A Russkie In Dublin

FEMME IRLANDAISE!

By Irina Kuksova

An Irish woman's relationship with her body size is still a mystery to me. I remember the shock of the first encounter with a couple of definitely on the "plus" size girls in a night club. These two divas were dancing the right way: "as if no one is watching". To me it was like seeing a ghost. But then I saw more and more similar ghosts. By the end of the night I had to admit – in Ireland they exist. Big but confident girls that is.

Not that all girls in Russia are equally slender, we come in all shapes as sizes. Yet, only girls of a certain shape and size go to night clubs. Let alone do wild dancing. A couple of pounds over, and we hide behind our PC screens browsing diet sites, do sit-ups instead of going to a friend's birthday and wear tents instead of clothes. If we are skinny enough, we browse the same forums – to give advice to the less fortunate ones. We all know that the only excuse to be anywhere above the "underweight" Body Mass Index of 19 is having your grandchild born. Only nannies have the moral right to choose a freshly baked croissant instead of an apple pure and skinnichino for breakfast.

In Ireland though, the only visible difference between a skinny girl and a not so skinny one is…that one is slim and the other one is not. In vain would you spend time trying to spot any difference at all in their make-up, dress sense or self-confidence. It's "Liberté et égalité".

When it comes to "fraternité", the plot thickens. Some Irish girls seem to group according to their size. Not all of them would be thrilled to have their photo taken next to a skinnier girl. Where did the above mentioned confidence go..?

This sudden twist tells me that I still don't really get the Irish contemporary girl culture. I suspect I won't get it in the nearest future either – no Irish girl is willing to enlighten me. Am I now too skinny to be trusted?