THE CULTURAL IDEOLOGY OF BODY IMAGE
AMONG FIJIAN WOMEN
by Erinn Gregg

Chapter 7
The American Ideology of the Self

As a final stage in my research I decided to investigate directly the question of whether Fijian women have a more sociocentric ideology than do American women and whether this influences their attitudes toward weight. While Becker suggested that Americans are "individualistic" and that cultivating the body is an expression of these values, I thought that it was possible that her picture of Americans was overstated since she had included no research among Americans. I also wanted to see if American women showed the same generational pattern as did Fijian women, with older and married American women being more interested in women's roles in caring for others than were younger women. This would indicate that in both cultures, weight control behavior had more to do with the expectations for women at different stages of the life cycle than with overall differences in Fijian-American values. I found, however, that both young and old American women gave much less sociocentric answers to the hypothetical scenarios than did Fijian women, reaffirming Becker's view that Fijians were distinctly sociocentric. The answers also highlighted the fact that even young Fijian women are very sociocentric as compared to American women.

Two groups of women, young and unmarried and older and married, were asked to consider a series of situations in order to determine their commitment to self versus community. The nine women who were chosen consisted of four young and unmarried women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one and five older and married women whose ages ranged from twenty-five to seventy-one. The scenarios included situations where each woman was asked to make a choice that implicitly would reflect her stance on individualism within American society. I tried to choose scenarios similar to the ones I had used on Fijians but adapted to reflect American culture. For example, one scenario asked what a young woman should do if she arrives home from college for a holiday dinner but does not want to eat certain foods which have been prepared for the meal because she is trying to lose weight.

The answers reflected a very different ideology from Fijian women. While all the women supported the notion that at specific ages, American women should be playing certain roles in their lives, they did not believe that these roles should be reflected in the care of their bodies. The majority of the women who were interviewed, both the younger and the older women, expressed not only a great deal of concern for their bodies but also a value system suggesting that they had the right to control their bodies. American women, motivated by the individualistic attitude of the culture, place more of an interest in the appearance of their bodies and the control of their weight as a reflection of their strong character.

The first scenario that was introduced to the women concerned the unexpected arrival of a cousin and the question of whether a young man should stop studying for an exam and pick the cousin up from the airport. In leaving behind his studies he would express a concern for family over his individual interests to succeed on his exam.

Scenario No. 4

A young boy in New York City has as exam tomorrow in Physics. He wants to finish studying and get a good night's sleep. An unexpected cousin arrives from San Francisco and asks the boy to pick him up at the airport. What should the boy do? Why?

The first woman to respond, a college student who is twenty-one years old, felt that the cousin should not have asked the boy for a ride when he was aware that he had an important exam to study for that evening. "If I were the boy I would tell my cousin that I loved him dearly but that I had an exam to study for that was very important. I would tell him that I would send a car to pick him up or that he could take a cab." The sentiment of this young woman expresses the ideology that the needs of the individual are more important than the needs of others. One should care about others, but they should also care about you and not make unreasonable demands that would compromise one's individual goals. This woman's response assumed a world where autonomous individuals should be careful not to impose on each other. The woman's response reflects the general care of Americans in regards to their relatives by the suggestion to send a car for the boy's cousin. However, what is important is that the boy study for his exam and not be distracted by the obligation to pick his cousin up from the airport.

Another young woman, nineteen years old and in her first year of college, also suggested that the boy should not have to pick his cousin up from the airport. She mentioned not only that the boy should study for his test but that the cousin was at fault for not notifying his family prior to his arrival.

Well, first of all, the cousin is quite inconsiderate is he thinks that he can just show up and expect his cousin in New York to pick him up. The boy should stay home and finish studying for his test and that is the end of it. If the cousin was concerned about finding a ride from the airport he should have thought about it before he landed at the airport. If he was planning to surprise his family he should have called ahead for a ride or just taken a taxi once he got to the airport.

