Do you like to eat?
I got email this morning from my old friend and colleague commenting, among other things, on my Flickr photo blog and 365days project. One of the photos drew his attention to write these words that astonished me, because…:
I was very amazed about a picture from eating Serbian women. I’m not a psychologist, but sometimes when I often see this behavior, it comes up in my mind, that they are not happy, lack of love, attention and so, and as compensation starting to eat. And soon growing up their bums. And particularly what they consume: “ugly Mac-food”.”
…because these women are no fat, the context of this stolen click – photo (as the title says) they love to eat, they are not starving, they are healthy, normal women with [if so] a bit wider hips [but hey, why many men love those hip-hop and soul singers with hips, ‘bums’, and drool over photos of Monica Bellucci? And if you see below this photo, several people from different geo-spots made a comment and none of them (both female and male) mentioned that these girls are overweight or fat. I thought that curves make women feminine, and still think so. But this is not the end. When new information hits you in the morning, the other comes along with it, from the daily news. And it is a story of Czech supermodel who was attacked by Brazilian ‘fashion police’ that on recent runaway show she appeared to be fat, with the critiques on “back fat, love handles and cellulite”. Hello! Is this fat?
Maybe, these are the reasons why society and media push up young girls and women-to-be into sick state of mind and health: skinny, starving and sick go together. Recent article shows also that in the past two years there were two cases of girls who died from anorexia (eating for weeks only lettuce and Coke). After this story I got a bit intimidated by the photos of the food I posted on Flickr here and there, which makes me ‘fat’ and i guess ‘rich’ person according to the media.
I couldn’t help but wonder shall we live the healthy lives the best we can according to our set of standards or shall we follow the world ‘trends’, starve, die and be remembered as ‘beautiful and thin’ sticks without cellulite? I guess many of us should re-examine our own values and listen to ourselves, our body and biorhythm trying to make a balance in life.
I’m suggesting you to watch this inspiring TED video staring key speaker Mark Bittman, and contemplate our eating habits, for the start. As for me, I’m going now to have an apple for a snack, fish and veggies for lunch, followed by rich ice-cream for desert.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/danche24/2626913505/
July 1, 2008 at 8:39 am
Also, the usual situation is that men will comment how women should be slim and skinny and stuff, but it’s not a problem for them if they have weight problems. A bit hypocritical
.
And let’s not forget that the meaning of the term “pretty” is not absolute. Few centuries ago, women with few more kilos were considered “pretty”, today they’re “overweight”.
July 1, 2008 at 9:27 am
Just keep leaving healthy and enjoy yourself. I love to see women who take care about themselves and that usually does not involve being skinny or fashionable.
July 1, 2008 at 10:04 am
I think you can eat whatever you want if you do it in moderation and you work out. Exercise is needed anyway to remain healthy inside (heart, lungs, brain, etc.). The Czech supermodel is not fat at all but she needs to go to the gym. Cellulite can hit skinny girls if they don’t run or swim or do something. I live an active life, so I cannot understand why people my age smoke, drink and don’t exercise.
July 1, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Great thoughts and observations, Danica. This is a message that needs to be spread far and wide.
July 1, 2008 at 7:59 pm
One doesn’t need to starve to become thin. All one has to do to remain thin is to burn more calories than they’re consuming. Most people don’t exercise but consume food that has lot of calories. The result is the extra lump in the bum.
July 2, 2008 at 4:17 am
I completly agree! This fashion of starving oneself to be skinny is so ridicolous. It makes women like shadows of themselves, never really there cos with the attention in food they don´t eat and too weak to really live.
Must be quite a boring company!
The fashions come and go. Following them blindly we make ourselves kind of slaves. What is really beautiful are healthy, joyfull people.
July 2, 2008 at 5:36 am
Many African women starve and deficit edible food but the world trend such as skinny and fashionable make European women(around the world?)be starved.