Cultural differences in how weight/fitness level is perceive

catshark209

Ok what I mean by that, is do people of different cultural and/or racial backgrounds have different standards for fitness/weight?

For example, in my own case (this ties in loosely with the "Fit women most hated" thread ), I've had situations where I've been put on the spot due to my weight/body.

I've had men say, "Daaaaang girl, you are hella bony!!!", "Wtf, what is wrong with you??", "Are you ok, damn you got hella skinny!?"
I've noticed that by far the majority of guys that make disparaging remarks about my weight are either my own people, Mexican or Latino or whatever the eff is the politically correct term or African American men.

When I am complimented, which is few are far between its usually Asian or Caucasian men.
My old boss, who is a bit overweight but very very very pretty, usually was hit on by the same guys that put me down.

So yeah, what do you all think?

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I think there are definitely differences. If you look at the BMI / wait-hip ratios / bodyfat percentages--there are definite differences by racial group. Because individuals are generally more favorable towards things they are familiar with African American and Latino males are more likely to be attracted to curvier women.

here is some info about BMI differences...i didn't pull it out of thin air

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2569574/

BeeElMarvin

Yeah, not sure if they are in fact cultural or just due to upbringing. I think if you were raised around "thick" people, you are more likely to feel that is the "right" size.

ElizabethRoad

Mexican or Latino or whatever the eff is the politically correct term

The politically correct term would depend on which one you're talking about. Not all Latinos are Mexican...

I never used to get hit on by white men until I lost weight, but everybody else seemed to like me. Then again I seemed to be very popular with the Latino demographic and they completely lost interest when I cut my hair, so it's kind of fickle.

If someone is putting you down for your weight, they need to shut their mouth.

catshark209

I think there are definitely differences. If you look at the BMI / wait-hip ratios / bodyfat percentages--there are definite differences by racial group. Because individuals are generally more favorable towards things they are familiar with African American and Latino males are more likely to be attracted to curvier women.

here is some info about BMI differences...i didn't pull it out of thin air

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2569574/

Dang, I wonder what happened to me then....I'm a stick. Nothing like my fellow Latinas...I even burn instead of tan:grumble: :explode:

catshark209

Yeah, not sure if they are in fact cultural or just due to upbringing. I think if you were raised around "thick" people, you are more likely to feel that is the "right" size.

Most of my paternal side are like me. My mother's side is also very tiny, both weight and height. My mother is 5" and 100lbs.
But I live in Stockton CA...so maybe that explains it...if you all look it up, you'll know what I mean lol.

La_Amazona

Okay I'm open about all this so hopefully nobody gets offended but right now I'm pretty curvyliciuos at 5'9 size "almost" 12 (wearing 12s but not all 12s fit so I'm not saying it officially) and have the hispanic and black guys all over me... and the white guys that have a thing for hispanic girls.

I usually date white guys and some of them prefer a more lean look, not so curvy, except for the ones that exclusively date latinas.

That's my experience.

For me, my ideal body or what I picture myself at is curvy and fit. My sisters and I got my momma's thick legs. I love them but want them nice and toned.

I do feel that latinas are more naturally curvy but there are the exceptions. For example, most latinas are on the shorter side and I'm at 5'9. So not everybody fits a specific mold but there are definately similarities.

Im_NotPerfect

I'm not Latina...I'm German and Polish....but I got those nice German birthin' hips. And a butt to match. I get SO many comments about my butt it's ridiculous. When I was bartending, we'd get a lot of Native Americans that would come in (a reservation is very close to this area) and I used to be told "Damn! Ain't never seen a butt like that on a white woman before! It must be the jeans!". I also got a LOT of comments from African American males about my butt. However....no matter how many stares or glances I got from white guys....my husband has been the ONLY one to ever comment on it.

I definately think it's a cultural thing. I used to HATE my butt because of the comments I'd get (because cynically...I used to think they were making fun of me), but now I love it. Good thing it seems to be the "in" thing to have a curvy behind!!!

LexieSweetheart

I think there are cultural differences. They say black men want thick ladies you know the thicker then a snicker kind of ladies

MrsGoHard

I was JUST thinking about this because there was a thread about african american women posting their before and afters, and people not understanding why.

