Job Discussion Forums

[nickelgoat]

.....

[PAULH]

[tripper]

This is a very difficult issue to deal with. The women in one of my adult classes are always going on about how fat they are when really they could be doing with beefing up a bit. I spoke to them about the pressures of needing to be rake thin and tried to get there true opinion on it but (maybe because there are men in the class) they continued to just say that they needed to go on a diet. There are pressures for women to stay in shape in all countries but I think Japan (and other Asian countries) has a very different idea of what a good body is.
I am interested to know how many of the foreign women here in Japan have had their weight commented on and whether their self-image has changed since coming to Japan. When we had the introduction for the 2 new ALTs where I worked (there were 2 of us, both female) the other girl was introduced as "the thin one is...." and all the old men sat back and laughed. What a lovely start to my new job! Worse still was that they knew I could understand Japanese. A few of the women gave me sympathetic looks but I felt humiliated and no longer felt in the Party spirit. I was also told at school that I was cute....swiftly followed by "what a waste, you should shape up!!" The funny thing is I am not even over weight. I am on the slim side of average but due to many instances like what I described above, I feel my self image has been somewhat bolstered. The "nice body" here seems to be stick thin with no curves. Some women really look like teenage boys.
Anybody else out there had similar experiences??

[Apsara]

There has been no education or media focus in this country at all on anorexia or eating disorders- perhaps one day the government or media will focus on it, but it's a long way from happening.

As a foreign women here I notice how often I get comments on my general appearance compared to in an English speaking country- I know I stand out here anyway but it's still very marked, whether it's the size of my face (I had no idea my face was small until I arrived in Japan) or my height (5 foot 10 or about 176cm) or build (I'm at the thin end of a healthy weight range, but hear "hosoooi" a lot).

I'm one of the lucky ones since the above traits seem to be desirable- I still haven't figured out why face size is such a big deal here though!

My main job is exercise instructor and it's easy to see when some young women in my classes have taken dieting too far- I recently saw one of my students who has bones poking out all over her standing in a store gulping down the samples of cake in little boxes next to the display- obviously eating disorder-related bingeing. I would like to talk with some of these girls about their health but with my limited Japanese and lack of training as a mental health professional (since eating disorders are basically mental disorders) I hesitate to.

Unhealthy, unnecessary diets along with things like use of laxatives as a diet aid are very common here and I hope the government one day notices the problem and starts to educate people, however with the decision-makers being the same kind of people who are telling their wives they are fat when they aren't, I don't hold out much hope.

[Sour Grape]

I think it just has to be put down to cultural differences. Commenting on people's weight doesn't appear to be rude in Japan. A couple of years ago I was asked repeatedly if I had put on weight, which I had, although I was not exactly overweight. I'm not a woman, by the way. The first time it was mentioned I was irritated, but it happened so often I dismissed it as part of the culture.

To answer the OP, I wouldn't have told the adult students that it was nothing to laugh at. I would have just thought they were jerks and moved on.

[ironopolis]

[gaijinalways]

It's a health issue, but of course as educators, I try not to preach. Japan is tied with korea for having the lowest BMI at 2%, yet Japan has the highest anorexia and bulimera rates at 4%. So yes, there are some people here that are overly thin and at risk.

I heard an interesting thing from one of my uni coworkers. He seems to have noticed in his circle of married couples an extraordinary number of brith defects coming from, you guessed it, gaunt underweight moms. I'm just wondering though if anyone has seen any studies or reports to back up this anecdotal evidence, which would somewhat make sense. In other words, being underweight will probably make you live longer (as compared to being obese), yet it may have you giving birth to children with a plethoria of birth defects and/or problems associated with undernourished infants.

[Gordon]

Doctors in Japan recommend pregnant women gain about 15 lbs during their pregnancy. NA doctors say 20-25 lbs. For women who are already thin, 15 lbs is not enough IMO and if women gain more than a few lbs in a month, the doctor really gets on them and tells them to start dieting.　　A real shame.

[kdynamic]

I don't know what to say in regard to Japanese society, but if there are any women reading this who let this bother them, I have a message for you:

If you hold yourself to Japanese standards and you have an average western body (any of the variations considered average in north america, UK, australia, etc), you will always come up short. Ignore thier standards. Focus on being healthy and taking care of yourself. I don't see it as any different to how I can't afford to dress like a Japanese woman. Just can't afford it. Everything they wear costs an arm and a leg. So I dress like me, and actually people respond positively to that because it's interesting and different. That's my analogy. So, play up your good features. You might have attractive features Japanese women and foriegn and Japanese men long for that a Japanese girl can never have 99% of the time, like a nice chest, long legs, shapely behind, exotic eyes (shape or color), light skin, straight teeth, etc etc. Focus on those features, and ignore it if anyone makes a rude comment about your weight. Sure, thinness is prized in Japan, but if you have big boobs or blonde hair, the eyes of the Japanese guys will be on you every singe time. Work it!

[TokyoLiz]

The OP said