As I gaze around on the web, looking to what people are talking about these days; I came a crosses Linn’s post “true beauty. “It is not the title that straicke me the most, I mean no offences it is an excellent title but the thing that grabs my attention is the rhetorical question she raise “what is this obsession we have with weight?”I don’t know how many of you read it or how many of you set back and think about it.
It is very interesting you know, well not the question but the fact that that majority of American women are so concerned about there weight. Some times I wander how it starts, who started it and how it gets to this point. Basically as Linn raise the question why are we obsession with our weight?
I am reading this book called “The cult of thinness and the commercialization of identity” by Sharlene Hesse-Biber. It is a good book I would say read it if you have the time. To get to the point Hesse-Biber in this book present us a little mirror to see “why we are so obsessed with our weight?” well “we” as in American.
He said “young girls face an endless barrage of massages from beauty magazines, and TV, from classmates and parents and, doctors, that thinness is valued and obesity is liability.” Yes, here you have it, which is why we are obsessed with it. Have you look around you, thinness gives women access to a number of important things ;feelings of power, self confidences, male attraction or what they call it protection etc. So because we see how thin body being awarded we care to follow that standard, we whish to have the right body the 5 feet 10 inches tall and 110 pound.
It is very interesting you know, well not the question but the fact that that majority of American women are so concerned about there weight. Some times I wander how it starts, who started it and how it gets to this point. Basically as Linn raise the question why are we obsession with our weight?
I am reading this book called “The cult of thinness and the commercialization of identity” by Sharlene Hesse-Biber. It is a good book I would say read it if you have the time. To get to the point Hesse-Biber in this book present us a little mirror to see “why we are so obsessed with our weight?” well “we” as in American.
He said “young girls face an endless barrage of massages from beauty magazines, and TV, from classmates and parents and, doctors, that thinness is valued and obesity is liability.” Yes, here you have it, which is why we are obsessed with it. Have you look around you, thinness gives women access to a number of important things ;feelings of power, self confidences, male attraction or what they call it protection etc. So because we see how thin body being awarded we care to follow that standard, we whish to have the right body the 5 feet 10 inches tall and 110 pound.
Where I come from thinness is always viewed as terrible thing. Not only where I come from actually in Asia and in South America too. In the culture I grew up thinness is always associated with disease or discomfort. Will body weight increases is associated with wealth, comfort or health. As funny as it sounds, they say if you are obese you are wealthy enough not only to buy the food but also to cover for medical treatment. So thinness is feared, no body wants to be thin and if you are and someone notices he or she would say “you are skinny? What happen to you?” which is completely opposite to what I see here. Obviously I am not saying we should value obesity. Rather what I am saying is let’s be logical to what we value and do.
George Lakofe on his book Don’t Think of an Elephant! Stated that “America is the best and the most powerful country” so what I am not sure of is, why this powerful society never realized what it is doing to its women by valuing there “thin body over there mind” what a social Embarrassment!!
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