Thais Telling You You're Fat

[too true]

Went to my husband's village late last month. Hadn't been there since Songkran. Walk in his aunt's house - "Oh, you're fatter." My answer? "Yes, well, I'm saving it up for when my husband and children have used all my money and I've nothing left to eat." She just laughed and pulled me over to sit with her. Then we go off to his friend's house and his friend's parents say "oh, you've lost weight!" And this was all in a matter of 2 hours! I think they just feel the need to comment on it and they're not really paying attention to what I look like or what they say. It used to really bug me, but now it's no more or less annoying than when they pull me over and rub my arms and tell me what beautiful skin I have.

However, once I went to visit some old students and they were shocked at how much weight I'd lost. Granted, I'd lost some baby weight and I'd been going to aerobics regularly, so I was thrilled they'd noticed and I thanked them for the compliment. And their answer? "No, you look sick. You looked better before."

My final conclusion - I just can't win. As long as my clothes aren't getting tighter, I figure I'm doing all right.

Oh, another answer I like to give when Thai people (family) tell me I've gained weight is that I can't be too fat because my boobs are still bigger than my stomach. If my stomach ever gets bigger than my boobs then I'll really start to worry. The women laugh and the men seem shocked that I'd speak like that around them.

Cheers,

TT

[tekstilna]

Oh, another answer I like to give when Thai people (family) tell me I've gained weight is that I can't be too fat because my boobs are still bigger than my stomach. If my stomach ever gets bigger than my boobs then I'll really start to worry.

nice one...

[girlx]

my hair was getting too long and it is super thin and fine (thus limp), so i cut it back into my dominatrix bob a couple weeks ago. gasp! horror! now i don't look like every other girl in thailand with long straight dark hair anymore! i went to my normal breakfast joint and the girl there said "why you do that? you no look pretty now! better before!"

argh. thais choose the most peculiar of situations in which to be honest!

though every farang i have seen since i got my hair cut again raves about it.

Edited November 23, 2006 by girlx

[sbk]

As long as we are sharing "too much honesty" stories

My husband has an 38 year old female unmarried cousin (gasp!) who was down for our nephew's wedding --some cousin was harrassing her about it and her response was "What, didn't you know? I got married already! How come you didn't come to the wedding" and then she laughed. So did everyone at the table, including the nosy cousin, but he did shut up immediately after that

[Basslifeform]

Sometimes Thai people say your fat as a compliment, sometimes as a joke , sometimes to get a rise. My favourite answer is this.

Yes, I'm fat. But your ugly. I can go on a diet. What can you do?!!

Big smile

[kayo]

yeah! Or.. I'm fat, but I can be thin in the morning, You... you can never lose your mulefeatures!

[mapletree]

My Thai friend often talks about her mom as fat, both in front of her and away from her. Her mom says it about herself, too. It's not an insult, just seen as fact. My friend clearly loves her mom very much and wouldn't belittle her (no pun intended!).

I just let it go when my partner's family and friends tell me I'm fat or thin. It is just a form of greeting usually. They comment on each other all the time, too. It's a group thing. I'm part of the group, and that's a good thing.

[baennaenae]

Pom Pooye - Is a form of endearment not an insult

But Poom Pooye means Fat

So they call you Fat in a nice way

In fact, the way Thais think about fat people is different from the west. They belive that fat people are wealthy because they have plenty of food and well looked after. Unlike, skinny !

And Thai Language doesn't have vocabularies for ' Fat ' ;

Uan/Poom Pooye = Fat

Uab = Almost fat

Tua Yai = big frame/built

Hoon dee = curvy

Skinny = Pormm

When you are in Thailand you need to be prepared for the differences that are beyond you because we think and see things differently. Sorry for my Broken English

[meadish_sweetball]

I am a bit of a nitpicker, hope you don't mind Sir banana

Uan/Poom Pooye = Fat Right. The first one is a neutral statement, the second makes it sound cuter

uab Plump, full, rounded

tua yai = large Not necessarily a measure of body fat, it can refer to a tall muscular person as well.

hoon dee = good shape 'Curvy' is possible but is not quite the basic meaning - it can be used of a man as well, and then it describes a man who is well-built in general. The general meaning is just 'good body shape'.

