Throughout the ethnography, “Feeding Desire” written by Rebecca Popenoe, we see one consistent theme that is brought up time and time again – women and the fattening of them to obtain a desired look. From the perspective of a Western third party, the idea of fattening to appear beautiful/appealing seems ridiculous. It simply makes little sense because fattening, is incredibly unhealthy, something that is recognized in Western culture and at the same time we prefer women to be as fit as possible. Looking through the ethnography we see that there are many reasons for fattening being a key factor in making women “an object of desire” (Page.. citation) as stated by Popenoe. We can examine these cases through the work of Popenoe and determine …show more content…
What is the real purpose of fattening in these societies? Popenoe, when asking Azawagh Arab women why they fattened received three particular answers, “(1) because it is beautiful; (2) because men like it; or, less commonly, (3) because it makes a girl into a woman” (2004: 48). For women regardless of where they’re located, beauty is something that is always desired, thus Azawagh Arab womans’ desire to be beautiful makes sense. The desire to be attractive for men is very important, as it is on which the pillars of this society runs on. The Azawagh Arabs are of course loyal followers of Allah, faithful Muslims and so follow the Koran, the Muslim version of the Bible pretty much. One of the most important things noted in the Koran include the ability to have more than one wife, where you have to love all of your wives the same amount and most importantly the need for a wife to please their husband and vice-versa. Men in these areas for a long time have shown lust towards shapely rounded women, thus the reason for fattening. The fatter the women, the more likely for her to have a better husband and likely more successful marriage as long as the man lusts for her (which her excessive obesity helps significantly). Looking at the process of becoming a woman, “fattening hurries a girl toward eligibility for marriage by endowing her with attractive womanly curves and, it is thought, hastening the onset of puberty” (2004: 77). The process of fattening is regarded as the phase of being a mother and wife, if a woman is in another path such as being a teacher (which is very rare), they would not fatten till they were preparing to marry, which may never happen as women were married very young, most often in their teenage years, they become “old” once they pass that point usually and less desirable/attractive as per men. Another sign of this maturity with
Maturity is not a fickle expression such as happiness or frustration, but rather an inherent quality one gains over time, such as courage or integrity. Before maturity can be expressed, the one who expresses it must have significant confidence in himself, since self-confidence is the root of maturity. Being flexible and formulating one's own opinions or ideas are aspects of maturity, but neither is possible without self-confidence. The greatest aspect of maturity is the ability to make decisions which society does not agree with. Whether or not one follows through with these ideas is not important. What is important is the ability to make the decision. These decisions represent the greatest measure of maturity.
In the article, “Too ‘Close to the Bone’: The Historical Context for Women’s Obsession with Slenderness,” Roberta Seid goes in depth on the emotionally straining and life altering trials women take on to try to portray society’s “ideal” body over time. She delves far into the past, exposing our culture’s ideal body image and the changes it has gone through over time. The article brings to light the struggles of striving to be the perfect woman with the model body. On the other hand, in the article “Rethinking Weight”, author Amanda Spake, details the many differing views of obesity. Spake voices her opinion on the idea that being overweight, and not losing weight, is caused by laziness. “Too Close to the Bone” and “Rethinking Weight” both deliberate about weight issues that are
Every individual cares about how they appear to others; their shape and in this informal, narrative essay titled Chicken-Hips, Canadian journalist and producer Catherine Pigott tells her story on her trip to Gambia and her body appearance. In this compelling essay the thesis is implicit and the implied thesis is about how women are judged differently on their appearance in different parts of the world, as various cultures and individuals have a different perception on what ideal beauty is. In this essay Pigott writes about her trip to Africa specifically Gambia and how upon arriving there she was judged to be too slim for a woman. She goes to write about how differently she would be judged back home by mentioning “in my county we deny ourselves
In the Middle East it was male-dominant, male’s had all the control in the family. Women’s rule in life was to give birth too many children to continue the family blood line and take care of them, while the men go to work and come home find something for them prepared to eat. Men were the head of the house, whatever they said, had to be obeyed. Women were limited in their rights, even in marriage they weren’t asked for their opinion, “Would you like to marry this guy?” But rather they were forced by their family members to participate in arranged marriages. In this story we see that the slave woman had no rights, this woman obeyed them without saying a word. In addition, to this she was a slave, and slaves had no rights when it came to their master’s commands. She didn’t have a choice but rather obeyed what the master said even if she didn’t agree. Women were mistreated sometimes by men. "Bring the mule’s nose-bag along with you," he added to the groom; "she has not finished her feed, I think; when we get to the palace, put the bag on her again—she can eat the rest of her fodder while I am with the caliph. “Hear and obey," said the groom "(Portland, Maine: Wheelwright, 1955, p 310-313). One can see in this quote that they placed a bag over the girl and limited to when should she eat. The woman was treated as if she was a toy, played with for a while and then placed to the side when they were
As the modern world has changed, the idea of what is beautiful has changed as well. Since the middle of the last century, female adolescents have developed an obsession with their weight and how their body should look according to what is depicted in the media. As a result, this obsession has turned dangerous. Stress is placed on thinness to the point where looking normal is being underweight. Such a body image has become perfection. This is not only seen on television, in live action movies, and in animation, but in real life as well. For example, in the animated film, “Shrek”, Princess Fiona is an attractive slender woman during the day. However, at night she becomes an overweight, hideous ogre (Kovar, 2009). This indicates to young impressionable females that thin means beautiful and being overweight means not being attractive. Due to such images, an increase in body dissatisfaction and the development of eating disorders have put the health and lives of some young female teenagers in jeopardy (Van Vonderen, & Kinnally, 2012).
