i feel like there just aren't enough black people who are real concerned with eating healthy. i know, i know, everybody eats whatever they want around this time of year. truth is, people eat crap all year long but around the holidays it's justified.
but i keep running into black women around town, at work, etc. who are kinda hefty in the weight department. the thing is, why are black women so proud of being big? of having a 'big ol' butt'? there is a fine line between being at a healthy weight and being overweight/obese. but i keep hearing black women that i come into contact with talk about their size like a) that's just part of being black, and/or b) it can't be helped.
it seems like when we (as americans) are urged to slim down because the obesity rates are rising, that some black women don't feel like that includes them. i mean, of course grossly obese black women know that they need to do something. but i'm talking about women who are like 30 to 50 pounds overweight. that still makes a difference! i'm not even advocating being a stick figure. that's not attractive. i'm talking about being the ideal weight for height.
i know this sounds bad but i've always sort of prided myself on the fact that my body is slim and trim, that i've been a size 4/6 since highschool (not including pregnancies-but yes, even afterwards!). the big ol' butt gene was never passed down to me, and frankly, i'm GLAD. i don't like the way big butts look- black thing, or not. am i expected to just because i'm black? i think i stand out and that is one of the reasons why. i know those with the big butts can't help it. if they like it, fine. but keep the extra weight off. sure, i see other black women who are in shape, but for the most part, many of them that i come into contact with are overweight. i know that's one of the reasons why i don't seem/act/look like the stereotype. i try to take care of myself and it shows, not getting caught up in this is how i'm supposed to look because i'm black/this is the fattening soul food i should eat because i'm black and that's what we do.
black women who are overweight really need to wake up. it's not healthy. it's not just the 400 lb women. that's obvious to everyone that it's an unhealthy state. again, i'm talking about extra weight that our culture calls "thick". you know, because the black men like it. whatever. they're not the ones who are at risk of heart disease.
45 comments:
don't pile on that discrimination bandwagon! whether you're black or white, "obesity" isn't the epidemic you think it is. there are several studies that show that being "thick" can help prevent osteoporosis, scoliosis, some forms of diabetes, anemia, and more. overweight women have better immune systems than thinner ones and have lower fatality rates from infectious diseases. fatness itself has yet to be proven as a risk factor for anything once other factors have been taken into account (heredity, age, sex, blood pressure, smoking, lifestyle, etc).
dieting is more harmful to "fat" women than being fat. so is harassment, stigma and prejudice. you may find the "shapely prose" blog or the "junk food science" blog to be useful:
http://kateharding.wordpress.com/
http://www.junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/
overweight women have better immune systems than thinner ones - I'd like to see the CDC link on that myth! With FAT comes all sorts of problems, especially diabetes and heart problems.
People spend billions eating junk, billions trying to loose weight by all sorts of schemes, and people get FATTER.
The easy and cheap solution is self control, nutritious food, and more important - exercise. You can eat 10 cream puffs a day and stay slim if your calories burned exceeded your calories taken in.
As far as black and fat you might spread some blame on black rappers that glorify fat woman - big booties, etc.
But still, the only one to blame is the person putting the food into the mouth.
there is a difference between having a big ass and being fat. My sister who was blessed with the ideal black ass round and big and glorious is a size 6/8 and very healthy. Also the hip to waist ratio can be a true test of health and a small waist and (relatively) big ass is actually a very healthy thing. When black men talk about liking a "thick" woman they aren't necessarily talking about overweight women at all.
Since when is having a big ass being fat? Better to have a big ass than a big stomach. I know a girl who has the biggest, roundest, ass I've ever seen and she is in the best shape of anyone I know. She plays college basketball and is extremely healthy. Please stop judging and thinking you're better because you have white kids with a white husband and a flat pancake ass.
I really do try to see where you're coming from but you make it hard because you're so incredibly ignorant. And you know it, but you do nothing to change it. It's a sickness.
"billions trying to loose weight by all sorts of schemes, and people get FATTER."
justadog: my point exactly. people certainly spend enough energy and time dieting, sometimes using horrific techniques like gastric bypass or developing disorders like anorexia/bulemia, and yet it's not working. not everyone who's "fat" is stuffing their faces full of cream pies: most of them are dieting!
thin people and fat people have different disease risks. they both sort of balance out, but the focus is on those "disgusting" fat people because it's not about health, it's about aesthetics. as if women, especially black women, don't already face enough discrimination as it is!
Having a big ass does not make you fat. The two are not connected. There are alot of slim women who have big asses. Geez, if I didn't know any better I would have thought you where white,cause usually from what I've seen and read alot white folks think some how the two are connected and that you have to be a size 0,2 or 4 to be considered slim with a flat ass.
