Thursday, 29 October 2009
-
How Asians are Obsessed with Slimness
I wrote a post a while back about cultural perspectives on calling someone fat or telling someone that they have gained weight. I really find people in Hong Kong to be absolutely obsessed with slimness and dieting. I feel that their standards of slimness are more difficult, unhealthy, and unrealistic compared to North American standards. I also don't think they understand the idea of how curves on a woman can be sexy.
Some of my most awkward conversations evolved from women just completely bashing themselves. We could be talking of something completely random like the weather when all of a sudden, my coworker might say: "I'm so fat. I need to diet!" Another coworker may say "Oh my god! ME TOO!" (yes in an excited and animated manner). And then they continue to speak negatively of their bodies and share dieting tricks. Me? I am completely left out of the conversation because I choose not to be so detrimental to my self-esteem and well-being. And I don't want to "agree" that these women were fat. Heck, they were 1/2 my size.
Where does it all start? Dieting and slimming advertisements are plastered EVERYWHERE on the transportation systems of Hong Kong. I heard that Korea and Japan are just as bad for these kinds of media influences.
Getting them while their young
I came across this Korean advertisement that is directed to children. It encourages them to eat fermented soy beans, which actually contain great amounts of microflora/probiotics (great for your gut). However, I disliked how it enforced the beauty ideals of "S-lines" and "V-lines" at 0:50.Face Rollers
A particular concern of many Asian women is the cheek fat. These face rollers claim to be able to make your face smaller through... massage mechanism?!
Don't ask me... I'm just a nutrition student. I'm going to tell you that fat is fat. Want to get rid of it? Diet and exercise. For some people, it's just plain genetics. I've seen plenty of bigger women with tiny, very pretty faces.
Unrealistic standards
This is the most common weight loss advertisement that I saw plastered on every wall of MTR train stations in Hong Kong. These photos are from 2007/2008, but I'd bet that they are still advertising this campaign now! The singer Janice Vidal went from 120 pounds to just 105 pounds (as claimed on the ad)
They show her "before" picture in a little circle. But every time that I saw this advertisement, I wanted to shout at it and everyone in the train station: "120 POUNDS IS NOT FAT!!!" It is a perfectly healthy size! I looked up the singer's height and she is 5'3. At 120lbs, her BMI would be 21.3, which is in the healthy/normal range. For some people, such a low weight of 105lbs is just not feasible. I know that if I was close to this weight, I would be incredibly grumpy and unfriendly.
Tea & Slimming Drinks
I often come across these tea drink advertisements on Youtube. If they are the same zero calorie tea drinks that I have tried in Hong Kong, then these drinks are really bitter!But you can see how they market towards women and address face size, the "V-line", and waist line. They use popular celebrities who were already slim even before they chose to endorse these drinks! Yes tea can boost your metabolism and help you burn more calories throughout the day, but these drinks did not make these celebrities skinny because they were already skinny and fit to begin with! In Hyori's case (right side video), she has an amazing body because she is an active dancer! (I don't know about plastic surgery rumours though)
Calf-Reduction Surgery
The idea of surgery scares me. I've heard that calf-reduction surgery is the most common procedure after double eyelid surgery.Women find bulky calves to be a problem, especially when wearing short skirts or swimsuits. Some feel larger calves make their legs look shorter, and short height can be a form of employment discrimination in parts of Asia. So how do some women choose to solve this problem? Calf-reduction surgery.
Your calves contain three main muscles: the medial gastrocnemius, the lateral gastrocnemius, and the soleus. All three of these muscles are essential to running, jumping, skipping, etc. There are many different calf-reduction surgeries, but some are so extreme that they remove the entire medial gastrocnemius muscle! This is painful and the patient may have trouble walking post-operation. Is surgery really worth it?
Popular Asian media has a huge impact on people's self-esteem and eating behaviors. Do you think Asian beauty standards are harsher? Or does Western culture have it just as bad?
-
recommend
- recs 25
-
email
- sent 3
- like
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to theHealthRabbit's Xanga Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in theHealthRabbit's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
Comments (371)
It's too bad not every girl has as much self-esteem and confidence as you. People will do anything to look attractive and be thin. I think both America and Asia have harsh standards, but definitely Asia more. Our definition of fat is so different from America's. Being thin for Asians means having that gap between your legs and weighing less than 105. I think it's partly because we place so much emphasis on being cute and when we think cute, we think pretty and tiny. Emphasis on the tiny. haha
wow... i don't think i'll ever fit into that kind of standard :S
even my parents want me to get surgery. kinda sad if you think about it..
we're so obsessed with our physical appearance.
nobody really works on their personality anymore :/
i have bulky calves ; _ ; !!!!
whenever i go back to hk and shop, i come out of the change room and see girls..AND guys giggling and talking amongst themselves while looking at me...so sad they're laughing at me!...one time i hear them say how fat i am..horrible.....and i am 5'3..120lbs!!!
On the MTR..i even hear guys talk about dieting...can't believe it...the guys are already skinny like a stick...