/Meadish

[pap]

Leave the fat guy alone,

Just kidding. The Thais can say this a couple of ways. Most of the time it is simply stating what they consider to be a fact. Like the sun is hot. Or the water is cold. They don't view it as insulting like westerners do. Either get used to it or leave. Don't expect them to change to suit your needs.

They could be trying to be rude but usually that is unlikely. Either way they aren't going to change. It just is. Like the sun is hot.

[pap]

Went to my husband's village late last month. Hadn't been there since Songkran. Walk in his aunt's house - "Oh, you're fatter." My answer? "Yes, well, I'm saving it up for when my husband and children have used all my money and I've nothing left to eat." She just laughed and pulled me over to sit with her. Then we go off to his friend's house and his friend's parents say "oh, you've lost weight!" And this was all in a matter of 2 hours! I think they just feel the need to comment on it and they're not really paying attention to what I look like or what they say. It used to really bug me, but now it's no more or less annoying than when they pull me over and rub my arms and tell me what beautiful skin I have.

However, once I went to visit some old students and they were shocked at how much weight I'd lost. Granted, I'd lost some baby weight and I'd been going to aerobics regularly, so I was thrilled they'd noticed and I thanked them for the compliment. And their answer? "No, you look sick. You looked better before."

My final conclusion - I just can't win. As long as my clothes aren't getting tighter, I figure I'm doing all right.

Oh, another answer I like to give when Thai people (family) tell me I've gained weight is that I can't be too fat because my boobs are still bigger than my stomach. If my stomach ever gets bigger than my boobs then I'll really start to worry. The women laugh and the men seem shocked that I'd speak like that around them.

Cheers,

TT

Your thanking them for the compliment story is priceless. It cracked me up. How true though. That disconnect is what makes it so much fun.

[lsimpson]

Not that I should have to defend myself, but I'm definitely *not* fat, thought don't have a waifish figure either, but I've been told by many people here that I'm fat, and though none of them have been trying to be malicious, it annoys me. I've tried explaining that in my culture calling someone fat is the same as calling someone ugly, but so far I've just been told "Try to understand Thai culture".

Have you guys experienced this not so delightful aspect of "Thai culture" and if so how do you suggest one responds?

I am not a female, but as a male I can tell you I experienced the same thing with shock. I have to laugh about it now. I am married to a Thai woman, and when we first went to her homeland from the U.S., I was very skinny. She being a good cook, the next time I visited I had put on a few obvious pounds. When her family met us at the airport, they kept saying, "Oo-uhn" after my first name, Larry. I did not speak any Thai at the time, so I thought it meant, "Hello". And I repeated the word back to them. They laughed. I did not know why. I later saw a Thai man on the street and I greeted him with the same word. I could not figure out why he was not returning my polite and friendly gesture. In fact, he looked at me downright threatening.

Like you, I am by no means fat. But I am a big guy compared to most of my relatives. I speak a little Thai now and I give them a hard time about that word. I call some of them fat now, but it does not seem to bother them. I think my culture and many cultures are just not as honest as the Thai people are. Here in the deep South where I live we have a lot of phony women that will hug each other and exchange a peck on the cheek as a greeting, maybe adding, "You look so good. How do you do it?" Five seconds after the woman has passed by, the woman will say to her friend, "Didn't she look terrible! I cannot believe how much weight she has put on. I understand she and her husband are having trouble. Blah, blah, blah."

I vote for the honesty. I am a big guy....I can take it.

[baennaenae]

I am a bit of a nitpicker, hope you don't mind Sir banana

Uan/Poom Pooye = Fat Right. The first one is a neutral statement, the second makes it sound cuter

uab Plump, full, rounded

tua yai = large Not necessarily a measure of body fat, it can refer to a tall muscular person as well.

hoon dee = good shape 'Curvy' is possible but is not quite the basic meaning - it can be used of a man as well, and then it describes a man who is well-built in general. The general meaning is just 'good body shape'.