Again, the opinion is that the young boy should remain at home and continue studying for his exam. This alone reflects the idea that each individual is responsible for his or her own needs. In addition, the woman's response towards the cousin who called for the ride emphasizes the notion that individuals have a greater responsibility for themselves than the responsibility which others should take, regardless of their familial relationship. The cousin who was arriving from California should have taken the initiative and considered ahead of time how he would get from the airport to his relatives' house instead of calling when he arrived and assuming that someone would pick him up. The response draws out the individualism that is central to American culture. Each individual should attend to their personal needs rather than placing the needs of others above their own. In this case, the boy will be applauded more if he scores well on the exam than if he picks up his cousin and receives a poor score on the exam.

The second scenario that was introduced to the women dealt with the issue of a young woman wanting to lose weight and refusing to eat food that was prepared by a family member.

Scenario No. 5

A young woman arrives home for Thanksgiving dinner while she is trying to lose weight. When the meal is served she takes only small portions of corn and turkey and refuses to eat any of the mashed potatoes or stuffing. At dessert she drinks only coffee. How do you think the host(ess) will react? Is this the right thing to do?

The first young woman to respond was an eighteen year old high school senior. She felt that the young woman should eat what she wants to eat and not feel as if she has to eat anything. "The young woman should not feel as if she has to eat the food. If she does not want to eat it then she should not feel guilty and only eat it because she is at a guest's house. She could even tell her family that she is on a diet and they should understand that is the reason she is only eating a mall portion of the food." The response acknowledges that the woman is entitled to her individuality because she does not have to eat the food. The young woman is suggesting that, rather than being upset at the woman not eating, the hosts should accept her desire to lose weight and thus her refusal to eat some of the food.

Another woman, a college student who is twenty years old, had a similar attitude toward the young woman's refusal of the food.

I think it is fine that the young woman only eats what she wants to eat. But I am a vegetarian and there are a lot of times where I cannot eat what people are serving and I have to tell them that I don't eat meat. It's like the girl refusing the stuffing because she does not want to eat it. She should not feel like she has to - that is wrong. Plus it is better for her to take only what she wants to eat because otherwise it would be a big waste of food. That [wasting the food] in my opinion is worse than refusing to eat the food.

The woman relates to the scenario because as a vegetarian she personally chooses not to eat meat. Therefore, aside from her response to the scenario, she expresses individualism in her own life by eating in a way that is suitable to her personal lifestyle. She therefore believes that nobody should be penalized or made to feel guilty for not eating what people have cooked. They make the choice what to eat and what not to eat. Finally, she focuses on the idea that the woman would be wasting food if she took it and did not eat it. It is better to leave food, even though the host has prepared it for her guests, than to accept what is offered.

The final response from a twenty-one year old college woman said that the right thing to do would be to eat the food but then went on to say that if the woman politely declined it would be all right not to eat the food.

That is wrong - just wrong. When you are a guest at someone's house you should eat what they serve you. Proper etiquette would say that it is impolite to decline what you are offered if you are not in your own home. But I suppose that if the woman was really trying to lose weight and she didn't want to eat something she could politely decline by either telling the host(ess) that she is not very hungry after all the hors d'ouevres or even that she is allergic to something. If it was done in a polite way than that would be okay.

This woman's response was the first to consider it incorrect for the young woman to refuse the food which has been offered to her. However the reasoning is not because the young woman should think of the host or hostess's feelings but rather because that is what proper etiquette would require. Thus the driving force behind the woman's behavior should be how she as an individual is expected to act according to societal norms. Ironically, the woman suggest that, in a situation such as this one, the young woman lie so she would not be rude in her actions. She is suggesting that the feelings of the host(ess) should be taken into consideration but she is not suggesting that the young woman should sacrifice her own desires to avoid hurting the host's feelings. Rather, the young woman should lie so that she can eat what she wants with the intention of her weight loss in mind. In any case, the response implies that the young woman manipulate the situation in the "nicest" way possible for her successful denial of the food.

