On Beauty

Sunday, was a day about beauty and its politics. With the woman of the house where I live, I went to four gyms, shopping for one that I wouldn’t loathe going to. At the first gym I went to, the first questions she asked me was what my height and weight are. For some this may be benign information to share publicly. For me, this is a quick way to make me feel like a roach somebody wants to stomp on. So I sidestepped her question and asked, “well, could you please tell me about the programs you have available and about your facilities?” So, she made a phone call and a Sporty Spice-looking trainer bounced through a door near us, signaled for us to follow her and bounced through the door again. We darted from room to room, which all seemed placed at random, I felt like I was in a fun house. No one expect for our bouncing trainer was smiling. There was not a note of music coming through any speaker system other than a few ipods and Discmans. I got flashbacks of this nazi holistic fat farm I went to by accident when I was 19. At that fat farm some people who were used to hearty rich food six times a day, were cut off at the knees to a glass of coriander water in the morning, two cucumber slices and a slice of a small mango for lunch, and a small chapati and a bit of dhal for dinner. I remember a friend of mine being on this nutrition plan for over a month and she became jaundiced and dehydrated and so tired. …..Anyway this particular gym seemed like a boot camp. I found the fact that the assumption that I want to lose weight was made. Major distinction. In the U.S. they ask u what your goals are. They don’t say hey, we think you need to drop some weight, so here’s our plan for you. Here one’s sense of individuality is defined differently, I am still trying to figure out what that definition is. Here if someone feels s/he is doing something good for you, then there’s no arguing, if I don’t want to take heed of the unsolicited advice, then I just smile and nod, let my eyes glaze over a bit, and then go about my business the way I see fit. Here, there, here, there (this I have to think about, this seesaw thinking). In a way, after all the gyms with all the attitudes, the day was a rough one. I finally did end up muttering my height and weight to the very persistent gym rep. in front of my new landlady. A little bit humiliating. No likelihood of going back there again today at least. She did give me a free three day pass, so I’ll use those days and join a much friendlier, “you are human first” gym down the road. They were great and chillaxed. The place was bumpin’ with excellent music, and I smiled when I walked in to their facility. Incidentally the new gym that I will join is called Nirvana. Heh heh heh ;)