As I was reading through Amanda Arp's blog on Fat Feminism, I asked myself a question. Is there any country in the world that embraces fat women? On my search, I came across the country of Mauritania. In the U.S skinny means beautiful, but in Mauritania, skinny is ugly and undesirable. I was delighted at the fact that there was a country that supports big beautiful women. While researching, I found that although Mauritania prides themselves on big women, the way it is practiced is outrageous. In Mauritania, "Obesity is so revered among the Moor Arab population that the young girls are sometimes force fed to obtain weight" (Harter). This phenomenon of fat women is a sign of wealth. If a woman is skinny, she was considered poor and undesirable. At a young age, mothers force feed the girls to fatten them up.
In the rural parts of Mauritania, fat farms were created to fatten young girls (Harter). This tradition of force feeding is known as leblouh. Young girls are forced to eat 4 pounds of mixed food, along with 2 cups of butter and 20 liters of camel's milk in a day (Sumitra). If girls do not eat, or throw up, they are punished by pinching sticks and more food. I was saddened to watch a video on how the young girls are fed. Many are crying and clutching their stomachs in pain. Mothers are sitting back and watching, ready to give another bowl of milk and food. In the video, women explain that if the girl gets fat quick, they can get their period faster and get married. Although this phenomenon is a sign of beauty, it comes with a harsh reality when women get older and suffer from health problems.Many women in Mauritania suffer from weight related health problems.
A quarter of the 1.5 million women in Mauritania — a barren, dune-enveloped country in northwest Africa more than twice the size of Texas — are obese, according to the World Health Organization. That’s lower than the 40 percent of American women who the WHO says are obese, but surprisingly high in a country that has not a single fast-food franchise (Mauritania).
The government of Mauritania also has concerns with the rising obesity problem. They have launched campaigns to try and stop the obesity epidemic. Although, for a young women named Mint, her problem has already hit. She states in NBC News “My mother thinks she made me beautiful. But she made me sick,” says
Mint, who suffers from weight-related illnesses including diabetes and
heart disease. It is so different to see people suffering from this. In the United states, everyone strives to be skinny and fit, so researching Mauritania was insightful.Women all around the world strive for one thing, to be accepted and beautiful. In the U.S, it is skinny and fit that is wanted. In Mauritania it is fat, plump and thick that has men turning heads. It is refreshing to see a country that believes fat is beauty but, at what cost? Harming your health, children and society? I guess it is no different than women in the U.S spending countless times in the gym and operating room to achieve what they believe is beauty. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, I hope one day the world will realize this.
References
Harter, Pascale. "Mauritania's 'wife-fattening' Farm." BBC News. BBC, 26 Jan. 2004. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
"Mauritania Struggles with Love of Fat Women." Msnbc.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
Sumitra. "Leblouh - Force-Feeding Young Girls in the Name of Beauty | Oddity Central - Collecting Oddities." Oddity Central Collecting Oddities. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
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I’m glad I inspired you to research and write this post. I have always been fascinated with the varying beauty standards of different cultures. You make an excellent point about the cost of obtaining beauty. Harming your health in any way (whether it is starving yourself or being force fed) to be society’s standard of beautiful is never right, no matter where it is. While it is nice to see a culture that loves and supports fat women, they are almost exactly like or culture. Mothers value their children’s appearance over their health. It is not a society that only accepts being fat that I want, but a society that accepts people of all shapes and sizes.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I'm glad you saw this piece!
ReplyDeleteI think that while you state that "in the U.S. skinny means beautiful..." I think that's many people's opinion, and that's certainly the standard by which marketing and advertising leans, but that's by no means a holistic opinion (see Amanda's blog, as an example).
You have excellent data here, and the treatment of these girl children is startling. But that is not unheard of in many parts of the world, where young women become commodities in poverty-stricken areas. How can we combat this?