Phat or Fat?
I dont watch BET much, especially since that [hostile] take-over. However, I did stumble on an excellent program a few weeks back that I highly recommend. 'Meet the faith' is hosted by Carlos Watson (howzit a black mans' called Carlos anyway?) I digress... the program deals with issues currently affecting the Afr-am/colored diaspora in north-america. It comes on at 11am Sunday (thats Vancouver time, y'all figure out what time it comes in your neck of the woods coz i've lived in three different time zones and this time thing confuses me now). A few weeks ago they were talking about black women- are we phat or just plain fat? I was intrigued because there are a lot of things I did'nt know that I really should know by now (my general sense whenever I watch this program, which is why I like it so much). Did you know that according to a college study, black people view obesity positively; we link it to attractiveness, strength and social acceptance. And did you know that 1 in 2 black women is overweight or obese by the time they are age 40? and that this puts us at a disproportionate risk for diseases such as type II diabetes, hypertension and even some forms of cancer. Have mercy!
See i've never bought into the weight/image hoopla, its a never ending suck cycle but this really got me thinking (maybe i'm buying now?) I dont know of many black mama's over 40 who are within their weight range. Were we really created to be overweight? how big a role does genetics really play? is there really such a thing as big boned or is it a timeless excuse? Is phat all about a healthy self image, or about covering up the pain of not being able to control a lacklustre inner image, haunting emotions, maybe even food...? A few weeks ago I watched the comedian Monique on Martha Stewart (quite the combi!) and she said 'look at my head, I have a big girl's head, can you imagine how ugly I would look if I had this big head on a small body?'. I remember looking at it and thinking 'enyewe thats a big head and that would not be pretty!'. But now i'm thinking... what came first... the big body or the big head? Was the big head naturally selected for the big body or vice versa? We need to ask ourselves some serious questions because our life expectation is significantly lower people! hey hey before y'all jump on me, I know that events like Katrina (grr), drought and famine, AIDS, they all play a role in afr-am mortality rates; but are we just passing the buck on this weight issue? Even if genetics and big bonededness play a role, is it that significant? and for that many people... hmm... Disclaimer: I have nothing nothing against phat/fat people. Infact we were just sitting in the student lounge talking and we discovered that almost all of the students in my graduate program had added at least 20 pounds since they joined the program 2 years ago (as we used to say...fill in the gap). I just firmly believe that everyting you learn needs some consideration then you can decide whether to toss it or absorb it. (I have stumbled on some pretty useful stuff through this policy so i'm sticking to it).
Next order: Curves with no rolls - It is on the menu so step on the bike! (now where is that gym membership form I tossed in the wastebasket?)
Wasiwasi
See i've never bought into the weight/image hoopla, its a never ending suck cycle but this really got me thinking (maybe i'm buying now?) I dont know of many black mama's over 40 who are within their weight range. Were we really created to be overweight? how big a role does genetics really play? is there really such a thing as big boned or is it a timeless excuse? Is phat all about a healthy self image, or about covering up the pain of not being able to control a lacklustre inner image, haunting emotions, maybe even food...? A few weeks ago I watched the comedian Monique on Martha Stewart (quite the combi!) and she said 'look at my head, I have a big girl's head, can you imagine how ugly I would look if I had this big head on a small body?'. I remember looking at it and thinking 'enyewe thats a big head and that would not be pretty!'. But now i'm thinking... what came first... the big body or the big head? Was the big head naturally selected for the big body or vice versa? We need to ask ourselves some serious questions because our life expectation is significantly lower people! hey hey before y'all jump on me, I know that events like Katrina (grr), drought and famine, AIDS, they all play a role in afr-am mortality rates; but are we just passing the buck on this weight issue? Even if genetics and big bonededness play a role, is it that significant? and for that many people... hmm... Disclaimer: I have nothing nothing against phat/fat people. Infact we were just sitting in the student lounge talking and we discovered that almost all of the students in my graduate program had added at least 20 pounds since they joined the program 2 years ago (as we used to say...fill in the gap). I just firmly believe that everyting you learn needs some consideration then you can decide whether to toss it or absorb it. (I have stumbled on some pretty useful stuff through this policy so i'm sticking to it).
Next order: Curves with no rolls - It is on the menu so step on the bike! (now where is that gym membership form I tossed in the wastebasket?)
Wasiwasi
posted by Wasiwasi at 12:29 AM
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