I was so disappointed to read this in the West Australian newspaper this morning –
“Bollywood actresses are slimming down, as an increasing vogue for showing bare flesh on screen and Western ideas about body size and beauty take hold in India’s big cities.“
I have had the wonderful fortune to travel to India and I truly can say that her people, culture and magic left an indelible impression on me. I was completely spellbound in particular by how beautiful the Indian girls and women were in their bright sari’s and bindi’s, all wrapped in the most genuine smiles and generous spirit. It was very common to see girls and women of all different beautiful shapes and sizes. It breaks my heart that it appears that the tentacles of the western world and its accompanying thin obsession, are now infiltrating minds so far away.
While it is reported that previously Bollywood stars were a great deal more body diverse and curvaceous, present day stars have a ‘basic requirement’ to be a US size zero or Australian size 4 with the surrounding media having an intense focus on their weight, diet and fitness regimes. Sound familiar? Seems to me we could be talking about any young Aussie soap starlet or Hollywood movie star.
Indian health professionals are concerned this new obsession “could contribute to dangerous, unregulated weight loss among fans” of Bollywood films. Nutrition and Fitness Consultant Venu Hirani has stated she has seen an influx of young women coming to her for advice on how to lose weight – even though they might not need it - “Now I have more and more of the younger generation who don’t really need to lose weight but tell me they need to knock off 5kg.” Anecdotal increases of clincially diagnosed eating disorders are being reported.
While of course we know that the onset of an eating disorder is a highly complex occurence that involves a variety of factors including ones that are psychological, bio-chemical, emotional and environmental, socio-cultural factors, such as reported here, do play a role in some clinical cases. The influence is not by any means singular, but the alarming trends of these new beauty and body ‘ideals’ in India seem to already be having a negative impact.
I genuinely hope that if “Bollywood” is going to continue to be openly influenced and infiltrated by “Hollywood” that there are some excellent media literacy, body image and self esteem initiatives introduced in Indian schools and public health initiatives very quickly. Children, young people and indeed adults, will need to be educated about what is really going on behind the glitz and glamour they see in Bollywood movies and that there are an infinite number of body types, shapes, sizes and looks that are beautiful, not just those they see on the big screen.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
That's really too bad. Size Zero? Really? That's just weird. I don't get why someone would want to be a size zero even (unless it was their natural size). I must not be living in the same world.
I remember when jennifer Lopez was a rising star; as many of us know she was known for not being a size 0 and was very voluptuous. Now when I see her in magazines she has completely lost the curves that made her famous in the first place. My puerto rican sister sold out! I fear for my daughter the way things are going with this never ending obsession (of which, to my shame I find myself engrossed in at times as well).
This is just sad. I've seen Bollywood stars before and a lot of them are naturally full and curvy, which is as women should be. This pressure to be thin has just gone way overboard.
BTW, I love your advocacy!
From FFF at MBC
This revelation of women in Bollywood slimming down to fit the ideal figure shows how small this world really is. Eating Disorders permeates every country and culture. I hope the children and adults become educated about nutrition and no is does not involve the measurement of your waistline.
By the way, sizes are just that…sizes; it's a number and does not define the person.