Hi, I don't think that being overweight is "a black thing"
I just wish you would rename your blog "Why I hate black people" More and more I find myself hoping this is a performance art piece or satire like Dave Chapelle's blind black Klansman.
I live in Portland like you, and I see all kinds of fat people. Indeed, it is the fattest place I've ever lived. It's not a black or white thing, it's an American thing. The average American woman is a size 12/14. I know fat vegans, for God's sake.
Being HWP doesn't make you a special Negro, neither does all the other things you've claimed make you "different".
I have to agree with mendegirl; obesity is an American epidemic. I think American's consume too much fast food and drink too much soda/pop. Go to any mall or airport and it seems every other person is over weight even the young. I think the healthy lifestyle (diet/exercise) message needs to spread to all everyone but as a woman of color I'd like to see more black women working out and making healthier choices.
Americans are fat because they eat unhealth food. I dont think this have anything to do with being black or white. In Africans cultures is big women beutiful. In China is large boys beutiful aswell in the Japan. If people want to eat themself to death its fine by me so long Iam free from paying their hospital bills.
You seem to not be aware of how the idea of "normal" weight and information about health has varied from decade to decade - and is continuing to do so. And how body type - and heritage - influences all of that.
Just because (many? most?) Asia women aren't as tall as the average white woman, does that make them midgets? Just because many black women have more generous buttocks than white women, does that make them fat?
Many Americans are (extremely) overweight due to their diatary habits. There is no arguing about that.
But there is a HUGE difference, imho, between preaching a healthier lifestyle and expecting black women to uphold a standard of beauty that is foreign - and irrelevant - to their heritage and heredity.
Many (not all) black women are build (very) differently than the average white woman. The "booty" is a part of many black women's normal physionomy while a flat butt is a part of (many) white women's. To try to snip us down to fit that standard would be like trying to make bonzai trees out of a mighty oak, and as psychologically unnormal and self-destructive as (some) Asian women who have their eyes re-shaped to better fit with (white) Western standards.
I'd rather see a fit "thick" sister (or any other woman, for that matter) than one who is trying to get by on a glass of water and a carrot stick. Find the weight at which you feel health and full of energy, exercise regularly, and be conscious of the nutritional value of what you eat.
Period.
Trina
to justadog:
The love of a "thick" black women pre-dates the rappers by decades - if not centuries.
Black men in many Afrocentric cultures have traditionally preferred a women heavier than the preferred European norm. It's only integration/assimilation what has changed that in a significant way. And begun to alter the way black women view their normal bodies and their natural beauty.
Trina
I truly don't believe in the "black woman are naturally thick" stereotype. I don't believe in "Asians are naturally thin/petite" stereotype. There is nothing natural or inherent about it. It's all about WHAT and HOW MUCH we eat. Let's face it. AMERICANS ARE not fat, BUT OBESE, period due overindulgence on food and our sedentary lifestyle uncomparable to the rest of the world. I have seen and met REAL africans, nigerians mostly and they are NO WAY possess this "hefty, extremely thick big ass" so common in African Americans. It is NOT a "black" thing. What I can say is, africans and the AA community have not placed such a strict standards on what is acceptable weight which thankfully for the most part has at least not contributed to anorexia/bulimia in AA females but can often be seen in caucasian young females.
Also, in the Black community dating back to slavery...food has been one of the few things we had and could celebrate. It was used to comfort and to congratulate and to uplift...and some of us still use food as a way to deal with the stresses of everyday life and the stresses of being a minority in this country. Believe it or not.
more importantly, who cares? if it's not harming you, why can't you let people be who they are? there will always be someone thinner and fatter than you are, and always someone who will want to point out that you aren't "normal" or that you don't conform to a "standard." just treat people like humans, no matter what they look like. peoples (especially marginalized ones like women and blacks), should treat each other with more compassion & celebrate the diverse range of bodies.
You are so damn clueless. Look around and you will see being over weight is not just a "Black Thing". Having a well endowed booty is in your genetic genes, which you lack so stop hating on people who are curvey. Now because of genetics whether your thin or over weight you can still have heart disease, hyper tension, diabetes and even high cholestorol. I know that a person's age and weight is a factor to everything i listed, and being black has become a concern due to our genetic factors, but the way a person(not just a black person) carry their weight makes a great difference in being at risk of having anyone of those health problems, especially if your weight is in your mid section. Now that i have educated you i hope you will get off your high horse and seek more information regarding the health in blacks and you will see that it has nothing to do with the booty.
