Oyinbo people never cease to amaze me! Its like they’re from another planet! At the risk of sounding like a ‘bush’ girl let me explain myself. I don’t know if I’m the only one but why is it that almost every TV station you turn to you are inundated with procedures for boob jobs, nose jobs and every other ‘job’ imaginable and purely for cosmetic reasons? Programmes like Nip/Tuck, Dr. 90210, Extreme Makeover, etc., easily come to mind.
They are so obsessed with their bodies, it’s almost frightening! If they don’t like something about their bodies, they change it. And its not just the Stars but everyday, regular people. They are always ready to fix something or the other’. Botox for the lips and laugh lines, chin implants, cheek implants etc. I just think it’s so weird! Aren’t they scared to put foreign objects into their bodies? What if it turns cancerous? And the surprising thing is that they (the women) are usually urged and encouraged by their mates; whether boyfriends or husbands. And the boobs look so fake and rubbery! Standing upright! Who has ever heard of a breast that stands upright when you’re not in puberty? It must feel like a having a balloon inserted under your chest! Eeew ! I tell you I once watched on Dr 90210 how a lady with implants was riding a bike and fell and landed on her chest, very hard,consequently deflating one of her fake boobs! It actually burst on the inside and started going smaller and smaller! Gross! She then wanted the flattened boob repaired! At the risk of sounding crude, I must say I sometimes wonder how their mates feel touching these foreign ‘additions’ to the body! Anyway that’s for another day.
When I mentioned these concerns to some friends recently, they laughed and said I shouldn’t be fooled because some Nigerian women actually do plastic surgery, though more of the liposuction, tummy tuck kind and not nose jobs. I tend to believe them. If they are wrong then Modupe Ozolua would have packed shop and headed back to the U. S. ages ago. (For the uninitiated, Ms. Ozolua the proprietor of Body Enhancement company brings American plastic surgeons twice a year to Lagos to do plastic surgery on ‘patients’). My point is this…so what if your tummy protrudes a bit or your boobs sag? Big deal! Get over it! Its part of human nature. Anybody looking for perfection in the opposite sex, both physically or otherwise is setting themselves up for a big disappointment. If you want perfection, go marry Barbie Doll or better still, her ‘live’ version, Pamela Anderson!! So what if you’re a little over weight? As long as you are healthy and happy it’s not anybody’s business. Be happy in the birthday suit God gave you. There are a lot more things to think about in life than how you look to the outside world. Don’t get me wrong, by all means take care of your appearance but greater care should be taken of the person inside, the real you. Work on that character and those attitudes. That’s what counts.
TheShyone likes to watch PBS, Bolanle likes to watch extreme make over. Nothing spoil. Choose your vanity for entertainment. As my people are want to say and I translate imperfectly: You say the prayer, I say amen to it, there is no need to fight in the house of prayer.
I think you might be subconsciously obsessed with those things yourself.
Personally, I watch a few hours of TV each week… and I am NEVER bombarded with those images. But then again, I like to watch PBS, LinkTV, I like the biography channel. I'm not a prude.. I also like shows like top model, and a good movie.
But shows like 90210. Are a no-no. They don't interest me.
And I don't know anyone black, white, or otherwise that is into those things u mentioned. Most of the people I know are obsessed with how to start a business in the US. Really.
Maybe ones tastes and priorities change with age and responsibilities.
Rosie, being Obsessed with ones body is not natural. However, cultivating ones appearance may be natural. Like Bolanle I am frequently amazed at the extent people will go just to look quote and unquote perfect. But then everyone of us indulge in one form of vanity or the other. While I am amazed by their form of vanity, many of them would probably be amazed at my own form of vanity. Bolanle's point however is in the last line of her piece which is that the inner you matters more. Everyone need to be comfortable in their own skin. My favourite model is Alek Wek. Isn't she a model for confidence? She is certainly not a drop dead gorgeous beauty. But by George, she is a model of beauty from within and that radiates to the outside
Being obsessed with our bodies is natural. back home in naija, I was made fun of by family and classmates for being so skinny. I was called, opkelenge, kpako and so many other names. When I moved here, the names changed…people said oh, you should be a model, you are so nice and skinny … blah, blah, blah…Us Nigerians can't afford plastic surgery, if we could, we would be doing all we could to conform to the Nigerian standard of beauty – being full-figured. God knows my mother tried all the tricks in the book to fatten me up. Now I am living in America and according to my white friend, I am fabulously thin! Perhaps I was mistakenly born in naija.
You may call all these "jobs" nonsensicalities but its serious business – imagine how much the Doctors make! I only support plastic surgery for people born with deformities and for accident victims. But most people are obsessed with their bodies and until they are happy in their own skins, they will continue to spend money on "improving" their looks.