Will Miss #426 - perspective on thinness

I'm going to let you in on two secrets. First, this is a personal blog. The presentation may obscure that fact, but it is about me, my experiences, and my feelings as much as it is about Japan. Second, I have had an eating disorder for most of my life. Part of that disorder is the distorted notion that having the right body (i.e., a thin one) will cure all of life's problems. If you are thin enough, you will be beautiful, loved, healthy, and have success. In my home culture, in which many people are overweight, this message is served up early and often. Living in Japan has helped correct this distorted thinking. Almost everyone is thin, but many people are ugly, lonely, sick, and unsuccessful. Yes, even thin people get Type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, etc. I see it often here. There isn't an expansive and incessant cultural message here that thinness is a panacea for your woes (or that fatness is the root of all of them), and personal experience with people who are thin yet still have problems has been a powerful experience for a person with my history.

I'll miss living in a culture which doesn't view attaining a particular body image as the end-all and be-all of answers to life's problems and being around people who have problems despite being thin.

Will Miss #257 - feeling like an Amazon

Several months ago, I was walking around my neighborhood and a group of 5 or 6 foreign men were waiting to cross the street. I was struck immediately by how physically intimidated they made me feel because they were all much taller and more solid (not fat) compared to the people I'm accustomed to having around me. It occurred to me that I so very rarely encounter people who are substantially taller or bigger than me, that I (almost) never feel concerned for my safety as a woman walking around Tokyo alone. Frankly, there are a lot of Japanese men who I think I could snap like a twig if I needed to deal with an attacker.

I will miss feeling physically powerful relative to the people around me, especially when it comes to men and potential physical assaults.