I get asked all kinds of questions that strike me as funny or strange, or that I simply don't understand where they come from. So just for the sake of entertainment, and maybe to make you think a little bit, here are my three favorite questions of the week. And, it's only Wednesday so we'll see what the rest of the week brings.
1. Are all the people in the United States obese? My answer: No, though it is a problem. Follow-up question: So, they're not all really fat, but if I go there and look around they will all be kinda like the humans on the movie WALL-E, right?
2. Have you ever driven a Lamborghini? My answer: (Laugh) No. Follow-up question: But there (in the U.S.) they are basically on every corner, right? And if you wanted to you could get one?
3. What do you mean all the young women in the U.S. want to be really skinny? They don't like having a round backside and curves, that's a lot nicer looking don't you think?
While all the questions put at issue parts of American culture that may not be necessarily great, the last one is one that really gets me. I am going to be working here in a high school with groups of young women and it is really important to me that they learn what being beautiful is about. That they learn about being good, honest people who value themselves and others, and in that respect themselves and others including their bodies. I want them to understand that being skinny, or blonde, or having perfect teeth or hair, does not make them beautiful. I feel like being in a Latin American culture that values curves puts me at a little bit of an advantage, but not much because then they feel like they need more curves if they are skinny. It's such a catch-22 for young women, if they are one way they want to be another; It seems inescapable the pressure to look a certain way.
I was gonna let you think about these things on your own, but I just had to throw in my thoughts on that one. Anyway... I'll keep a mental list of these questions and I have a feeling it'll be pretty long by the end of the week.
1 comment:
Good for you for reinforcing the idea that who you are is beautiful and how important the inner person is compared to what others see, especially for women. Obviously, every culture has perceptions of what people should be and how they should look according to their gender.
On another note, how about a picture with you running "with" or by the cows and dogs in the rain!
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