You hit the nail on the head TBG, its true, I work with other black women who spend huge amounts of time on their hair, nails, clothes, car, come to work with their lunch and eat like its Thanks Givivng everyday!, half of them are diabetic, and theire I am sitting with my salad and totally content! I CAN SAY THAT MY PANT SIZE IS A SINGLE DIGIT ONLY!! AND i WONDER IF THESE LADIES SPENT HALF THE ENERGY the use on doing their hair, nails and clothes then they would not have to try and hide behind these superficial things if they maybe worked out more!!! I was in the commissary a couple of days ago and their was this black lady wearing a pair of Capri Pants, they were 2 sizes to small, ans she looked like gravy oozing out of a plastic bag! she had a huge muffin top and here A--! way not Beyonce cute!! It was simply a huge A--!she lookek like a bloated sack
At first I thought you (like me) were a black woman who just happened to be with a white man. Now I am not so sure. Many of your articles contain some of the stereotypes that white ppl have about blacks. Aren't we supposed to be moving away from them?
Anyway, as everyone has said, a big butt does not equal fat. I'm size 6 , 120 lbs, 5'6 and my butt is nice, plump and toned. EVERYONE comments on it (positively) so I know I am not being narcissistic. Unlike you, I thank God that i didnt inherit my (black) mom's flat butt but my (black) dad's genes.
why are black women so proud of being big? of having a 'big ol' butt'?
A black woman having a prominent, round and callipygously magnificent butt has nothing to do with eating healthy or weight issues. African women, irrespective of their weight, are predisposed to have those ultra-feminine examples of sexual dimorphism. Now, while not all black woman are so bountifully bless, there is no end to the thin sistas with six-packs who also have mesmerizingly protuberant badonkadonks. As there is nothing under the sun that I find more attractive, this is a good thing.
Hoopskidoodle said...
why are black women so proud of being big? of having a 'big ol' butt'?
A black woman having a prominent, round and callipygously magnificent butt has nothing to do with eating healthy or weight issues. African women, irrespective of their weight, are predisposed to have those ultra-feminine examples of sexual dimorphism. Now, while not all black woman are so bountifully bless, there is no end to the thin sistas with six-packs who also have mesmerizingly protuberant badonkadonks. As there is nothing under the sun that I find more attractive, this is a good thing.
Wed Jan 16, 04:40:00 AM PST
WRONG!!!!!!!
when was the last time you looked at the science, travel or history channell, Africans that still live as their nomadic ancestors are very trim and healthy, I watch these documentaries all the time, these african men and women are in excellent shape, with no excess fat! because of their good diets and lifestyle that require frequent exercise thst is simply their living routine. It is Black Americans who after slavery adapted these poor diets and thus the weight gain, poor eating habits, sedentary lifestyle and bad diet attribute to expanding waistlines in every color. But Africans are the wrong example to choose to support your argument, these people are fit as a fiddle!!
"WRONG!!!!!!!
when was the last time you looked at the science, travel or history channell, Africans that still live as their nomadic ancestors are very trim and healthy, I watch these documentaries all the time"
Television??? ROFLMBAO!
You do realize, of course, that when I referenced African women, that I was talking about black women in general, right?
Perhaps were watching something about east Africans. The reference to a Nomadic lifestyle certainly hints at Arabized east Africans. And even with them it isn't uncommon to see women from Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia etc. with the same roundness of rump found in west African women. My girlfriend is from the central African country of Cameroon. I've actually been to Africa (as opposed to having seen it on television) and slim K-mer women, like my gf and her sisters, often look like they are hiding basketballs in their pants. That is a lot closer to being the normative black female phenotype than a malnourished compulsively exercising approximation of the Olsen twins.
Hoopskidoodle
I understand what you are saying and clearly you are an intelligent man, and I appreciate and respect that greatly, its refreshing in this forum but even as you describe your girl friend, she may have a nice rear end and I am sure it is plump but she still does not sound like your typical overweight black woman in america, nothing wrong with a booty, its just all that goo in the middle that seems to be a reoccuring theme in black culture.This is and black american epidemic not an African problem no matter where the African comes from
i strongly disagree with this post, being overweight hasnt got anything to do with being black, and having a big butt hasnt got anything to do with being overweight, im 5ft7 and 180 pounds and im at my biggest, when i used to weigh 150 pounds my ass and my thighs are still more or less the same size ,im still wearing the same trousers as i was before, only difference is that my top half got bigger. i think this post should have started 'i feel like there just aren't enough people who are real concerned with eating healthy.' you would have offended alot less people.
i strongly disagree with this post, being overweight hasnt got anything to do with being black, and having a big butt hasnt got anything to do with being overweight...
