whistle said:

Though this is true, I'm seeing a stark rise in obesity and overweight Asians here in Thailand.

I'm constantly surrounded by young men and women in their 20's from very well-to-do families and backgrounds (upper class hi-so Asians), and although their rates are no where near the rates in America, there are far more large Asians in Thailand now than there have ever been.

They've made major life-style changes. THey love American fast-food, many of them have never worked a part-time job, never mowed the lawn, never known what it was like to walk 2 miles to get to a bus-stop and use public transportation. As a result, the rates of overweight Thais has climbed dramatically in the middle and upper class demographic.... though nowhere even remotely close to America.



The problem in Thailand is far stranger though--in America it's all about looking like gazelle, and in Asia it's all about looking like snowwhite. There's this body-morphing-addiction that the 'fashion' industry in each culture seems to be perpetuating. And though each is dramatically different from the other, the commonality is an industry that is selling 'fantasy' without regard to it's audience, and that audience is buying into the fantasy not out of admiration, but out of a sense that if they don't then there is something wrong with them.

I motherfuckin' love the way some supermodels and actors look--but I know I'll neer be Tyson Beckford---the fashion industry doesn't want this. They want me to spend whatever money I have trying to be Tyson. And so far, at least here in Thailand, the hordes of women slathering skin whitening cream on themselves, and wearing 'western' looking contacts to make their eyes appear bigger--well, they're not questioning the industry...they're following it religiously.

TheVoid said:

Shameful...Asian women have gorgeous eyes and beautiful skin tone - why try to achieve someone else's warped idea of beauty?

Fauxie said:

Sorry but that is fucking hilarious! Now if only straight guys would chill with the age discrimination and obsession with big boobs whilst being concerned for our self esteem.

meow85 said:

You got a point there sis. I notice that the size I wear in a Herrera or Von Furstenburg or even Anne Klein will fit much better and more comfortable than the same size in Calvin or Jacobs or even Mizrahi whose clothes are supposed to be forgiving. Even the models for female designers tend to be older (early 20s) with more meat on their bones than the models for the gay male designers; their models tend to be teens and very skinny. Seems that way.

Ohhhhh I dunno why, but how I LOVE these types of threads. Their fascinating.

Ya, I don't think anyone well the majority of ppl look at runway models as an inspirational body type. I mean, most runway models, self admittedly were tall gawky akward looking and ridiculed during childhood. Not saying thats a good thing, just sayin it's not like ppl were wanting to look like that. It's just easier for designers to fit a stick than all these curves n shit.

I also think theres been somewhat of a backlash against 'thin' ppl the last couple years.

People look more towards, like Erin said stars for looks and what not.

I honely think things are getting better as far as not promoting heroin sheik and anorexia. But things won't be rite until NOTHING is promoted. Ya can't be callin ppl too thin too fat not curvey enough blah blah

People come in all shapes and sizes. Sum people barf up their food some are naturally thin. Some people are bigger and have a slow metabolism, some people are lazy and over eat. We should promote HEALTH!!!!

Plain HEALTH!!

TotalANXiousNESS said:

And that's that!



time to lock this shit up

TotalANXiousNESS said:

I'm sorry but

"heroin sheik"

JustErin said:

Stop discrimination based on spelling!

CarrieMpls said:

JustErin said:

whistle said:

americans were getting taller, but they are getting shorter again
due to malnutrition

TotalANXiousNESS said:

Meh. If there was less to eat and people had to scavenge for food no one would be fat, we would be like we used to be thin and lean machines.

florescent said:

i was once...when i was a kid

size 10 shoes

Cuddles said:

sad but true

ZombieKitten said:

I know. Its a Gawd damn shame!

Cuddles said:

What does that have to do with anything?

Cuddles said:

yeah I have no doubt it may be harder for some to stay thin than others (it's always been easy for me) but look at our lifestyles.

How could we expect to be thin when we sit at desks all day, then go home and sit in front of the TV?

And how many calories does a person need to support that kind of lifestyle vs. how many they actually consume? Especially fats & proteins. I know Atkins would disagree, but I just don't think that someone who never burns calories should be eating Atkins diets. They should be eating celery.

Of course, all that is assuming you want to be thin. If you really love food, maybe that's your priority, not being thin, and that is fine with me.

Do these jeans make my fat ass look fat ?

CarrieMpls said:

for me it means that most of the reasons people offer for not being able to lose weight are lame excuses.

whistle said:

Excuses, yes, but I'm not sure if they're lame excuses. Our society promotes sedentary lifestyles, especially for higher paying jobs!

whistle said:

I guess I don't understand what that has to do with the topic of the thread - that being unrealistic standards of beauty.

NDRU said:

how is 'i make too much money to exercise' not a lame excuse?

whistle said:

that's not it.

It's that the quest to "better ourselves" means sitting at a desk, reading books, writing papers, etc. It doesn't include jogging, except at a personal level.

NDRU said:

the rich can afford personal trainers, nutritionists, liposuction, heroin...

whistle said:

yes, but I'm not talking about the very few who actually are rich, I'm talking about the greater numbers of people trying to get rich by taking the academic route.
[Edited 2/17/10 14:28pm]

NDRU said:

well, i'm no expert at anything (just read my sig!), but the preponderance of cable TV, social networking sites, and videogame options in modern society makes me less inclined to believe anybody who complains about not having enough time/energy to lose weight.

whistle said:

no you're right, I'm just saying everything seems geared towards us not exercising & gaining weight. Our jobs, fast food, television, computers video games all lure us to sit & veg out. It's a weakness or a drug, yes, but I don't think it's a lame excuse it's just that the pitfalls seem to be all around us

You said it yourself about being a scavenger. But how easy is it to be a scavenger in this world without looking like some kind of outcast?

NDRU said:

we know what to eat to lose weight and we don't want to do it. ditto the exercise. i'm as guilty as anybody.

Cuddles said:

For sure.