The third scenario was focused on whether a woman should choose her own style of dress or whether she should respect her parents' wishes that she dress according to their standards. A young woman who denied her parents' wishes would reveal individualism while a young woman who respected her parents' wishes would hence be displaying a greater respect for the relationships that surround her.

Scenario No. 6

A young woman has been away at college in Boston. When she arrives back in Boston she is wearing a pair of black pants and a shirt, both of which her parents find inappropriately tight fitting. Her parents ask her to change her outfit before visiting her grandmother. What should the woman do?

The eighteen year old high school student was very adamant in her response that the woman be allowed to choose her own clothing.

I would think that by the time a woman gets to college she should be responsible enough to choose her own clothing. How could any parent ask their daughter who is in college - what, at least nineteen years old - to change her clothing because it is inappropriate? My parents tried to tell me that in junior high when I started to wear makeup. They were shocked and told me to take it off but I told them that I was old enough to make my own decisions and they could not stop me from wearing makeup. The woman should tell her parents the same thing about the clothes. I am old enough to make my own decisions about what I choose to wear, and though you may not like it, I am not changing.

The individuality that is engrained in the culture is evident from the response of this young woman. She suggests that by a certain age a woman has a mind of her own to make decisions regardless of the impact they might have on other people. The woman should not change because she has made the decision to dress as she chooses to dress. Her decision reflects that the respect she might be expected to have for her parents and even the respect that she does have for them are not constituent on the decisions she makes about her personal appearance. This example stresses the idea that individuals take pride in their appearance as a reflection of their individualism. By deciding not to change, the woman is saying this is who she is as reflected by the clothing that she chooses to wear.

The second response by one of the college women emulated the first woman's response that by a certain age a woman is capable of making her own decisions.

There is no way that the woman should change. What she needs to do is sit down with her parents and say, "Look - since I have been away I have experienced many new things and learned a lot about myself. And the way I choose to dress is something I can decide for myself and this is now the clothing that I choose to wear and I am going to wear it."

The emphasis in this response is on the idea that the woman has become more of an individual since she has been away at college and now chooses to dress the way she would like to dress. The belief is that once a woman is of the age to attend college and be on her own, she is her own person. She will not be influenced by the opinions of others, even if the "others" are her own parental figures.

The responses that were given by the older and married women were overall considerably similar to the responses of the younger women. The five women were chosen for the role that they are currently at in their lives. The first woman, a twenty-five year old wife and mother was chosen to see if her newly acquired status as wife and mother would affect her attitude about nurturing the individual over nurturing the self. The second woman was a thirty-one year old business woman who is currently unmarried and has no children. She was questioned to decipher if there was any difference in attitude between the younger woman who were single and an older woman who was single at a different stage in her life. The next woman was a fifty-five year old woman who has three children and has been married for thirty-one years. As a mother and a wife who still has children living at home, she was interviewed to see if there were noticeable tendencies to care for others over her self because she a mother and a wife. The fourth woman was also fifty-five but, unlike the previous woman mentioned, she was divorced and her daughter was no longer living at home. It was interesting to discover what, as a single woman who had previously experienced marriage, her attitude would be towards caring for others over herself. Finally, I spoke with a seventy-one year old woman who is presently married, has two grown children and six grandchildren. With the largest extended family of all the older woman it was questionable whether she would support the interest of the individual in the situations that were presented or the interest of others involved in each of the scenarios.

The women were first presented with the scenario about the request made on a young boy who was studying for an exam to pick up his unexpected cousin at the airport (Scenario No. 4). The fifty-five year old married woman believed that the situation placed the young boy in an awkward position but expressed that he should not drive to the airport if he has to study for an important exam. "I don't know. It really isn't fair that the young boy was put in the position to make the decision. How could the cousin not call before he just showed up? What if when he arrived his relatives weren't even home? Then what would he have done? He should have taken a taxi from the airport if he was so intent on surprising them with his arrival." Though this woman is first unsure of what the young boy should do, she concludes that the cousin should have been more considerate and that the young boy should act according to his needs. By proposing that the cousin should have notified the family before his arrival, she is suggesting that they are not obligated in any way to meet the needs of their family member, in this case his need of a ride from the airport. The young boy's decision not to pick up his cousin reflects that his individuality as a student is more important than his relatedness among family. Both the young man and the cousin then should consider what the best choice would be for them as individuals.

