I Wanna Move to Mauritania: a different view of beauty

fat:

Pronunciation: \ˈfat\

Function: adjective

1 notable for having an unusual amount of fat: a : plump b : obese
2 well filled out : thick, big

This is according to Merriam-Webster Online. 

But if you asked the average American woman, she would probably define "fat" as "ugly."

In America, this is in. Always.

But what if being bigger was seen as beautiful?

It is in a place called Mauritania, located on the northwest coast of Africa.

Believe it or not, thick ankles, plump arms, and a big butt are considered the most beautiful parts of a woman!?! I feel like I could fit right in after all of my exam stress binges (namely on coconut m&ms! SIDE NOTE: try those if you haven't already... they are delicious!!!) ;)

In Mauritania, thin women are thought to be sick and bigger women are thought to be sexy... the men even like stretch marks. I am not making this up!

Many say the more you weigh the better chances you have of finding a husband. Like I said, I wanna move to Mauritania ;)

In all seriousness though, this is actually a problem. The overweight ideal became exaggerated to an unhealthy state and just as the American ideal of thinness lead to health problems in the form of anorexia and bulimia, this country's young girls also suffer from eating disorders.

Theirs, however, is known as gavage, a practice of force feeding. This is the same process used to fatten up animals for slaughter and nourish hospital patients using a tube.

In Mauritania, "some young girls spend hours each day in the stifling heat, forced to stuff themselves with couscous and high-fat camel's milk. Vomiting only leads to another helping of food." (1)

This is so much the ideal that "even in Mauritania's more progressive cities, some women are willing to do anything for a fuller figure, including buying black-market drugs meant for animals." (1)

Not fun, right? This is all done to increase their desirability to a future husband.

Just like American girls starving themselves is not fun and is often not done for themselves but to look desirable in the eyes of men and a society that holds a nearly unattainable beauty ideal. A beauty ideal that is the polar opposite of Mauritania's.

So, as bathing suit season approaches, be encouraged that you are beautiful, even if not by the standards of your own country. Whether you are thinner or bigger, as long as you are healthy, have fun at the beach and don't be afraid to bust out that bikini!

Reference:
(1)The information on Mauritania came from Oprah.com's Beauty Around the World. The slideshow details not only that country but several others and their views of beauty. Check it out...