/Meadish

It's okay, Meadish...your explanation is clearer than mine but you know what I wanted to say...

One thing though...I am not Sir Banana, I am Madam Baen-nae-nae

[rainx]

I am a bit of a nitpicker, hope you don't mind Sir banana

Uan/Poom Pooye = Fat Right. The first one is a neutral statement, the second makes it sound cuter

uab Plump, full, rounded

tua yai = large Not necessarily a measure of body fat, it can refer to a tall muscular person as well.

hoon dee = good shape 'Curvy' is possible but is not quite the basic meaning - it can be used of a man as well, and then it describes a man who is well-built in general. The general meaning is just 'good body shape'.

/Meadish

It's okay, Meadish...your explanation is clearer than mine but you know what I wanted to say...

One thing though...I am not Sir Banana, I am Madam Baen-nae-nae

"Baen-nae-nae" which in Thai means "surely flats", right?

[baennaenae]

I am a bit of a nitpicker, hope you don't mind Sir banana

Uan/Poom Pooye = Fat Right. The first one is a neutral statement, the second makes it sound cuter

uab Plump, full, rounded

tua yai = large Not necessarily a measure of body fat, it can refer to a tall muscular person as well.

hoon dee = good shape 'Curvy' is possible but is not quite the basic meaning - it can be used of a man as well, and then it describes a man who is well-built in general. The general meaning is just 'good body shape'.

/Meadish

It's okay, Meadish...your explanation is clearer than mine but you know what I wanted to say...

One thing though...I am not Sir Banana, I am Madam Baen-nae-nae

"Baen-nae-nae" which in Thai means "surely flats", right?

Well... Baen = Flat , but Baen-nae-nae is a kind of an endearment phrase to say " I'm gonna kill you " which means you are gonna be in trouble or even dead because of your naughty behaviour and someone will flattened you as to punish you

[Cpt_M0ney_Sh0t]

I'm about ready to choak my Fiance's mother. They are both Thai and every day her mother and the other women in her family are calling her fat. It's so bad that when we eat together during family dinners she barely has a bite and when she dose ever other word out of her mouth is "uawn" (fat). I stand up for her and tell her mother flat out that her daughter is beautiful and I Love her like this.

The sad thing is, this conditioning is like perminantly ingrained in her psychi, like she really thinks she's fat. Am I blinded by love? I know she is no 100 pound issan waif but damm her mom makes her sound like a elephant. Is this really big for Thai girls what?

[Head Snake]

Mr. Shot,

I don't think she is fat at all.

her mom must be a control freak

[Cpt_M0ney_Sh0t]

Mr. Shot,

I don't think she is fat at all.

her mom must be a control freak

Thanks, yeah I think your right she totaly fits the MO for one..but thats a entierly different story.

[Donz]

She isnt fat, she is phat

[baennaenae]

My Thai friend often talks about her mom as fat, both in front of her and away from her. Her mom says it about herself, too. It's not an insult, just seen as fact. My friend clearly loves her mom very much and wouldn't belittle her (no pun intended!).

I just let it go when my partner's family and friends tell me I'm fat or thin. It is just a form of greeting usually. They comment on each other all the time, too. It's a group thing. I'm part of the group, and that's a good thing.

You are absolute correct !

You should be more angry if we call you a Hippo , an Elephant or a buffalo because that is true insult ! meaning... you are more than fat but becareful with the word " buffalo "because it can mean you are as thick as a brick.

When I saw one of my sisters back in Thailand I said '' Oh-hoooooo... why are you sooo fat " ( in Thai ) She said " Because I didn't do anything physical ", therefore, I'm fat. " and we continued our normal conversation.

