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How my asian culture has affected my relationships with food and body image
Manage episode 371339537 series 3487336
"Have you eaten yet?” For Asians and Asian Americans, food serves as a cultural symbol of love, care, and community. However, this emphasis on food coexists and clashes with the beauty standards and idealization of thinness that are upheld within those very same cultures.
Today, I’m highlighting the complexity of balancing cultural experiences around food with pressures to conform to social expectations of beauty. The very individuals who force-feed us out of love are often also the first to point out any weight gain. Asian Americans face an added layer of complexity, as they navigate balancing the social expectations of both Asian and Western cultures.
Recounting my own experiences growing up as a chubby girl in an Asian household, I candidly address the enduring psychological effects of this dynamic, including shame, emotional turmoil, disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction.
Resources:
- Smart, R., Tsong, Y. (2014). Weight, Body Dissatisfaction, and Disordered Eating: Asian American Women’s Perspectives. Asian American Journal of Psychology.
- Zheng, M. M. (2022, August 28). The Pressure to Be Thin. Sixth Tone.
- Lin, A. (2020, April 3). Let’s Talk About Body Image For Asian American Women. Study Breaks.
Show Notes:
- 1:46: Cultural Symbolism of Food
- 2:06: Divergent Messages on Food and Body Image in Asian Cultures
- 3:00: Content Warning: Discussions on Disordered Eating, Food Anxiety, Body Dissatisfaction
- 3:21: My Personal Frustrations with Food, Weight Gain, and Family while Growing Up
- 5:10: Effects of Familial Pressures
- 7:54: Chapter 1 - Cultural Symbolism of Food in Asian Cultures
- 12:46: Chapter 2 - Social Emphasis on Thinness and Pressures To Conform
- 20:46: Emotional Challenges and Psychological Effects
- 22:47: Chapter 3 - Reconciling the Divergent Messages
- 23:40: Need for Culturally Sensitive Resources and Interventions
- 24:37: Carving a Path Towards Self-Acceptance and Empowerment
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Follow me on Instagram @onedayatatime.mp3 or @valgfong and TikTok @valerie.fong.
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