The young wife and mother was concerned that if the boy was to go to the airport he would not do well on the exam and therefore she also said the cousin should find another ride.

If I were the boy I would be annoyed that my cousin called me for a ride after he had arrived at the airport. I would probably be excited that my cousin came to visit but I would have to tell him how important the exam was and ask him if we could meet after the exam. Why should the boy stop what he is doing because an unexpected relative arrives? If he does not tell people about his arrival, how does he expect them to be ready and willing to wait on him?

This woman emphasizes that the cousin arrived unexpectedly and suggests that the cousin is at fault in this situation. Her attitude implies that individuals are responsible for their actions and that while people must think of themselves first, they cannot expect others to think of them first as well.

The next response was from the fifty-five year old mother who was recently divorced. She also said that the young boy should not pick up his cousin at the airport. "He should have thought about a ride before he got to the airport. How could he be so inconsiderate and self-centered to think that everyone should cater to his needs? I would hope that my child would never consider asking such a thing!" Her response not only implies that each individual is expected to take care of themselves but also that children should learn this from their parents. The woman suggests that her daughter should know better than to ask someone to pick her up unexpectedly, implying that the individuality of the culture and the responsibility to oneself is taught from a young age as a preferred value within American society.

When the women were asked to consider the scenario about the young woman at Thanksgiving dinner (Scenario No. 5), they personally related to the desire to lose weight and applauded her commitment and control. The first response, that of the thirty-one year old business woman, also reflected a tinge of jealousy for a woman who could not overeat at a family dinner.

Well - I have definitely been there and tried that. But we all know how hard it is to lose weight during the holidays. If this woman could go to Thanksgiving dinner and not eat all of the food than good for her. She should not have to if she doesn't want to and if she can control herself. The aunt or whomever has prepared the meal should completely understand and not be angry because she is only trying to lose weight. It has nothing to do with the person who cooked the meal at all.

The woman implies that having the self-control to diet should be applauded by other individuals in the culture and not looked down upon. Therefore, the woman who does not eat certain foods at a Thanksgiving dinner is not wrong in dieting; she is perhaps the better for considering her personal preferences about what to eat and what not to eat rather than eating to make the host(ess) happy.

The next woman was the fifty-five year old divorcee who said that she herself has been in the situation where she has turned down food because she is dieting. "Oh good for her. It is hard to turn down food that is offered at a guest's house - not only because you might feel bad about not eating what has been prepared but also because it is generally something really good. But if you don't and you are on a diet - you might just feel worse after eating the food." She acknowledges that it might be hard to say no to food that is offered but in the end, the woman (and any individual) must consider her personal feelings. If the woman is going to feel worse after eating the food, then she should not eat it regardless of how her host(ess) might interpret her actions. Again, the woman's response reflects the idea that while individuals should consider the feelings of others, in the end, their decisions should be based on personal opinions.

The third woman to respond to the scenario about Thanksgiving dinner was the seventy-one year old woman who said that she herself can relate to the story, having granddaughters. She expressed a level of concern about people who do not eat but an understanding for their reasoning.

Oh yes I have had this happen before with my own granddaughters. It hasn't been at Thanksgiving but when they come to my house for dinner they sometimes do not want to eat what I have made for them and I sometimes can't understand. I never really dieted but I realize they want to watch what they eat and that's why they don't eat certain foods. I have to consider that it is probably hard for them not to eat the foods they want if they are trying to lose weight and respect their decision to try to lose weight.

