There are certain personality traits that people are born with and those which need to be learned.  No matter how hard I try I do not seem to understand certain people’s obsession with weight or the insults associated with the weight issue.

I know that many of my American Born Chinese friends have a really difficult issue with their self-esteem and their weight in China.  Now I personally feel that if someone calls me fat in China, I think of it as a compliment and a fact because 1) I can afford to eat and 2) I am physically larger than most of the girls in China.  How can you be angry at a fact?

Now for those girls who are having the weight blues in China, I want them to see the benefits of being larger than most of the other women in China.  Please see my abbreviated but pointed list below:

1. Generally larger women also have larger breasts which seem to be a national late night obsession on Chinese television, advertisements, and drug store products.  See you do not need all those medicinal creams, moisturizers, pills, and bits of plastic inserts in bras if you are fat because breast tissue consists of fat.  So if you do not have fat then no boobs for you.  While I think that it is odd that a massage therapist kept questioning me about my bra size and how she thought it was a good shape and size, apparently my fat has generated a much sought after bra size in China.
2. Generally those who are fat also have a butt.  Butt implants and inserts are also rather common products available at dress stores in China.  Now what are the glutious maximus region made of?  You guessed it – FAT.  So the next time someone tells you that you are fat, you can point to the fact that you have a rear end that can clear the table for the servers in some of the amazing but unfortunately, limited space, hole in the wall restaurants in China.  Furthermore, you save money on the butt implant, cream, and insert accessories.  See even body fat can be an economical, cost-saving mechanism.
3. While most of my Chinese friends are on a diet for health and beauty reasons and I am as well for health reasons only – my friends envy the fact that I eat 3000 calories a day and still manage to lose 30 pounds and drop 3 dress sizes in the last three months in China.  Now partially, the loss in weight is due to chronic illnesses which I attribute to the air quality as my sinuses are dying but the other half is the amazingly fresh Chinese food.  Now I do pack away the food and most people just watch in amazement as I eat my way through a banquet and then complain that I am still hungry 10 dishes later.  Now does this maintain my fat?  Sure.  However, I like to think of this as a compliment to the Chinese chefs and the Chinese food.
4. My favorite reason for being a fat American in China is being less likely to be trampled.  While trying to get on the bus in Guang Gu was really scary because of the crowds, stampeding, and trampling, the added weight was helpful in avoiding a potentially dangerous fall.
5. Also, I never have a problem meeting up with people in crowded places as I am actual tall compared to the average Chinese girl and wider.  So you see, nobody who is looking for me will need to accost several thin Chinese girls before finding me.  Just head to the tallest and widest girl around, think Blue Spruce Christmas Trees and not Lolloby Pine Trees (the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree), and you are most likely to find me.

So for those of you who are still feeling blue about being a “fat” girl in China, especially compared to the locals – please remember that the Mona Lisa and all those Renissance girls were considered beautiful and there are no songs dedicated to ultra-thin girls while “Fat-Bottomed Girls” by the band Queen was a chart topper 🙂

Current Mood:  My brain says, “Study for the bar exam and stop wasting time! Y Wong, why do you do this to yourself?”