You have to understand that, let's say, some of the "sistas" who post to this blog have fully adopted the white American beauty aesthetic. They worship all things white, and they--while this is just my opinion--reject indications of blackness as a function of a certain amount of self-loathing. Their insinuation that a black woman having a big round butt necessarily equates to obesity comes from a white perspective. Typically, when a white woman has a big butt--and mind you big butt doesn't even mean the same thing to whites that it does to us--she is big all over. The white concept of a big butt is a wide, flat, shapeless disaster of a butt, akin to what you might see on a hippo at the zoo. That bears no relation to the kind of callipygian perfection often exhibited by black women.
When these ostensibly black women pretend not to know that, it is nothing more than a passive aggressive gibe against black women, and perhaps more significantly, the feminine beauty ideal of black men. I can only imagine that this is done, consciously or not, in order to further ingratiate themselves to the le monde blanc, similar to the "black cop showing out for the white cop" dynamic.
TBG, i love reading your blogs, but sometimes you make me so upset with some of your thoughts. I know you said that these are just your raw thoughts, but dont you agree that there is something wrong with some of what you say? I dont believe you need therapy, i just think you need a big knock from reality...Do you honestly believe that all black women are fat? Or that we all like eating soulfood? What is your issue with black women with big booties? Some women cant help having one( black or white), just as some cant help having big breasts, or a big forehead. Do you consider every woman unhealthy just because she has a few pounds? TBG, im a black and healthy young woman, im 5'9, and is a size 9. I have a big ol' butt with lots of hips and thighs, and im proud to say that im not considered to be overweight. Im happy with my body, and happy for those who are confident and happy of themselves. True, obesity is a major issue, but so is anorexia. Why dont you focus a too thin women on your blog if you really care for the health of black women?
He's the problem, I think that the article is correct but with the wrong wording and methods. I, as a black man, perfer my woman to be a bit thicker than the average white woman, however, I would also want my woman to grow old with me too. Obeasity is a problem with our community, that is a fact. Mostly due to our very poor diets. We have a culture of poor diet dating back to slavery in the south where black people were give table scarps and fatty pork meat with cornbread. The problem is now, black people are not properly aware of the damage that poor dieting can do. Yes, having weight in the lower body is better than having excess fat in the upper because of the reduction of toxins near the heart and lungs, but still excess weight can also lead to diabities and other problems.
The problem is that the starter of this blog made potentially offensive comments about how someone should feel about their body.
I agree with the commedian Monique, when she says that she happy with the way she looks like but wants to be healthy and happy as well.
Sistas need to be healthy and we all need to practice better eating habits, like more vegatables and fruit, whole grains and less fried foods, and maybe we'll have more healthy and happy sistas for many years to come. Peace.
the main thing i was trying to get across is that sometimes overweight black women think that getting their body into shape is a "white" thing. like being "thick" is part of being black and they're not supposed to be skinny, or dont want to be skinny. but it's not about being skinny. it's about not continuing to be overweight just because other black people or black media say that that's what black people are supposed to look like.
Thick does not mean overweight. Fat women have tried to co-opt this term in order to sugarcoat the fact that they are just plain obese. Thickness connotes a woman with a small waist and the fully developed secondary sexual characteristics of a sexually mature female; boobs, hips, butt and thighs. A woman with a big gut and no waist is NOT thick. Fat shapeless white women are especially egregious in their misappropriation of the word.
Overweight or not, black women have more healthy attitudes about their body images. It would be an unimaginable horror if they adopted white's preoccupation with starving themselves into an androgynous state of emaciation. Women are supposed to have more bodyfat than is characterized by the white American beauty ideal. Their bizarre aesthetic is heavily influenced by, both, Americas obsessively youth oriented culture and the media & beauty industry's domination by gay white males. The result is that the prevailing white feminine beauty ideal disseminated by these influential creators of culture looks a lot like a tall prepubescent boy. This filters down to the, majority straight, street level as, still, a tall androgynous prepubescent boy, but with big plastic breasts haphazardly slapped on her chest.
the main thing i was trying to get across is that sometimes overweight black women think that getting their body into shape is a "white" thing.
Amen. I get it. One of my best friends REFUSES to excercise or cut out her candy. Despite hypertension, knee problems and other issues, she talks bad about me getting my daily excercise. Hell I told her if she just walked 1 block to catch MAX that would let her off right in front of her office, that would be better than doing nothing....