I like that commercial! lol
ewwww... calf reduction... nasty... haha here my calves get me respect on the court :P
i have an obsession with slimness
but id never have surgery or anything like that
that is scary. taking out an important muscule like that for the sake of looking smaller? wow.
i guess i never realised that everywhere has such a huge problem with people trying to become so thin. it's crazy.
I guess it's about the same with both Western and Asian cultures. I suppose there is a perception that Asians seem to go to more extremes because they, to the rest of the world, don't appear all that big at all. I guess it's not only media influences that provoke such drastic measures; there are some really petite asians out there. Perhaps that the same as in Western cultures.
WTH... removal of the medial head of the gastrocnemius?!
How the hell do you even walk after that?
I work SO hard trying to gain gastrocnemius mass... =/
CALF reduction? Never heard of that before...
I think both sides have it bad, but Asian women probably have it harsher. Umm...I'm trying to say this right because I certainly dont want to offend anyone. I have many Asian friends too so if I say something wrong, please dont think me ignorant. I know how standards are high there for many reasons & they encourage ladies to be beautiful & stuff so they do stress things upon them. I read modeling stories from some high profile ladies in Japan & how they picked on every tiny detail is very scary. One famous girl named Anna said she woke up & was so malnurished, she had to drag herself to the kitchen with her hands to eat!
---->MiNA<3
It's interesting to hear this, living in the states and all, and not having as much exposure to other cultures.
My neighbor is a Chinese American, her parents having emigrated from there. She plans to live there after graduation. She's very slender, but complains she must lose weight because she's "obese in China." I've wondered if that's exaggeration, and an example of what you posted about? Or is everyone really at tiny? I always used to believe people of Asian descent were always naturally thin. I suppose that can be true, to an extent.
no offense to the asian race but everytime i go get my nails done they will point out the tiniest pimple on my face and say what happened....ARE YOU SERIOUS ITS A PIMPLE IT HAPPENS idk i guess they need to be perfect in everything....one of the girls i work with was on her period and so she was a little bloated and shes not fat by no means but she had an asian client and she told her she was fat i was like are u kidding id be so offended
@proana89 - yup that would definitely be in a previous post that I've written! Even though I'm Asian, I'm pretty westernized in my thinking coz I was born in Canada. So yea sometimes Asian culture gets to me too.
@NoMoreThinSpos - There are some bigger, more voluptuous Asian people for sure. My friend thinks that obesity is increasing in Hong Kong due to the increasingly popularity of so many American fast food chains like KFC and Mcdonalds. However, I think the average girl is still really skinny, it's crazy! And so I guess we look at these people as "standard" when really it's all relevant.
@yuk_lui - no me neither. Even the eyelid surgery scares me!
Surgeries are so not worth it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Our bodies are delicate. Trying to change the way they are is just trouble waiting to happen.
Both cultures are bad. Asians (well, at least the Chinese ones) with their beauty spa treatments and use of slimming pills, are taking things one step further. But the root of evil started in the western world. Fashion shows gotta stop using clothes that normal people can't wear. I guess the plus size model thing is a start and I hope that move will get somewhere.
Seeing people with skinny body sicken me at times. Girls need like 20% fat or they'll have irregular menstruation.
Don't even get me started on the lack of physical activity here... the norms of the society now are associated with so many health issues!
I cringe at the thought of Calves being reduced. omg!! horrific!
wow epic fail.
I heard of the calf-reduction surgery before somewhere, I think I read about it actually... anyway, why in the world would you remove your calf MUSCLE!? If anything, I'd work to get my calves stronger. That before/after pic was ridiculous... but I guess I understand that in some peoples' eyes, their "imperfections" can really get to them to the point where they want to remove 'em. :\ but with the possibilities of walking problems in the future? Is it really even worth it...
Shit... I'm trying to gain weight!!! but no luck... eating, eating, eating nothing seems to work. People tell me to take dietary pills... but i rather do it the natural way and if I don't gain weight then I guess it wasn't meant to be.
Exactly. People In Hong Kong are too obsessed on slimness because they saw those adverts with slim models and stuff. In which some of the men in Hong Kong does not exactly being attracted because some of them are too thin that makes people scared lol.
its much nicer when a female is comfortable about her own weight sure healthy tops all but know when you are healthy. women complaining about their weight drives me up a wall...on a side note oriental commercials always make me smile.
Face rollers? wow!!! very interesting post.
I've never heard of that calf-reduction procedure, but I don't doubt that chicks do it. That's abso ridiculous though. What if something goes wrong and then you can't walk up stairs anymore or something ?!
It really is a shame ): I'm a bit taller than most Asians, a little chunkier too. I had the hardest time buying jeans in Hong Kong this past summer, along with shoes, shirts, etc. Especially those stores with the "One size fits all" label--yeah, no.
I don't think I really mind though, all this pressure to be slim and whatnot. It gives me a good objective to work towards, though I will NEVER go under the knife to reach my weight goals, or develop some kind of disease. Girls just need to pay the price by being fit, exercising and whatnot, not starving themselves or getting surgery done. That's cheating !