viewing books: showy wonders

Photo albums here confuse and bother me. These albums are almost always owned by women and are a compilation of photographs of them. They are the most vain things I have ever encountered. In addition, they freely hand the albums out to their friends and family who look at and comment on the photos. The albums almost solely contain pictures of the owner but sometime a friend or family member appears in the picture. You have to see these albums to believe it.
These women are usually very modest; so modest that they cover their head when they leave the house, much to my dismay. The modesty is there until a camera gets pulled out of a bag and then these women turn into supermodels- posing like pros. I was looking at my host aunt’s album of her wedding and it was picture after picture of her posing in different positions – the smile-over-the-shoulder, the I’m-fixing-my earring, the menacing smile, the surprised look, etc. Her pictures included her bridal party who also posed like she did. My host mother’s albums contained the same sorts of poses except she seemed more fond to show off her gold baubles. Sometimes a picture of my host father and her would creep onto a page. He was always sitting stoically next to her, without a smile on his face but his eyes wide open. With the turn of the page he would disappear and she would pop back up in a different dress.
Don’t be fooled these books are not just endemic in my Yoff household. I have seen similar ones from the maid in my Dakar house. Her pictures were of her wearing different outfits. One of those outfits stuck in my head because it was so hideous- a jean ensemble with the American flag painted everywhere and a bit of bizarre leatheresque material. It seems that most women have these albums and are very willing to share them with you whether you ask to see them or not.
A disturbing thing about these pictures was that I got a window into what women do for a wedding. I was shocked to see that my host mother lightened her very dark brown skin to a caramel color. The lighter shade did not support her features and she looked washed out. My host aunt did the same thing. I cannot comprehend changing your skin color or lightening it and I don’t think I ever will.
Moreover, we are told as visitors to the country that Senegalese people do not like getting their picture taken or they will demand money if you take their picture. I have encountered the exact opposite situations. As soon as I pull out my camera people beg me to take their picture and then show it to them. I have taken (and then deleted) pictures of random people in the street or friends of my host family. When I took pictures of my host family last night they had to be taken in the nice new bedroom and my subject would pose on the bed in some ridiculous pose or another. The most religious of the family, a niece who lives with us, had me taken her picture only if her head was covered. Yet, she still sprawled out on the bed as if she was posing for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.