My family has latina and black american women all over the place. What some people HERE call "fat skinny" our family calls beautiful. I will refuse to comment on posts and things where some white women call their butts "BIG" or "HUGE" because in OUR culture, that "big ol' juicy booty" is sexy. lol In our culture you're more likely to hear a woman talk about how "beautiful and thick, built like a brick house" she once was, rather than how "slim or skinny" she was. And while no one wants to be excessively over weight, most of us would rather have our thickness than be extra slim, though slim is how some of us are. My younger sister for YEARS was a size zero. At the family functions she used to eat SO MUCH to get "thicker like her sister and aunts" lol

It's true that there are cultural differences. I've had white men hit on me, but they were usually "BBW Lovers". I've had black and Latino men ADORE my thickness and refuse to want me to lose any weight. My husband is ALWAYS squishing my juiciness and fawning over my curves.

warmachinejt

i think the percentage of fit girls i see is higher on white females
and it sucks that i see no lean mean hispanic girls at the gym i go to..only whities..and there's nothing wrong with that

rml_16

Yes.

I don't think there's much debate about that.

ChitownFoodie

For an Asian, I am considered fat. To the rest of the world, I am either fit, healthy or too skinny. I will never meet the expectations of society and honestly, I don't really care to. I actually recently went on a mission to gain weight starting at 94.5 pounds. To most of my Asian friends, I looked okay or I could lose a pound or two. Everyone else, on the other hand, said I looked creepishly skinny. So, instead of listening to everyone else, I picked a happy weight that I could live with.

BAMFMeredith

I think there are definitely differences. If you look at the BMI / wait-hip ratios / bodyfat percentages--there are definite differences by racial group. Because individuals are generally more favorable towards things they are familiar with African American and Latino males are more likely to be attracted to curvier women.

here is some info about BMI differences...i didn't pull it out of thin air

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2569574/

Dang, I wonder what happened to me then....I'm a stick. Nothing like my fellow Latinas...I even burn instead of tan:grumble: :explode:

Girl that's how my bf is (burn instead of tan)! His heritage is 100% Mexican-American and he has fairer skin than I do and I'm caucasian! I tease him about having a better tan than he does lol

But to address the original question, I think so. I've always been curvy, even when I was a size 2 at age 18, and I've always gotten more attention from Hispanic or African American men. HOWEVER, I think it also has to do with where you're from. I do get attention from white men as well because I look Hispanic (well, everybody here in Texas thinks so), and it's like this thing about white guys loving Hispanic women. Might just be here in Austin, but I know SO many white guys who just loooooove the Latina ladies!

katscoots

i think the percentage of fit girls i see is higher on white females
and it sucks that i see no lean mean hispanic girls at the gym i go to..only whities..and there's nothing wrong with that

that really depends on your definition of "fit" Skinny doesn't necessarily equal fitness.

UponThisRock

When I initially lost a lot of weight, I was light-heartedly acccused of being on drugs.

Jeff92se

Ok what I mean by that, is do people of different cultural and/or racial backgrounds have different standards for fitness/weight?

For example, in my own case (this ties in loosely with the "Fit women most hated" thread ), I've had situations where I've been put on the spot due to my weight/body.

I've had men say, "Daaaaang girl, you are hella bony!!!", "Wtf, what is wrong with you??", "Are you ok, damn you got hella skinny!?"
I've noticed that by far the majority of guys that make disparaging remarks about my weight are either my own people, Mexican or Latino or whatever the eff is the politically correct term or African American men.

When I am complimented, which is few are far between its usually Asian or Caucasian men.
My old boss, who is a bit overweight but very very very pretty, usually was hit on by the same guys that put me down.

So yeah, what do you all think?

I'm not of Latino decent but you look pretty sexy to me.

thingal12

When I lost weight, my family {i'm half latino / half white} thought I was going in the right direction, but some people @ work thought I was going too far (mostly black co workers, they wondered where my butt went). When I re-gained 15 pounds (mostly in my butt area) they gave me looks like I was 'back to being sexy'. LOL.. My white co workers were 1/2 and 1/2.. The ones who agreed with the black co workers didn't like my small face.

phillieschic

that "big ol' juicy booty" is sexy.

This made me smile. Some of my male friends (a mix of races and ethnicities) gave me a hard time when I lost 90 pounds a few years back...because they said I lost my "sexy, big butt."

