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An unhealthy obsession with weight affects everyone- men, women, and even little girls. It's time to focus on health, not weight.
Everywhere you look, someone is dictating your body image -telling you to be thinner, or fatter. How does this morbid obsession with weight affect us?
I am not fat anymore.
No more clicking of tongues by older aunties at weddings, no more people teaching me yoga the moment they set eyes on my extra fat, and no more uncles telling me how their wives never gained weight after pregnancy.
I am not fat anymore because my baby is too thin.
The conversations now revolve around how much he eats or doesn’t eat and whether I am absolutely sure that he is a one year old and not 10 months old. I am given advice on how I should make him ‘plump’. Well, he is not a chicken, thank you very much.
A few years ago, the topic of polite conversation was the weather. Suddenly, everywhere I turn people are talking about weight. How to lose it, gain it, or maintain it. Everyone seems to be upset about the weight that they have or don’t have. Even the women with the ‘perfect figures’ like Deepika Padukone are taking the 2 week wedding challenge. I know of little girls who point at their tiny paunch and get upset about how fat they are.
I know of little girls who point at their tiny paunch and get upset about how fat they are. Where does this obsession end?
It is so ingrained in our psyche- that most conversations come around to this weighty issue. I almost had to bite my tongue to avoid joining in on a conversation regarding one of my cousins’ weight. Because I know how much it upset me at a wedding when every smiling namaste of mine was met with how much weight I had put on. I stayed indoors for most of that wedding because I ran out of sarcastic retorts pretty soon. Now in retrospect, I was not fat then. Neither am I fat now. I have a normal BMI and am healthy. I just won’t be walking on any ramps soon. Why are we so relentless about this weight issue and hell bent on making girls, women, and probably some men feel they are not good enough or are not trying hard enough? When it boils down to the real problems and difficulties we face in life, weight is such a non-issue.
When it boils down to the real problems and difficulties we face in life, weight is such a non-issue.
Shouldn’t the focus be on being healthy? A popular dietitian had written that anything can make you thin – starvation, sickness, or mental agonies. The same applies to putting on weight – stress, hormonal imbalances, and genetics- all play a role. Why obsess about making ourselves thin or fat, and commenting about others? Human bodies don’t stay 16 years old all our lives. They go through many expansions and contractions. I hope more people accept that, and be a little more thoughtful the next time they want to comment on someone else’s weight. I am sure they have weighing machines and mirrors at home.
Pic courtesy: Barbara K (Used under a CC license)
A traveler at heart and a writer by chance a vital part of a vibrant team called Women's Web. I Head Marketing at Women's Web.in and am always evolving new ways in read more...
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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