Why Nabakoba’s thighs sparked two-day debate
By Abbey K. Semuwemba
7th Nov 2011: It is well known that insecure men make fun of powerful women to hide their own feelings of insecurity. So I was not surprised when pictures of Uganda Police Spokesperson Judith Nabakooba being ridden on a bodaboda stirred a two-day debate on Ugandans-At-Heart (UAH) forum.
Nabakoba on a bodaboda
While I personally thought most of the male debaters were ‘crazy’ for not seeing the attraction in the smile always on her face, I saw nothing wrong with them finding her seemingly ‘big’ thighs the real point of discussion. A woman’s body has historically been a subject of regulation, discipline, debate and management. The woman’s body represents the place to project the memories and fantasies of racial, religious, and cultural authenticity.
Most African men tend to be attracted to the big thighs and bums in women, and it is the main reason body image dissatisfaction, dieting, and disordered eating are more common in white and not black females. Racial differences exist in attitudes towards physical appearance and there is a stigma placed on weight gain and obesity. A black woman can be overweight and black men will still find her attractive, which may not be the case with white men.
As a matter of fact, female beauty has always been so pervasive, so profoundly ambiguous such that we all interpret it differently. In her book The Character of Beauty in the Victorian Novel (1987), Lori Lefkovitz provocatively argues that ‘we have actually been trained to ignore descriptions of beauty’ such as Nabakooba legging it on a motorcycle in tight jeans.
But I would argue that beauty has always been something we feel individually. Let me give you an example, I was told by some mates of mine about some beautiful girl in a place where my wife works. But I did not recognise her beauty the first time we met. It only came when I appreciated her character after some regular interactions. In other words, I only recognised her beauty after knowing her properly as a person.
This particular girl has long hair which even the Bible bases on to define beauty: “…If a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering’’—1 Corinthians 11:15. But I never appreciated her hair till I started appreciating the inside of her. But then again, how do we explain the fact that some guys noticed her beauty before knowing her?
Eurocentric beauty standard of straight, long and flowing hair is now almost the dream of any black woman who visits a hair salon. They just hate the authenticity that defined them in 1960s and 70s. Even Nabakooba’s hair, relaxed as she was on a ‘bodaboda’ motor cycle, is not an authentic hair style. These changes have also been reflected in the way black women dress, talk, and smile or sometimes treat themselves in public.
There is a semi erosion of Black/African culture in all aspects of life. One possible explanation of this was given by Leon Festinger’s Social Comparison Theory (SCT) which suggests that people compare themselves to others when they are not certain about themselves. Before slave trade, black hair styles were a reflection of cultural and spiritual meanings.
Some of these historical styles like twists, braids, Zulu knots, Nubian knots, and dreadlocks are still in existence today. When slave traders were transferred to other countries, they found it difficult to keep African hair styles, so they resorted to wearing head scarves or handkerchiefs atop their heads, something we still see in Afro- American ladies especially in some black American films.
SCT was also shown among black men in the 18th century where some resorted to wearing wigs just because it was fashionable for white men of the upper class to wear wigs at the time. I guess this explains why Michael Jackson (RIP) and his brothers used to wear wigs when their music band had just started up.
Already some black women have started seeing beauty in the same way white folks do. This is due to the acceptance of mainstream [European] cultural ideals of attractiveness which lay emphasis on being thin. As a student of public health promotion, I will probably go with my brain rather than emotion and accept that being fat causes a lot of health problems.
To that extent, may be this black evolution in the definition of beauty may be a blessing in disguise as it will encourage healthy eating and also control the ageing process of our black women. END. Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
