PWhen I was young, I often went to lunch with one of my childhood friends, who we call Lara. At the table with his parents and little sister, I was like a second family. Until her mother Sophie started making everyone uncomfortable (especially me!). “Lara, you should stop eating so much, follow your friend’s example.”, the authoritarian mother blurted out. We were only 8 years old. As we were eating with both of our families at the McDonald’s near our house, her mother made another rather humiliating comment at her, telling her that it would have been better if she had taken a lighter variety like mine – one Caesar Salad – replacing the brand’s timeless Big Mac menu.
Ashamed, I experienced several scenes like this in our childhood as we grew up. Still sad for my friend and quite angry with her mother, who thought that comparing her to us would start a trend of losing weight in Lara, although she is far from it to be overweight.
Sophie has suffered from her relationship with her body shape since early childhood and experienced restrictive diets and the yo-yo effect. In its own way, it fits into a very special archetype: the“Almond Mama” (the “Almond Mama”). Or this woman who, often without knowing it, exhibits toxic behavior regarding the appearance, diet and weight of her children and especially her daughters.
“Hunger is in the head”
We owe this rather funny name to an episode of the reality TV show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (2013) with housewives from affluent American suburbs raising their offspring. At one point, former Dutch-American model Yolanda Hadid has a rather surprising conversation with her daughter, the now-famous Gigi Hadid, who we know for the “It Girl” duo she forms with her sister Bella. At the time, Gigi was 18 years old and trying to build a career like her mother’s through castings. The pretty penniless blonde with the baby face feels very physically weak and asks Yolanda for help. She tells her that she ate nothing but nothing all day “half an almond”. The answer ? “Eat two almonds and chew them well!” »
As soon as Gigi’s career explodes, other, more problematic passages emerge. Like the one where Gigi is only allowed to enjoy an insignificant piece of cake on her birthday. In front of the camera, his matriarch explains this decision as follows: “If she wants to be at the ideal weight, she has to make the right decisions. »
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