I am not thin by any stretch, and not because I don't try to get there. I work out daily and don't eat junk. I am NOT supported for the most part by many of my black female friends. I don't know what that is about. I just know I don't want to grow older with health problems I could have avoided by taking care of myself.
TBC- I get you.
"the main thing i was trying to get across is that sometimes overweight black women think that getting their body into shape is a "white" thing. like being "thick" is part of being black and they're not supposed to be skinny, or dont want to be skinny."
Now this I actually do agree with. There's a lot of damaging brainwashing as to how Black women got to that point.
However, that's NOT what you SAID.
And it's actually much less insulting than what you first said.
This is my first visit to this blog (I'm here via another blog). I got my second degree from an HBCU and I would have to disagree with folks who don't think you're black.
You're JUST like some folks I went to school with, where the first negative, rude, insulting thing they thought -- usually about other folks -- was just the first thing to fly right on out their mouth!
We do that to each other so much as Black folk that I'm starting to think it's genetic.
"or dont want to be skinny."
Thank god for that. Skinny women don't do a thing for me. Now whites, they love a bony chick.
Wow. I wonder if you have seen me wandering around PDX and have lumped me into your "hefty" pile. 5'8", 175#, 28in waist, 34H, size 8/10. No hips to speak of, but you could set a tea tray on my behind. Am I heavier than in college? Yep, back then I was a solid 4 and still had a bubble butt. Prolly not thin enough for you. I also don't straighten my hair or always wear makeup and I can forget to shave my legs for months. I also live in NW and walk everywhere, eat organic, eschew dairy, have really low cholesterol and blood pressure.
Oh, honey. I am new to your blog and just read that you *grew up here*!! No fucking wonder. I am seriously thinking about taking my WhiteBeavertonBoy and leaving this unhealthy place. I really can't imagine raising black children here in an affirming way.
whether you have a big butt or little butt it is important to stay healthy. And also it is wrong to for people to get noticed on what size butt they have. Where is the integrity? And where are the morals?
"it is wrong to for people to get noticed on what size butt they have. Where is the integrity? And where are the morals?"
This is, quite possibly, the stupidest thing that I've read this week. Physical attractiveness informs every facet of human interaction.
Who are you to set yourself apart from other black women based on white opinions? Even when comparing weight and height and what's the proper weight is based on Caucasian point of view and study. Blacks and whites live two different lifestyles, causing the variation in weight. Bigger butts were given by God to accommodate our culture and lifestyle. Before you go ranting on about something you're not well informed about, learn a little more darling. and besides ass aint got nothing to do with being overweight, there are plenty skinny women with huge asses. I bet you light skinned too aint you???
Just FYI,
I got a huge ass, but I am not considered obese, or overweight. My butt is huge, I know this because when i wear my size 8 jeans, the waist is loose, but the thigh and booty area fits well. Now call me fat all you want, but I am a vegetarian involuntarily losing weight at this point, and I don't think I am fat by any stretch, I have been overweight before, but one thing I can't stand are skinny people who don't exercise trying to talk about fat folks, when they themselves have little bellies and cellulite. That ain't cute either.
"My butt is huge, I know this because when i wear my size 8 jeans, the waist is loose, but the thigh and booty area fits well."
I, for one, find this utterly fascinating!
define "fat." if you think melyssa ford/beyonce body types are "fat," then... heaven, help you, because you are brainwashed. that's how black women are naturally built.
however, a lot of black women i've seen are beyond this point. they are clearly overweight.
but let's be honest: you're not concerned with the health of black women. overweight black women just embarrass you.
whoops, meant to say:
"overweight black women just embarrass and repulse you."
may be you should just bleach your skin completely white since you are soo disgusted by blacks. then you will really set ur self apart. dum biatch
Wow a lot of racist comments when the women is simply trying to ask a question.
I think it's all of the TV and music brainwashing children nowadays. Not that all music or TV is bad just the things that have negative influences. It's also the way our kids inturpret it.
Uhmm.. just because your black doesn't mean you have to be gigantic or have a big butt. I have a cousin who is so thin and skinny- who's healthy - and it just comes naturally. So is her sister, brother, our grandad, my aunt, and a few of my other cousins. I was one of the one's who had a more full thick figure. It might not be cute to you to have some features inherited that most African-american women do have, but you don't have to say such cruel things that lowers their self-esteem or confidence. Just because God didn't give YOU a big but or other features that many black women have (and are proud of) doesn't give you the right to discriminate or talk about them. Our people come from africa, if you ever saw or heard of the stuff they ate, you would probably understand why we have our figure. So next time you feel you should talk about a culture's shape and size be sure to do your research ahead of time
Post a Comment