I took it as a compliment. :happy:

Jeff92se

For an Asian, I am considered fat. To the rest of the world, I am either fit, healthy or too skinny. I will never meet the expectations of society and honestly, I don't really care to. I actually recently went on a mission to gain weight starting at 94.5 pounds. To most of my Asian friends, I looked okay or I could lose a pound or two. Everyone else, on the other hand, said I looked creepishly skinny. So, instead of listening to everyone else, I picked a happy weight that I could live with.

Yeah, it's crazy. There was a thread about asian perception of skinny/fat. It was ridiculous. When I'm in Japan, I look obese! Even though I'm 19% BF. All the women there are like a rail. Not really that great looking to me.

Shawnie_B

I agree that there are differences due to the difference in genetic make up ...but most of the instances you described just seem to me to be stereotypes of what different races PERCIEVE to be standard or "normal"

bethgames

My husband is half Panamanian and half German. He is 6'1" and built thick with lots of muscle. I love it. I, on the other hand, am short (5'4") and 200lbs. He likes me a bit thinner (although he would never say so :flowerforyou: ) but not so as to lose my curves. I am Irish and English. Fair as the day is long. My first husband was also Irish and fair, but I was thin back then. Then came the weight and then came my son's father. He was African American and then my current husband who has to have some curves. I could care less about my own weight, but I am 45 years old and am feeling the strain of too much weight on too little a frame. Time to get serious to feel good! So if I look at the pattern.....yep, Black and Latino like 'em thicker.

ewells2420

Culturial differences. Nothing more.

alexandria412

So glad other Asians chimed in on this. I may have a BMI of 20, a RHR of 64, and a BF% of 18...but I'm still outta luck when it comes to clothes shopping. womp womp.

Also, thanks to love4fitness for posting that article. Was stoked to see that the author had (what I'm guessing to be) a Korean name ...was bummed to see folks broken down into white/black/hispanic.

ChitownFoodie

For an Asian, I am considered fat. To the rest of the world, I am either fit, healthy or too skinny. I will never meet the expectations of society and honestly, I don't really care to. I actually recently went on a mission to gain weight starting at 94.5 pounds. To most of my Asian friends, I looked okay or I could lose a pound or two. Everyone else, on the other hand, said I looked creepishly skinny. So, instead of listening to everyone else, I picked a happy weight that I could live with.

Yeah, it's crazy. There was a thread about asian perception of skinny/fat. It was ridiculous. When I'm in Japan, I look obese! Even though I'm 19% BF. All the women there are like a rail. Not really that great looking to me.

My cousins that are full Filipino think I need to lose weight. When I go to the Philippines or any part of Asia, I feel HUGE. I wear a XS in the US, but when I bought a shirt in Taiwan, I ended up having to get a medium. My Japanese sister in law is an inch taller than me and weighs 10 pounds less than me. She even thinks she is fat. I will never win this battle, so I just try to be happy in my own skin.

catshark209

I'm so envious of those of you with big ol booties!!!!!

mnwalkingqueen

I agree that there are differences due to the difference in genetic make up ...but most of the instances you described just seem to me to be stereotypes of what different races PERCIEVE to be standard or "normal"

I would agree with her comment so much. Having a bi-racial family my Africian American teenage son said "why are all white girls so thin it's gross." I think different cultures accept different looks as normal but I will say whiteand asian men never hit on me but all other races ask me out constantly.

catshark209

i think the percentage of fit girls i see is higher on white females
and it sucks that i see no lean mean hispanic girls at the gym i go to..only whities..and there's nothing wrong with that

I'm a lean mean Hispanic woman!

SlimSammy2012

That is a great question! When I was younger I always went for the Very Thin and petite look on women. When I was married :explode: My wife had everything in the right places and wasn't petite or very thin. From that perspective it was something that was beautiful to me! Today, I look at the person in the Body suit not the Body suit, to a degree. I am a man you know! :bigsmile:

If you have the eyes, then that's the most important thing for me today.

I am Middle Eastern by Decent....

mznisaelaine

Guys of all race have hit on me at my smallest but not all at my heaviest. So I'm not too sure on that, but as I have experienced it seems most guys of all cultures/race were attracted to me when I was small (aroun 135)... At 175-195lbs.. Not really anyone

catshark209

That's it, I'm moving to Asia