topic, as in the anorexic girls in the West.