French women seem so elegant, chic and, let’s face it, gorgeous, but does that come at a price? According to French wellness expert Alice Pfeiffer, the perception of how French women should be is causing several wellness problems for those with weight issues.
Pfeiffer details, ‘The BBC’s news magazine recently ran a piece entitled The Perils of Being Fat, Female and French, which argues against the myth that Gallic women never gain weight. Its author, Joanna Robertson, seeks to expose a system of peer pressure and tyrannical-yet-hushed dieting. She goes on to make a number of claims, including that overweight French woman can’t get jobs, and that French families secretly deprive themselves at dinner, sitting down to “a frugal meal of steamed vegetables and a cup of herbal tea in the evening to avoid weight gain.” Her claims sound ridiculous, but being a born and bred Parisienne, I can safely say they’re also (sadly) true.’
However, while Robertson and Pfeiffer lament that overweight French women struggle to find top employment due to their size, this phenomenon is hardly restricted to the City of Love. Pfeiffer admits, ‘Yes, women in top jobs in the country are generally petite–but so are the great majority of women that hold the media’s attention. This isn’t necessarily specific to France, but to any major city where a premium is placed upon looks.’ But why? In La Silhouette, du XVIIIeme Siècle à Nos Jours (translation: The Silhouette: the 18th Century to the Present), sociologist George Vigarello writes that women’s success is associated to thinness because ‘it isn’t only about seduction, it is a sign of confidence, initiative, ease, autonomy.’ Basically, slenderness equals physical and mental control.
‘But then there is a culture of slimness that is very particular to France,’ Pfeiffer asserts. ‘In a Catholic country, gluttony is historically perceived as a sin. Meals are highly controlled, and come at regular hours: entirely families sit down at dinner every night, and companies are given at least an hour to have full meals during lunch break—a sandwich over your desk is a rare occurrence. There is no snacking culture and portions are small by American standards. Food is seen as a necessity rather than a craving. Obesity is rare and is seldom encountered in France. A 2009 study showed the France had the highest proportion of clinically underweight women in Europe. There is little fear of becoming overweight, and no culture of radical dieting. The idea is that everyone is born thin and being “fat” (usually anything bigger than a Medium) is your own fault–and everyone’s business.’
Pfeiffer continues, ‘So, while French families don’t sit down and eat boiled vegetables every night, the dieting is covert and often near-unconscious: entire aisles in the supermarkets are dedicated to diet yogurt, cereal, and sodas. Smoking often replaces desert, red wine and peanuts during “apéritif” are considered a meal. I consider myself reasonably slim. I wear “small” sizes in the United States, which translates to a French “medium”. Yet people around me frequently tell me I am à la limite (at the limit) i.e. not to gain a single pound. It is accepted for people to comment on each other’s weight because they feel they are doing you “a favour”. See: My parents gently advising me to skip dessert, or a waiter in a café mocking my second order of frites. Recently, a friend walked up to me at a party and asked “Have you gained weight or are these jeans simply unflattering?” His reason for telling me was that it was “in my own interest.”’ While people may be growing bigger in France, it seems the ideals there aren’t evolving.
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