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Chicken Hips By Catherine Pigott

730 Words3 Pages

In today’s society, many people pay close attention to what is considered beautiful and what is not. It seems as if the standard for “beauty” has been set in society. However, we can ask the question by ourselves, “Is it necessary for us to live in accordance with the beauty standards set by society?”. The short story “Chicken Hips” by Catherine Pigott reavels an answer to this question. It is a story that deals with the standards of social beauty between two countries and the pressure felt by women in relation to them. The story depicts the author's experiences as a young Canadian woman traveling to Gambia, where she finds herself feeling self-conscious about her body shape in a culture that values larger, curvier figures. This essay will …show more content…

During her trip to Gambia, the women comment on how thin she is, and Catherine begins to feel self-conscious about her body. In an effort to fit in with the Gambian women and meet their standards of beauty, Catherine starts eating like them to gain weight (Pigott,1). However, when Catherine returns home to Canada, her family suggests that she would look better if she lost weight. This causes Catherine to once again feel insecure about her body and feel the need to meet societal beauty standards. As a result, she begins to lost weight. (Pigott, 2). Likewise, Catherine altered her body size to meet their gender expectations and various cultural beauty standards. By applying the gender lens to this, we can better understand how gender expectations and cultural beauty standards intersect to shape women’s experiences of their body. It emphasizes how cultural beauty standards can have a significant impact on women's body image, self-esteem, and confidence. Women often feel the pressure to comply with the cultural ideal of beauty, which can lead to feelings of inadequacy, and shame if they do not fit the mold. Overall, Catherine’s experiences in Gambia illustrate the damaging impact of cultural beauty standards on women's body …show more content…

At first, she feels self-conscious about her body shape, but she eventually starts eating like the Gambian women to gain weight and fit in - “It wasn’t long before a diet of rice and rich, oily stew twice a day began to change me. Every month, the women would take a stick and measure my backside, noting with pleasure its gradual expansion.’’ (Pigott, 1). This shows her willingness to adapt to new situations and cultures, even if it means challenging her own beliefs and values. Moreover, Catherine also shows resilience by recognizing the beauty in the “chicken hips” that are valued in Gambian culture. Instead of feeling ashamed of her thin body shape, she learns to appreciate the diversity in body types and recognizes the beauty in curvier figures. This demonstrate her ability to challenge societal beauty standards and embrace diversity. The story highlights the importance of resilience in overcoming the damaging impact of cultural and societal pressures on women's body image. This resilience involves the ability to bounce back from adversity and to maintain a positive self-image despite the pressures to conform to cultural and societal beauty

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