Exporting the Hourglass Figure
This photo seems unremarkable. We are quite used to this sort of advertising. However this photo was taken in Thailand. It seems that along with exporting the culture of food - there is also a culture of appearances.
Such links between food and the "hourglass figure" are subtle.
As the brand-name food outlets push on into various parts of Asia - I wonder what other cultural norms will change?
(cc) flickr/gaoist
Written By J. Foster
I think the "You are what you eat" tag is pretty clever. What you eat - not just the quantity - does matter.
ReplyHowever, I don't think it's possible to switch body types by eating vegetables and turkey (is that what's in that wrap?) or anything else. You are pretty much stuck with how you're built.
To the culturally ignorant, Thai culture "demands" slimness. They're not as bad as the Chinese (and Chinese means people from China, not Chinese-Americans), but Thais have also been known to point their fingers at fat Western tourists and laugh at them for being so fat. Unfortunately, Western fast foods etc. are turning the Thai population rather chubby. So I'd like to know where this "cultural norms in Asia" thing is coming from.
ReplyWhat IS the current Thai ideal, if not an hourglass figure? I was not aware that was a uniquely Western "norm"!
ReplyBig brands such as KFC, Burger King etc are making a massive push into parts of Asia and the Middle East. Along with the fast food they will arguably bring health problems and an increasing waist.
At this juncture it's no surprise that advertisers will start clouding the issue by implying that certain brand-name foods will bring about physique change.
Most people of Asian extraction are/were slim (that's why the BMI doesn't work so well for them). They can have a low-ish BMI but still have high levels of visceral fat and abdominal fat.
I simply feel sorry for other cultures that will face the same issues as the West after the onslaught of fast food culture -- alongside increasing pressure to look a certain way.
ReplyNo... Generally in Asian cultures the ideals until recently were toned legs and arm and soft bellies with wider hips and slightly bowed legs (and also generally very short women). However the ideal was still generally thin- but still soft. Any different is just something that has changed in the past 15 years.
Tight hour glass figures with large breasts, round butts, long slim legs and tight flat , lean, 500 crunches/ day stomachs is a new phenomenom (90s and 00s).
It doesn't mean that they dont still laugh at fat Westerners.
ReplyFirst of all, what is wrong with the hourglass figure? Isn't it better than the stick-thin model rail figure that we're always taught to emulate by fashion and the media? I know I'm the voice of dissent but I think it's good for that ad to be suggesting that the hourglass is healthy-- because it is!!
The hourglass figure does not demand slimness, but it is *an* indicator of health. It's better to have a slim waist and wider hips than a fat stomach-- I'd take that anyday. The 70% ratio has been medically shown to be healthier, even *if* you don't have a naturally hourglass figure.
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