DUBAI: To Anas Taleb, the title felt like a spiteful punch line. “Why are women fatter than men in the Arab world,” it read in bold above a photo of an Iraqi actress waving on stage at an arts festival.
economist The article ran through possible explanations for the obesity difference of 10 percentage points between men and women in Middle EastThen cited Iraqis who see Taleb’s curves as an ideal of beauty.
“Fat”, a term now considered taboo in Western media, was repeated six times.
The article drew sharp criticism on social media. Twitter users termed it as anti-women.
Local rights groups issued condemnation. It was described by some authors as degrading stereotypes about Arab women.
Taleb, 42, said she is suing the London-based magazine for defamation. While analysts acknowledge the obesity epidemic in the Arab world and its connection to poverty and gender discrimination, Taleb’s case and the ensuing uproar shed light on an issue of body-shaming that is yet rarely deeply rooted in the region. is in discussion.
“If a student goes to school and hears shoddy comments and students bully her for being fat, how would she feel?” Taleb told the Associated Press from Baghdad.
“This article is not only an insult to me but a violation of the rights of all Iraqi and Arab women.” The Economist did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Fat-shaming is aggressive enough in America that when two sports commentators called some female athletes overweight on air earlier this year, they were swiftly fired.
In the Middle East, the report argued, the desirability of muscular women may help explain why the region has experienced an explosion of obesity.
But the angry reaction to the article – and Taleb’s horror that his photo was used to depict the growing waistlines of Arab women – repeatedly refuted the notion that being heavy was a sign of prosperity and fertility in the region. as widely seen.
The globalization of Western beauty ideals through branding, TV and social media has long led to unrealistic body standards that lower women’s expectations of themselves and others in the Arab world, research shows.
In a forthcoming study on Egypt, Joan Costa-Font at the London School of Economics said that she found that although some older women in rural areas still view rounder women as affluent, “this is not true in Egypt that more Weight is a sign of beauty, Western standards are more relevant.”
The demand for cosmetic surgery in Lebanon has grown rapidly. According to a 2010 study at Dubai’s Zayed University, about 75 percent of Emirati students reported dissatisfaction with their bodies, and 25 percent suffered from eating disorders.
And yet, many say, fat-shaming is widespread and accepted in the region compared to the US and Europe, where self-esteem movements have gained momentum and fueled public discussions around inclusivity.
“Our politicians in Lebanon keep making these horrific, sexist comments about women’s bodies. If they come under fire, it doesn’t necessarily raise awareness,” he said. Joumana HadadiA Lebanese writer and human rights activist.
She added that even public comments about weight can be very painful for young women who struggle with insecurities and the desire to change their bodies in search of beauty.
“I’m a 51-year-old harsh, angry feminist and I still weigh myself every morning,” Haddad said. “You can imagine how hard it is for the less privileged.”
Amani Essebsi, a Tunisia-born woman to become the Arab world’s first plus-size model, said body positivity remains taboo in the Middle East, even as the population has become overweight.
Taleb, a talk show host and star in blockbuster Iraqi TV dramas, said he had no choice but to speak up.
“He used my picture in this context in a harmful, negative way,” she said. “I am against using the shape of one’s body to determine the value of a human being.”
his lawyer, Samantha Kanesaid it had initiated legal action, first sending a letter to The Economist demanding an apology for the “serious damage done to (Taleb) and his career”.
Kane declined to comment further pending the magazine’s response. Taleb said he hopes his defamation case will serve as “a message” to women “to say, I love myself, to be strong, to face those difficulties.”
It’s a message that resonates in a field where women see the odds as stacked against them. Traditional attitudes, discriminatory laws and pay inequality, on top of rigid beauty standards, hinder women’s progress.
“Women do not get equal pay. They do not get high rank. When they are harassed they are forced to remain silent. And in the media, they have to be skinny and beautiful,” added zina tarekDirector of the Heya Foundation.
In Taleb’s home country of Iraq, where security is scarce after years of conflict, outspoken women also face the threat of targeted killings.
Iraqi journalist Manar al-Zubaidi said the sheer shame of Arab women is no surprise in this world, where “most media outlets commodity women and make them objects of ridicule or temptation.”