Is there another word for ' Fat ' in English apart from couch potato or big hef... ( don't know how to spell it )

Edited November 26, 2006 by baennaenae

[sbk]

I'm about ready to choak my Fiance's mother. They are both Thai and every day her mother and the other women in her family are calling her fat. It's so bad that when we eat together during family dinners she barely has a bite and when she dose ever other word out of her mouth is "uawn" (fat). I stand up for her and tell her mother flat out that her daughter is beautiful and I Love her like this.

The sad thing is, this conditioning is like perminantly ingrained in her psychi, like she really thinks she's fat. Am I blinded by love? I know she is no 100 pound issan waif but damm her mom makes her sound like a elephant. Is this really big for Thai girls what?

See, now this is the kind of behavior I am talking about, the kind that is beyond the usual greeting of " oh you look fat" that we all get from time to time, regardless of whether or not we have gained weight. The kind of behavior cpt money shot is discussing is hypercritical and damaging to another person, it is not done as a gentle reminder of weight gain but as a means of making the commenter feel superior to the "fat person".

No, cpt money shot, she is not fat, not even close. Her mother and the other women in the family are doing it as a means of belittling her and making her reliant upon them for approval. It is a method of power control, it is also extremely negative and frankly, quite horrible.

[rainx]

See, now this is the kind of behavior I am talking about, the kind that is beyond the usual greeting of " oh you look fat" that we all get from time to time, regardless of whether or not we have gained weight. The kind of behavior cpt money shot is discussing is hypercritical and damaging to another person, it is not done as a gentle reminder of weight gain but as a means of making the commenter feel superior to the "fat person".

No, cpt money shot, she is not fat, not even close. Her mother and the other women in the family are doing it as a means of belittling her and making her reliant upon them for approval. It is a method of power control, it is also extremely negative and frankly, quite horrible.

Interesting what you said about power control, and I think I have seen such subtle game before. I agree it is nasty and mean.

The woman in the picture has good figure, even by Thai standard. Not fat at all.

[baennaenae]

I'm about ready to choak my Fiance's mother. They are both Thai and every day her mother and the other women in her family are calling her fat. It's so bad that when we eat together during family dinners she barely has a bite and when she dose ever other word out of her mouth is "uawn" (fat). I stand up for her and tell her mother flat out that her daughter is beautiful and I Love her like this.

The sad thing is, this conditioning is like perminantly ingrained in her psychi, like she really thinks she's fat. Am I blinded by love? I know she is no 100 pound issan waif but damm her mom makes her sound like a elephant. Is this really big for Thai girls what?

Cpt Shot, you know that your wife is not fat, so why angry..? Why don't you try to understand the Fat or Uawn concept in Thailand in stead? Get your wife to explain it for you. I wouldn't let that situation end with a fight, I would explain to ' both ' parties I THINK YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAI CULTURE A BIT MORE

Before I got married i weighed 49 kgs, not long after my marriage I dropped to 45 - 46 kgs and when I visited my family they said " why are you so skinny? " Then continued our normal conversation. Other times when I seemed to gain a bit more weights they said " WoW you look more " Uawn " than before "

" Uawn " in Thailand IS NOT INSULTING it's a form of Greeting if it is used when you first meet someone ( if you haven't seen that person in a while ) But if it is used in the conversations, we say what we see....!

We also say pretty, beautiful, cute, handsome, good looking,sexy...etc, so why can't we say ' Fat ' or ugly ? I know that non of us wants to be called ' fat or ugly ' If you are not fat or ugly just ignore what they said to you but if you are fat or ugly ( don't know how ugly is ugly ?!?!?! ) just accept it and move on

If you want to live happily in Thailand you sometimes need to learn to let go of things, otherwise, you could end up with insomnia

I don't blame any of you for having to complain about what we (Thais) do or believe in Thailand because it is a normal reaction when you don't understand its culture, therefore, you need to rely on your partners.

Peace out

Edited November 26, 2006 by baennaenae

[khall64au]

At last glance, most of my Thai neighboirs are lookin' quite pompooi - I guess it comes with the wealth factor - BIG BUMS and all!!!

