Body image culture shock
I experienced the worst type of culture shock in Singapore, our first destination in Asia. Body image shock. It was day three in our four day stop over and I was wearing a loose fitting, flowing dress. We were traveling by the ever efficient MRT otherwise known as the subway or the metro in other countries and a woman offers me her seat. I see the “reserved” sign on it and a wave of confusion washes over me.
She gives me a warm hearted smile and gestures for me to sit down. Instead of questioning why, I say thank you. At first I think it’s a gesture of hospitality - she took a guess that we were visiting this modern and massive city- and she was playing the kind host, but then I see the “reserved seat” sign.
I’m not elderly, I’m not disabled, I don’t have a small child to cart around, oh god, she thinks I’m pregnant!
The lady next to me goes bright red and starts giggling - she takes it upon herself to voice her stifled laughter - she learns over and in a not so quiet whisper says, “I think she thinks you are pregnant.”
Any illusion of tourist entitlement is nipped in the bud, and I try to laugh along with it, but it’s hard. It’s hard to have gone from a normal sized woman in New Zealand to some obese whale that gets mistaken for being with child!
I look around and see petite and slender gorgeous beings and suddenly feel completely and hopelessly out of place. Usually when I travel my golden locks attract a different type of attention, one of admiration or straight out harassment, but here it seems, I’m just another fat westerner.
I’ve heard stories of people’s children pointing to a woman and saying “look mummy, that lady’s got a baby in her belly” or of a similar vein when all that woman is carrying is a few extra cupcakes- her self esteem torn to shreds. I just never thought a similar thing would happen to me.
It is now a few days since the incident and I can make jokes about it and see that the funny side. Good material for a stand-up comedy stint. In Little India, a crazy authentic (I imagine) neighbourhood of Singapore, a man leers at me, “hey mama,” Not the best cat call just after I’ve been mistaken as being pregnant, and on the plane to Manila, the flight attendant for some reason has given us a family arrival card - I learn over to Nick and say, “maybe he thinks I’m pregnant.”
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| Wearing said dress in Little India, Singapore. |
She gives me a warm hearted smile and gestures for me to sit down. Instead of questioning why, I say thank you. At first I think it’s a gesture of hospitality - she took a guess that we were visiting this modern and massive city- and she was playing the kind host, but then I see the “reserved seat” sign.
I’m not elderly, I’m not disabled, I don’t have a small child to cart around, oh god, she thinks I’m pregnant!
The lady next to me goes bright red and starts giggling - she takes it upon herself to voice her stifled laughter - she learns over and in a not so quiet whisper says, “I think she thinks you are pregnant.”
Any illusion of tourist entitlement is nipped in the bud, and I try to laugh along with it, but it’s hard. It’s hard to have gone from a normal sized woman in New Zealand to some obese whale that gets mistaken for being with child!
I look around and see petite and slender gorgeous beings and suddenly feel completely and hopelessly out of place. Usually when I travel my golden locks attract a different type of attention, one of admiration or straight out harassment, but here it seems, I’m just another fat westerner.
I’ve heard stories of people’s children pointing to a woman and saying “look mummy, that lady’s got a baby in her belly” or of a similar vein when all that woman is carrying is a few extra cupcakes- her self esteem torn to shreds. I just never thought a similar thing would happen to me.
It is now a few days since the incident and I can make jokes about it and see that the funny side. Good material for a stand-up comedy stint. In Little India, a crazy authentic (I imagine) neighbourhood of Singapore, a man leers at me, “hey mama,” Not the best cat call just after I’ve been mistaken as being pregnant, and on the plane to Manila, the flight attendant for some reason has given us a family arrival card - I learn over to Nick and say, “maybe he thinks I’m pregnant.”
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