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French movies packed with love, laughter and action
Big, Bold and Marginalized
Members taking part in a workshop run by Bellydance Jakarta, led by Christine Yaven, at the April Komunitas Xtra-L gathering in Jakarta. The group seeks to show that size is no barrier to living a fulfilling and fun life.  JG Photo/Ashlee Betteridge
An online community is trying to get rid of
old stereotypes and raise self-esteem in
Indonesia’s plus-size women
Report Ashlee Betteridge
I
magine being laughed at for
showing up at a job interview for a
professional position. You are
suitably qualified. But according
to your interviewer, you don’t
meet one important criteria: the
applicant must be attractive.
You are fat. And the
interviewer has no qualms telling you this
right to your face, while mocking you for
bothering to show up at all.
Or imagine being bullied into resigning
from your job in fashion retail because you
politely refused your superior’s numerous
dietary suggestions. Because of this, she
has decided that you are lazy and makes
malicious complaints to upper
management, eventually pushing you out
of your job.
These are just some of the stories of
discrimination that plus-size women have
shared online as part of Komunitas Xtra-L
Indonesia, an e-mail list and Facebook
group that has in excess of 950 members
nationwide.
According to Ita Sugito, one of the
founders of the group, these are not
isolated incidents, but part of a wider
disdain for larger people in Indonesia.
A 2006 study by Yogyakarta’s Gadjah
Mada University, in conjunction with other
universities around Africa and Asia, found
that 25 percent of Indonesian women and
10 percent of men were overweight and at
risk of developing hypertension, a risk
factor for cardiovascular disease.
The World Health Organization,
extrapolating from an earlier study, has
estimated that by 2015, as many as
38 percent of Indonesian women and 13
percent of men over the age of 30 could be
overweight. The WHO classifies that as
having a body mass index over 25. Body
mass index is defined as weight in
kilograms divided by the square of height
in meters.
“We hear a lot of stories about women
being discriminated against at work or in
finding employment because there is a
misperception that big women are lazy,
Section
> City Beat C9
stupid and don’t have any willpower,”
Ita said.
“But also, many stories about women
being treated badly by men. What has
come up on the mailing list is that some
males have the idea that big women must
not have any love in their lives so they are
‘easy,’ and they don’t treat them with
respect.”
While these stories of mistreatment
might paint a bleak picture, the women
driving Komunitas Xtra-L are pushing to
change these false perceptions, build a
strong support network and show that size
is no barrier to living a fulfilling and fun
life.
The group, whose membership is
predominantly female, is currently the
only support network in Indonesia for
larger sized people, and now has chapters
in Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Bali,
Semarang and Bandung. While the
conversation on the mailing list is in
Bahasa Indonesia, it is open to people of all
nationalities who identify themselves as
being large. There is no minimum weight
for joining.
At the April gathering, held at the
Jakarta International Club, a function
center in Central Jakarta, enthusiastic
chatter could be heard from far down the
corridor as about 50 attendees caught up
on news and talked about everything from
pre-election macet (traffic jams) to
makeup. There was also a presentation
Renaissance
man Edward
Gunawan
explores his
various talents
Features C4
about skin care and a workshop run by
Bellydance Jakarta.
Yenni, a regular at the Jakarta
meetings, said the face-to-face events
provide a great way to interact with new
people.
“In the group, you can share anything
about your body, get information, find
where to get big clothes and try to find a
good diet program — even if we don’t
follow it!” she said.
“There is definitely discrimination.
Maybe 75 percent of people discriminate
against us and 25 percent are accepting. It
makes it very difficult with work
sometimes and also to socialize. That is
why this group is so good for our
confidence.”
Helping plus-size women find their
inner strength was one of the goals that
co-founders Ririe Bogor and Lulu Lustanti
had in mind when starting Xtra-L. The
pair met in 2005 while competing on a
television show called “Miss Impian”
Xtra-L Indonesia
(“Miss Dream”), a talent competition for
women weighing more than 90 kilograms, To join or find out more information about
and went on to open a boutique for women Komunitas Xtra-L Indonesia and
who require clothing in larger sizes. upcoming events, look for the Xtra-L
As they spoke to customers about their Community Indonesia e-mail list at
self-esteem issues, an idea formed for a groups.yahoo.com or search for
support group, Ririe said. Komunitas Xtra-L on www.facebook.com.
“Everyone who came to our boutique To read Mia’s blog, The Big Asian
would always choose black dresses and say Bellydancer, visit thebigasianbellydancer.
blogspot.com.
> Continued on C2