The answer reflects the ideology of a hostess who has had guests deny food and again focuses on the decisions of individuals. Although the woman does imply a degree of disappointment when her granddaughters don't eat the food she prepares, she acknowledges the respect that must be given for the choices that individuals make, thus implying that the host(ess) in the scenario should respect the young woman's reasons for not eating even if she does not understand her dieting habits. The individuality is again focused on by the idea that the young woman can diet without hurting the feelings of the host(ess).

When the women were asked to consider the third scenario on the young girl returning from college wearing clothing that was inappropriate (Scenario No. 6), they related again to this and recognized that clothing is an expression of individuality within the culture. The first women, the fifty-five year old mother and wife, said that she has dealt with her daughters on the issue of clothing.

It might be difficult for the woman's parents to accept the change in her clothing and it might even make them upset. I know that my husband and I have in the past disagreed with the clothing that our daughters have chosen to wear. For example, they sometimes wear skirts that we find too revealing and promiscuous. But if we say something it only makes them upset and they still do not change. So it might not be wrong for the woman's parents to say something about the clothing but it really is up to the young woman if she wants to change or not.

The woman's response reflects the idea that the value system in American society entitles each individual with the right to make his or her own decisions. Thus parents are allowed or perhaps even expected to comment on their children and more specifically the clothing that their children wear, but overall, what one chooses to wear is an individual choice. By asking the woman to change, her parents are in turn infringing on her individuality and compromising her right to make her own decisions.

The second woman to respond was the young mother and wife. She suggested that while she can make the decision of what her child will presently wear, this will change when her daughter gets older.

Well, right now I can't relate because I make the decisions because my daughter is so young. However, by the time she gets to college and is an adult, it will be up to her what she chooses to wear. By then she will have some of her own money and if she chooses to buy something with her money then I cannot stop her from wearing it. If she wants me to buy her something that I find inappropriate to wear, that is another story. Then I can say no.

The answer of this woman draws on the idea that individuals are expected to make their own decisions depending on the stage they are at in their lives. However, in American culture, individuality is not promoted based on marital status as in Fiji, but more so on age and capability. At a young age, prior to adulthood, individuals are not perceived as capable of making responsible decisions. However, once they have reached adulthood, individuals are expected to make their own decisions. Therefore, since the woman in the scenario is an adult and capable of making her own decisions, her parents cannot expect her to change. The notion of personal choice is stressed by the woman's comments that if the young woman chooses to spend her own money on the clothing she can buy and wear what she chooses. This emphasizes the idea of ownership of personal space and personal self - personal money and personal choices, the clothing as a personal reflection of the individual.

The final response was from the thirty-one year old woman who also said that it was not wrong for the parents to say something to the young woman but that they could not assume that she would change her clothing.

Sure - they are her parents and they raised her so they have the right to say something to their daughter about her clothing. But parents must understand that by asking they are not necessarily going to get a positive reaction. When they suggest that they do not like an aspect of their daughter's appearance, in this case her clothing, she might interpret that much deeper and define it in her head that they do not like who she is as a person. They should be careful and really consider what they are saying and how it will affect their child.

Similar to the other responses from the older and/or married woman, this woman suggests that the parents of the young woman are not wrong for saying something about the clothing of their daughter. But she touches on a point that the other women do not, and that is the idea that individuals tend to interpret people's comments on a much deeper level than the obvious. So while the parents are most likely only suggesting that they don't like their daughter's clothing, she might see it as an attack on her individuality. Once more the focus is on the individuality of the woman and the idea that commenting on her appearance might be understood as a disapproval of her individuality.

The responses from the two groups of American women reaffirm Becker's assessment that Fijians are sociocentric in their values. American women, regardless of their age or the stage of their life, answered more individualistically, suggesting that the culture encouraged a more individual role from each person. Both groups of American women recognized the need to respect other people when making decisions, but in the end a person's choices were an individual's decisions.

On to Conclusion...