We have historically witnesses how society has come to accept the concepts that women who are as thin as paper have the ideal body. This, in the larger context, affects eating behaviors. To some, it led to people eating less especially women. Others, however, take them negatively and instead binge into eating. As years passed, we now realize that this concept have evolved into the consideration that thin is out but fit is right. Such concept today shape beliefs in eating and so regulate behaviors that would have to promote healthy eating
In the book, Women in the Middle East, a Saudi Arabian proverb states, "A girl possesses nothing but a veil and a tomb" (Harik and Marston 83). The key words, "veil" and "tomb" lend evidence to the fact that many Middle Eastern women lack identity symbolized by the “veil” and lack the right of ownership except for their veil and the tomb. This statement further enforces the notion that many women in the Middle East are expected to serve and tolerate the oppression of the men in their lives throughout their lives on this earth. Moreover, it confirms that many of these women do not get the opportunity to obtain education, join the work force, and even participate in the political affairs of the country. This arrangement further helps the Middle Eastern men to view women as their properties, servants, or even as slaves. Ultimately, there are three main reasons why Middle Eastern men engage in the act of oppressing their women.
The context of the birth of Islam provides important insight into the position of women in the religion. Pre-Islamic Arabia was largely nomadic and violent. Tribes often raided other tribes, taking with them food, tools, and women. These captu...
When we look into the mirror, we are constantly picking at our insecurities; our stomach, thighs, face, and our body figure. Society has hammered into our brains that there is only one right way of looking. Society disregards that there are many different shapes, sizes, and colors. Then society makes us believe that corporations can shove detrimental products to fix our imperfection. As a consequence, we blame media for putting all the negative ideas into women’s brain. It is not wrong to say that they are in part responsible, but we can’t make this issue go away until we talk about patriarchy. In the article Am I Thin Enough Yet? Hesse-Biber argues that women are constantly concerned about their looks and if they are categorized as “beautiful” by society. These ideas are encouraged by corporations that sell things for us to achieve “beautiful” but the idea is a result of patriarchy. Hesse-Biber suggests that if we want to get rid of these ideas we need to tackle patriarchy before placing all the blame on capitalism.
displaying developed traits like self responsibility is a sign of maturity. This is because maturity is the development of a
showing that this man has come of age as a true adult, possibly due to
Due to the media’s influence, women establish perplexed views of their own bodies, leading to the development of eating disorders. Eating disorders are massive issues within today’s society. The author, Sheila Lintott emphasizes in her article, “Sublime Hunger: A Consideration of Eating Disorders beyond Beauty”, that eating disorders are the “most dangerous mental disorders, resulting in a six time more likely risk of death, which is four times the death risk of major depression” (Lintott 78). Because women are striving to look thinner, they tend to follow an unhealthy lifestyle. They begin self-starvation in fears of becoming fat. Unfortunately, due to beauty related pressures, there has been an increase in body dysmorphic disorders. Body
Arab is not a race, but is a group of individuals that are united by their culture and history (ADC, 2014). There are many different variations commonly based on a particular individual’s country of origin such as Arab Americans. Other variations are based on their social class, the level of their education, if they live urbanely or rurally, or the time they have spent in the United States (Lipson & Dubble, 2007). Most Arabs also practice Islamic religion and are Muslim. When working with an Arab or Muslim client, nurses should ask what the client wishes to be referred to so as not to offend them in any way (Lipson & Dubble, 2007).
The Fatimid Caliphates were a 10th century Ismacili Shici dynasty that conquered the Ikhshidid dynasty in Egypt. The Fatimids claimed lineage rights from the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter Fatima; and, existed during the Golden Age of Islam. “Unlike the cAbbasids or Umayyads, who were led by a caliph approved by the community, the Shica espoused the concept of designation, in which the Prophet Muhammad chose Ali as his successor and in which each subsequent religious leader was a divinely ordained, supreme, infallible Imam who had the final authority in both religious and social affairs.” In 909, the Fatimid was established by the self-proclaimed Imam, Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi, who migrated his missionary work through the Palestine and Egypt before he finally came to settle in North Africa in the city of Raqqada. Throughout history, there have been differing views towards the establishment and core objectives of the Fatimid dynasty being established for economic or for Islamic progression during the Golden Age of Islam; and further, many claimed there was no separation of religion and government within the Fatimid.
In recent modern times, the Islamic faith and culture has been scarred by bad publicity and criticism worldwide concerning terrorism, fanaticism, and the treatment of women. All these issues have existed in most religions throughout time, but the treatment of women is different in which most other cultures and religions have minimized the issues and Islam, under its attempts to also end it, has failed to create a society in which the treatment of women is equal to that of men. The treatment of women, beginning from the time when they are born, to the time of their marriage, to the moment of their death, has not been equal to that of men despite the actions taken to end the injustice.