“There is nothing to stop them,” he said, except for “campaigns and challenges” constantly on social media.
economist The article ran through possible explanations for the obesity difference of 10 percentage points between men and women in Middle EastThen cited Iraqis who see Taleb’s curves as an ideal of beauty.
“Fat”, a term now considered taboo in Western media, was repeated six times.
The article drew sharp criticism on social media. Twitter users termed it as anti-women.
Local rights groups issued condemnation. It was described by some authors as degrading stereotypes about Arab women.
Taleb, 42, said she is suing the London-based magazine for defamation. While analysts acknowledge the obesity epidemic in the Arab world and its connection to poverty and gender discrimination, Taleb’s case and the ensuing uproar shed light on an issue of body-shaming that is yet rarely deeply rooted in the region. is in discussion.
“If a student goes to school and hears shoddy comments and students bully her for being fat, how would she feel?” Taleb told the Associated Press from Baghdad.
“This article is not only an insult to me but a violation of the rights of all Iraqi and Arab women.” The Economist did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Fat-shaming is aggressive enough in America that when two sports commentators called some female athletes overweight on air earlier this year, they were swiftly fired.
In the Middle East, the report argued, the desirability of muscular women may help explain why the region has experienced an explosion of obesity.
But the angry reaction to the article – and Taleb’s horror that his photo was used to depict the growing waistlines of Arab women – repeatedly refuted the notion that being heavy was a sign of prosperity and fertility in the region. as widely seen.
The globalization of Western beauty ideals through branding, TV and social media has long led to unrealistic body standards that lower women’s expectations of themselves and others in the Arab world, research shows.
In a forthcoming study on Egypt, Joan Costa-Font at the London School of Economics said that she found that although some older women in rural areas still view rounder women as affluent, “this is not true in Egypt that more Weight is a sign of beauty, Western standards are more relevant.”
The demand for cosmetic surgery in Lebanon has grown rapidly. According to a 2010 study at Dubai’s Zayed University, about 75 percent of Emirati students reported dissatisfaction with their bodies, and 25 percent suffered from eating disorders.
And yet, many say, fat-shaming is widespread and accepted in the region compared to the US and Europe, where self-esteem movements have gained momentum and fueled public discussions around inclusivity.
“Our politicians in Lebanon keep making these horrific, sexist comments about women’s bodies. If they come under fire, it doesn’t necessarily raise awareness,” he said. Joumana HadadiA Lebanese writer and human rights activist.
She added that even public comments about weight can be very painful for young women who struggle with insecurities and the desire to change their bodies in search of beauty.
“I’m a 51-year-old harsh, angry feminist and I still weigh myself every morning,” Haddad said. “You can imagine how hard it is for the less privileged.”
Amani Essebsi, a Tunisia-born woman to become the Arab world’s first plus-size model, said body positivity remains taboo in the Middle East, even as the population has become overweight.
Taleb, a talk show host and star in blockbuster Iraqi TV dramas, said he had no choice but to speak up.
“He used my picture in this context in a harmful, negative way,” she said. “I am against using the shape of one’s body to determine the value of a human being.”
his lawyer, Samantha Kanesaid it had initiated legal action, first sending a letter to The Economist demanding an apology for the “serious damage done to (Taleb) and his career”.
Kane declined to comment further pending the magazine’s response. Taleb said he hopes his defamation case will serve as “a message” to women “to say, I love myself, to be strong, to face those difficulties.”
It’s a message that resonates in a field where women see the odds as stacked against them. Traditional attitudes, discriminatory laws and pay inequality, on top of rigid beauty standards, hinder women’s progress.
“Women do not get equal pay. They do not get high rank. When they are harassed they are forced to remain silent. And in the media, they have to be skinny and beautiful,” added zina tarekDirector of the Heya Foundation.
In Taleb’s home country of Iraq, where security is scarce after years of conflict, outspoken women also face the threat of targeted killings.
Iraqi journalist Manar al-Zubaidi said the sheer shame of Arab women is no surprise in this world, where “most media outlets commodity women and make them objects of ridicule or temptation.”
“There is nothing to stop them,” he said, except for “campaigns and challenges” constantly on social media.