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That seems low, right? What’s scary is that sisters from other racial groups scored lower. The breakdown of body confidence according to race looks like this:
African culture DOES celebrate the fuller figure. A big woman is the embodiment of fertility and health. A big booty is generally considered sexy and you’ll often hear guys admiring such a woman: "O phakile jo!" It would be generalising to say that all black men prefer a woman with "meat" but I have come across guys who specifically believe the woman they marry has to be big enough to bear children.
Of course not all black women are or want to be big booty mamas. When we were doing interviews on the streets for the survey video, we came across an elderly mama who works as a cleaner in the city. She answered all her questions in a very soft manner until the body issue came up and she threw her head back and exclaimed "Hayi, no, I’m fet, I don’t want to be fet, I want to be little bit slender!"
Yet a young lady who could be model, thought she could do with a few more curves. I myself am a skinny girl, who can eat what I like without too much worry... but even I became self conscious when my stomach stopped "springing back to begin" at around 25.
It seems we are never satisfied. But with constant external pressure to look a certain way – be it from billboards of Gisele Bunchen in nothing but sandals and a water dress and Photoshopped lollipop girls wearing the latest must-have bikinis – it's hard not to think that really unusual stick-skinny body is what we should all strive for.
How should we fight such a constant onslaught?
Maintain a balance and you’ll be just fine. Trickier said than done though, isn’t it?
Do you have any suggestions on how to learn to like the body you are in? I think we could all benefit from hearing them. Please share below.
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| In most african cultures, as far as I am aware, they aren't faithful to their wives. So although a man might want his wife to have "child bearing hips", once she is with child, he will go and shag someone skinnier and prettier. So the fact that "guys who specifically believe the woman they marry has to be big enough to bear children" means diddly squat to me, unless i was brought up to believe that was my sole aim and purpose in life. Thank God my mom was intelligent. | ||
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| G on 13 Aug at 14:50 |
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| Most men I know dont like skinny woman, they like healty looking woman ( not too skinny or to overweight) The like a lady that presents herself well, that look after herself but are not obsessed with her looks. They like a confidant woman who feels comfortable in her own skin | ||
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| TC on 14 Aug at 13:02 |
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| I guess a person should first be happy with themselves and not for any man. Halle Berry is an ideal woman but she was cheated on, this has nothing to do with a woman's body men are just cheats. People in general should be happy with their bodies accept your body and be happy with urself, u aren't able to change your body all the time, some people can some can't. Just don't be overweight its unhealthy | ||
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| Sumi on 14 Aug at 13:54 |
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| This article is ridiculous. Be happy with your fuller figure because men dont like skinny women? Wow! Well done on making skinny women feel like shit! How about addressing the REAL issue: that womens worth is judged by how they look. Thats what needs to change, not womens attitudes to how fat/ thin they are. | ||
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| Mia on 14 Aug at 16:13 |
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| Speaking from a man's perspective, I like women who are not too fat nor too thin! The middle is a wider variety than the extremes. To have the personality is the important issue. | ||
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| Nick on 14 Aug at 21:43 |
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| ...treating yourself, and your body well. Firstly, stop already with the comparisons. You are you. there is no other 'you'. And there cam only BE ONE YOU. Secondly, your body was built for movement, be kind fast forward and rewidn it. Get moving! If you think that an hour od exercise is too much or too long consider this: would you say that a 4% increase in your salary is suffcient? Or 4% of leisure time out of a working day, or 4% savings is enough to see you through bad times? Now you begin to see the challenge in context. 1 hour of exercise is a mere 4% of a 24-hour day. Make it count. If you let your body down now, don't expect it to be kinder to you later...diabetes, heart disease, infertility, cancer, pre-mature aging, etc. That is what faces you if us if we do not learn the value of exercise. Thirdly, learn to like good food and enjoy the making thereof. Is a diet of KFC and Coke really worth the illnesses mentioned above? Not to say that once in a while you should not indulge. Check out magazines like TASTE, the Pick 'n Pay recipe book, True Love, etc. Fabulous food, good food, soul food. Lastly: you have one life to live, live it well. | ||
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| Liya on 23 Aug at 18:39 |
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| I doubt there's a man on earth which intimitly loves a massive body sized woman, unless he pretends to use her as body guard...I doubt there's weman which love the above mentioned body size, unless they're blind & do not see how awfull it looks & do not know how harmfull & irreversible it may become at any stage... but remember, no Man likes slandered skiny woman, it's either Angeline Jolie or Beonc?hummmnnn. Jaime/Tutu.-Mozambique | ||
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| Jaime Magaia on 28 Sep at 10:59 |
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