[Cpt_M0ney_Sh0t]

I'm about ready to choak my Fiance's mother. They are both Thai and every day her mother and the other women in her family are calling her fat. It's so bad that when we eat together during family dinners she barely has a bite and when she dose ever other word out of her mouth is "uawn" (fat). I stand up for her and tell her mother flat out that her daughter is beautiful and I Love her like this.

The sad thing is, this conditioning is like perminantly ingrained in her psychi, like she really thinks she's fat. Am I blinded by love? I know she is no 100 pound issan waif but damm her mom makes her sound like a elephant. Is this really big for Thai girls what?

Cpt Shot, you know that your wife is not fat, so why angry..? Why don't you try to understand the Fat or Uawn concept in Thailand in stead? Get your wife to explain it for you. I wouldn't let that situation end with a fight, I would explain to ' both ' parties I THINK YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAI CULTURE A BIT MORE

Before I got married i weighed 49 kgs, not long after my marriage I dropped to 45 - 46 kgs and when I visited my family they said " why are you so skinny? " Then continued our normal conversation. Other times when I seemed to gain a bit more weights they said " WoW you look more " Uawn " than before "

" Uawn " in Thailand IS NOT INSULTING it's a form of Greeting if it is used when you first meet someone ( if you haven't seen that person in a while ) But if it is used in the conversations, we say what we see....!

We also say pretty, beautiful, cute, handsome, good looking,sexy...etc, so why can't we say ' Fat ' or ugly ? I know that non of us wants to be called ' fat or ugly ' If you are not fat or ugly just ignore what they said to you but if you are fat or ugly ( don't know how ugly is ugly ?!?!?! ) just accept it and move on

If you want to live happily in Thailand you sometimes need to learn to let go of things, otherwise, you could end up with insomnia

I don't blame any of you for having to complain about what we (Thais) do or believe in Thailand because it is a normal reaction when you don't understand its culture, therefore, you need to rely on your partners.

Peace out

Firstly thank you all for your gentle comments, she means the wolrd too me. However I think SBK has it correct. Deviant nasty power control, by her mother and some of the more ignorant female members of her family. I understand the difference between saying, "oh you gained some weight"

And hard core manipulation. Like we can't eat without her mother giving her a hard time. It makes me very angry every single time we have been together in the same room or place for longer than 15 min her mom has made atleast one fat comment. What adds insult to injury is that I hate this and while I love her dad (who is Very gentle and supportive, hard worker, educated ect) her mom is not exactly on my christmas list. Yet I am supposed to be paying a HEALTHY 7 figure sinsot to her. I would have no problem with this if she would stop insulting my Baby. I don't care who it is her mother or a woman on the street I get angry when pepole critisie her wrongly. Her mother's opinion dosn't matter anymore and it's getting to the point were I am going to get very ignorant about it if she dosn't stop. I have already told her on several occasions to stop, and while she understands my english for anything else, she pretends not to get it when I talk about shutting up about the weight. Then my Fiance' just gets upset and feels in the middle. The bad thing is...she is not in the middle, I am on her side, her mother is the one with the insults and the manipulative fat comments.

[baennaenae]

I'm about ready to choak my Fiance's mother. They are both Thai and every day her mother and the other women in her family are calling her fat. It's so bad that when we eat together during family dinners she barely has a bite and when she dose ever other word out of her mouth is "uawn" (fat). I stand up for her and tell her mother flat out that her daughter is beautiful and I Love her like this.

The sad thing is, this conditioning is like perminantly ingrained in her psychi, like she really thinks she's fat. Am I blinded by love? I know she is no 100 pound issan waif but damm her mom makes her sound like a elephant. Is this really big for Thai girls what?

Cpt Shot, you know that your wife is not fat, so why angry..? Why don't you try to understand the Fat or Uawn concept in Thailand in stead? Get your wife to explain it for you. I wouldn't let that situation end with a fight, I would explain to ' both ' parties I THINK YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAI CULTURE A BIT MORE

Before I got married i weighed 49 kgs, not long after my marriage I dropped to 45 - 46 kgs and when I visited my family they said " why are you so skinny? " Then continued our normal conversation. Other times when I seemed to gain a bit more weights they said " WoW you look more " Uawn " than before "

" Uawn " in Thailand IS NOT INSULTING it's a form of Greeting if it is used when you first meet someone ( if you haven't seen that person in a while ) But if it is used in the conversations, we say what we see....!

