I
had my third child on November 13, 2012. I weighed between 140 and 135 pounds
prior to the pregnancy and by the time I was nine months I ballooned to 213
pounds. I use pregnancy as an opportunity to indulge myself with various culinary
delights. I usually gain too much weight with each pregnancy and I accompany it
with at least one craving that usually has me regurgitating when I reflect on
what I use to devour, during the last pregnancy I ate raw rice flower, this is
a secret I dared not even disclose this pica activity to my
team of doctors.
I
fatten myself up only to do into a string of healthy and unhealthy methods in
an attempt to lose all of the weight and save my husband from the economic
burden of having to buy an entire wardrobe that caters to my new figure. My
reality is that I do like to look good and I have a perception of what
beautiful is to me, which usually does not consist of me being overweight. I
believe that most humans share that same thought whether they would like to
admit it or not.
Every
time I go through this process I drill my husband on how much he loves me an
what would he prefer, even though I always know the answer will always stay the
same;” I love you no matter what size you are”, in my head though I know that’s
a whole lot of malarkey. Most human beings are attracted to their communities’
conception of beauty being that different societies admire different features
in women. I am African, so for the most part, men love women with a nice shape
(big but) and big eyes, with a small waist. In other parts of East Africa, enlarged
ear lobes are looked upon as beautiful that women go through a lengthy and
painful process of stretching out their ear lobes with heavy earrings as the
Masai women tribe of Kenya do.
The moral of the
story is that women all over the world from New York to desolate villages are
victims of their society’s perception of beauty. I get offended when most people try to down play the fact that their choices in regard to personal appearance is not connected to the pressures of what is promoted m the media. I applaud and admire the few that dance to there on tune. I feel guilty but denying the fact that I am a bit vein would be a lie.
I
remember being overcome with anger and betrayal when the news broke about
general Petraeus was cheating on his wife; I mean after all, he was voted most
fascinating person by Barbara Walters in 2012. I am ashamed to also admit that I
was a bit understanding after seeing a picture of his wife. Please don’t judge
me. I felt like her husband is one of the most admired men in America, with a
lot of power and extremely handsome. I know it does not justify what he did but
all I could think of how much lypo-suction and teeth whitening I would have
done if I was his Mrs.
Beauty
is mostly based on what our society has created for us; it is up to you if you
will become the beholder of your own.
Work Cited:
Her
Looks, Your Status: Why Men’s Claims Not to Care About Beauty Ring Hollow — The
Good Men Project
You are on the cusp of a powerful text here. You mention a few different subjects (Pica, Western society's issue of weight, your own pregnancy, etc.) and I think with just a little bit of analysis, these will all tie in together.
ReplyDeleteTo do that, do a bit more research on Pica; who gets it more often? Why does it develop in people? Why are women generally the ones who put the most pressure on other women when it comes to appearance? Start to look into the research and answer these questions and see how that enhances your text.