Known as the 'Giraffe Woman,' Sydney Smith's obsession with giraffes led her to wear a heavy stack of metal rings around her neck for 5 years in an attempt to push down her collarbone and stretch out her neck.
At one point, she sported 15 custom-made metal rings around her neck!
Per reports, the California resident got her inspiration from the Kayan people of South East Asia who do the same by wearing brass coils around their necks: "Sydney had her own set of rings custom-made and spent five years slowly adding more in an attempt to push down her collarbone. At its heaviest, the stack was made up of 15 rings and weighed an incredible 5 lbs."
Women of the Kayan tribe who inhabit the northern part of Thailand are referred to as 'giraffe women' on account of the rings they wear around their necks. It is uncertain when this age-old tradition began but some suggest it was in order to protect the neck from tiger attacks.
The feelings of isolation and the fear that the rings were taking over her life led Sydney to discard the rings as she explains in this excerpt: "I couldn't function properly as a long neck woman with fifteen rings around my neck in the United States of America. Unless you are willing to completely isolate yourself and you're a trust fund baby and don't ever need to leave the house, don't ever need to drive, then maybe you can pull it off."
Unfortunately for Sydney, her neck did not become super long from wearing the rings.
Although her neck initially felt very weak, she did not suffer any adverse effects from wearing the rings other than deep bruising around her collarbone. As far as stretching her neck goes, Sydney believes her neck became longer as a result of the rings but has shrunk over time.
Comments / 48