[Paige]

How do people in countries besides the United States feel about beauty standards? Is the “thin” phenomenon worse in other countries? Are eating disorders less or more prevalent? I’d like to hear male and female responses.

User Detail :  

Name : Paige, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 24, City : wharton, State : NJ, Country : United States, Occupation : internet sales, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Doug25621]

I was astounded on a trip to Guatemala that everyone I spoke with commented on how attractive I was, and how wealthy I must be. I finally realized it was because I was overweight (by american standards). To them, extra poundage indicated an ability to provide well for oneself and (presumably) one’s family. A cursory look at other developing nations seems to indicate a shared viewpoint.

User Detail :  

Name : Doug25621, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age, Age : 36, City : Phoenix, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : Administration, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Vincent Durbin]

The cult of ‘thinness’ is still restricted to western cultures.Now, if you look at other parts of the world, the middle east for instance, the ideal is the woman in her early thirties, dark hair, ‘antelope’ eyes, luscious lips and -very important- a fair degree of ‘plumpness’ or ’roundness’, which is perceived as a sign of health and wealth (unrestricted access to food) and also reassures men on her ability to be a mother. if you have cable, look at the middle eastern news or entertainment broadcasts, you will be edified…Some of their most popular female singers and dancers (belly dancing is a respected art, and its stars are revered) are sometimes just down right fat by western standards. My maroccan and algerian friends at college were all atracted to the plump type, some of them even told me that the european model type was unattractive Same thing in Africa….

User Detail :  

Name : Vincent Durbin, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian Scientist, Age : 36, City : Santa Barbara, State : DC, Country : United States, Occupation : Front desk clerk, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[CH19160]

In my experience travelling to, living in and studying other countries and cultures, I can tell you that there is no place on the planet with the high level of eating disorders and obesity problems found in the U.S. Upon returning to the U.S. after several months in Europe, I was shocked at how fat the majority of Americans are. In many other countries overweight people are an embarassing curiosity (because you see so few among the natives), and frequently the unfortunate subject of the stares and whispers is an American tourist. Most people in other cultures have much healthier relationships to food, eating much less fat and sugar (yet thriving on cuisines gloriously superior to average American fare), and as a result don’t develop as many obsessions over their weight and food in general. They don’t tend to develop ‘thin’ obsessions, because they don’t have the sadly warped impression that extreme thinness is the attractive alternative to obesity. They don’t need to choose from the extremes because, of those cultures that have enough food, they mainly only have well-fed, but not obese, populations. Of course, many cultures change under pervasive American influence, so it will be interesting to see if others fall into the American fat/thin trap.

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Name : CH19160, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : gen x, City : Chapel Hill, State : NC, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[h.o.b]

No. In poor countries, it is actually sexy to be fat. It denotes better nourishment and thus better socioeconomic status. Eating disorder there basically means not having eenough to eat,period! However, with ‘westernization’, the ‘thin is beautiful’ idea is catching on everywhere.

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Name : h.o.b, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Secular Humanist, Age : 54, City : omaha, State : NE, Country : United States, Occupation : physician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Exton]

You ask a good question. The truth is that the thin phenominon we see in the United States is entirely a cultural thing, and a recent one at that. For example, look at older playboy magazines; the women in those aren’t rail thin. In some areas of the world, there is in fact the opposite case; the larger a woman is, the more desireable she is. Some of these areas, though, are seeing a rise in eating disorders and/or thinness fixations, largely due to the residents watching american television or reading american magazines – like american women, they see the pretty models and actresses, and try to emulate their looks.

User Detail :  

Name : Exton, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : nontheist, Age : 18, City : Medway, State : MA, Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

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