I mentioned on several posts that I read Spanish language media daily. I might need to stop reading some of it, at least for a while, because I don’t think I can take some of the linguistic insults thrown at me. With physical distance between me and Latin America (an ocean in between), I also sort of developed a critical eye towards the language, probably due to the fact that I stopped speaking it daily as I used to. Now, I only read in Spanish, which means words pop up in my radar like eyesores.
For the past ten years or so, I’ve noticed that the Spanish speaking world, or at least a good chunk of it, has introduced a new expression to police women: cuidarse or, in English, taking care of oneself as a synonym for dieting. Women are not asked if they are dieting, they are asked if “they take care of themselves” (te cuidas? in Spanish). The most wretched and strict diets are presented under title banners of “Take care of yourself this summer”, followed by the ever present restrictive and dubious calorie counting regimes.
Now, the social pressure on women to be beautiful in Latin countries is extremely high and violent (did you know that Brazil and Argentina tail the US in number of cosmetic surgeries per year?). What I find appalling is that for the past decade or so, they’ve been sold the idea that giving in to these standards, at the expense of their health, well being or joy is equivalent to “taking care of themselves”.
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