Growing up in Botswana I have observed how society has overtime developed divergent perceptions about a woman’s body weight. For instance, a young Motswana woman who maintains an extremely slim figure would most likely be seen by a more traditionalistic person as not being ‘proper’ or not being ‘traditionally built’. In the era of HIV, she also risks being suspected of having HIV or some sort of dreadful illness. However If she suddenly gained excess weight she might probably be thought to have been rejuvenated by ARVs (another perception).
On the other hand a more modern perhaps urbanized Tswana community would highlight a heavy weight as a health concern whilst judging a slim build as ‘attractive or desirable’ provided she has no obvious physical illness signs. These perceptions however would vary between men and women.
I came across this article (which I found very interesting) by a Medical Anthropologist with a research project in the north of the country. Her research seeks to establish the connections between gender, fertility, weight & culture and how these could possibly accelerate Botswana’s HIV prevention efforts. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13552074.2010.524425
I look forward to hearing about your experiences and thoughts.
