Cultural Standards of Weight

Beyond the ED community there are set standards of one's size depending upon the surrounding environment. In most dense Caucasian societies, such as the UK and the US, there is a stressed focus on voluptuous women (i.e. large breasts and bum/also known as curvy). The is quite counter-intuitive for Pro Anas, as we aim for a smaller, lighter perfection--which is probably why our life style is frowned upon by some.

In my lifetime, I have been fortunate enough to be a world traveler...and I can definitely vouch for this but, there are other areas where the petite, pixie like image of Ana is hailed as much as it is in the ED community. For instance, in most parts of Asia the entire culture embraces a set weight/tiny figure. As I do have an Asian background, I have noticed the standards differ slightly in each country.

In China, there is a saying that "A good girl shouldn't weigh more than 100 lbs." If you happened to be sitting in a restaurant, being obviously heavier than 100 lbs, the other customers are terribly mean at poking rude comments at you--especially if you are not eating lite (though this is not just limited to restaurants). Not to mention, not weighing less brings shame to your family.

In South Korea, not being skinny (or any where near it) was as reprehensible as coming home with a report card full of F's (and we all know how horrific that is...especially in an Asian household). I have seen mothers forbidding their children to eat and giving them special Asian diet pills.

Asia has an extremely pressured atmosphere for being stick skinny; while it does serve to tear your self-esteem apart, it does surround you with 24/7 walking thinspo and access to FDA banned diet pills.So, good or bad, it gets you where you want.


Embrace the Asian invasion,
                                 ~Noi