African Lady in Paris, Gaëlle Prudencio tells herself in a book, "Proud to be myself". The opportunity for a meeting under the sign of self love. A "therapy" towards self-love which comes at the right time in times of doubt.
by Céline Peschard
"Proud to be myself", the book by Gaëlle Prudencio (ed. Leduc), radiates self-love, a mantra to be implemented immediately. Straightforward, our interlocutor recounts, from her childhood in Senegal to her first steps in Paris and above all, her long years of learning to come to love each other. Yes, to love each other, quite simply, without compromise and without pretense. Before we can love the other, let's just love each other, advises the young woman. And this, despite the diktats (physical and intellectual) rooted in our minds, at more or less conscious levels. At the question "Is it difficult to be fat and black in France", the plus size fashion designer and influencer replies: "Today no, because I decided to make it my strength. But when I arrived twenty years ago, it was not easy to face certain discrimination and stigmatization. Now I have decided to go home, to break down all the doors. To take my place and serve as a voice for all those who cannot ". We had to struggle to achieve this role.
The "regimeuse course"
Appointment with the endocrinologist, binge eating disorder, weight loss clinic, program Weight Watchers, high-protein diet, hyperthyroidism or even hypothyroidism, Gaëlle Prudencio went through different stages when it came to food, whether she wanted to or not. From the attacks launched by her family on her physique to the bloody aftershocks of the medical profession, the teenager and then young woman was not spared by systemic grossophobia. It was at the age of twelve, following the death of her older sister, that Gaëlle gained weight and fell into the cycle of "diet culture". Until the age of twenty, she yoyoed and engaged in a struggle against her own appearance. "I want the doctor to be there to alert, to prevent risks, but there is a certain pedagogy and psychology to be had that some health specialists are sorely lacking. Some patients will no longer seek treatment. , for fear of this grossophobia. Or there will be diagnostic errors, because the doctor will only base his speech on being overweight ", testifies the author. Gaëlle recalls that overweight is multifactorial, and that we must therefore stop making fun and mistreating 'la / le petite gros.se ". "My value does not lie in the kilos displayed on the scale", she says. Looking at herself in the mirror, touching herself, doing her introspection, accepting her story has helped her to love herself. So as our guest, let's repeat: "You are already good as you are".