We also say pretty, beautiful, cute, handsome, good looking,sexy...etc, so why can't we say ' Fat ' or ugly ? I know that non of us wants to be called ' fat or ugly ' If you are not fat or ugly just ignore what they said to you but if you are fat or ugly ( don't know how ugly is ugly ?!?!?! ) just accept it and move on

If you want to live happily in Thailand you sometimes need to learn to let go of things, otherwise, you could end up with insomnia

I don't blame any of you for having to complain about what we (Thais) do or believe in Thailand because it is a normal reaction when you don't understand its culture, therefore, you need to rely on your partners.

Peace out

Firstly thank you all for your gentle comments, she means the wolrd too me. However I think SBK has it correct. Deviant nasty power control, by her mother and some of the more ignorant female members of her family. I understand the difference between saying, "oh you gained some weight"

And hard core manipulation. Like we can't eat without her mother giving her a hard time. It makes me very angry every single time we have been together in the same room or place for longer than 15 min her mom has made atleast one fat comment. What adds insult to injury is that I hate this and while I love her dad (who is Very gentle and supportive, hard worker, educated ect) her mom is not exactly on my christmas list. Yet I am supposed to be paying a HEALTHY 7 figure sinsot to her. I would have no problem with this if she would stop insulting my Baby. I don't care who it is her mother or a woman on the street I get angry when pepole critisie her wrongly. Her mother's opinion dosn't matter anymore and it's getting to the point were I am going to get very ignorant about it if she dosn't stop. I have already told her on several occasions to stop, and while she understands my english for anything else, she pretends not to get it when I talk about shutting up about the weight. Then my Fiance' just gets upset and feels in the middle. The bad thing is...she is not in the middle, I am on her side, her mother is the one with the insults and the manipulative fat comments.

Cpt shot, I admire you that you stand up for your fiance, my husband does the same to me. Is her mother ' fat ' , too? If so, you should say exactly what she says to your fiance and tell her to shoooo up or say something that makes her feel really down and then explain to her that is how you feel when she keeps annoying you by saying your fiance is 'fat' It may work, if not, the family should put her on medications.

Your wife is a pretty lady , by the way.

Choke Dee jaooooo !

Edited November 26, 2006 by baennaenae

[MyFriend You]

It doesn't really worry me too much anymore when I'm told I'm 'fat' anymore as I've heard it so many times now - e.g. when my 'inlaws' haven't seen me for awhile they always comment on how I'm bigger than last time even if I think I'm smaller!. But that's when I'm being told face to face and by someone I know. It still really gets me even after 8 years when shop assistants tell me, and how they automatically assume you need the biggest size and if it doesn't fit you must need an even bigger size rather than smaller. The thing that I absolutely hate the most though is when shop assistants are discussing my weight and body size right in front of me assuming I can't understand them. I always turn to them and ask them why they are speaking so impolitely which usually results in profuse 'kor thort ka's'. In this situation I think it is good to let them know you understand and if they're going to gossip, at least wait until your out of earshot!

[Cpt_M0ney_Sh0t]

Krap pun maaa krap Baennaenae No, my mother in law is very skinny so are her sisters. Oh well, she will miss her daughter when she is gone. Mabey then when we visit from time to time she will act right.

[MyFriend You]

It doesn't really worry me too much anymore when I'm told I'm 'fat' anymore as I've heard it so many times now - e.g. when my 'inlaws' haven't seen me for awhile they always comment on how I'm bigger than last time even if I think I'm smaller!. But that's when I'm being told face to face and by someone I know. It still really gets me even after 8 years when shop assistants tell me, and how they automatically assume you need the biggest size and if it doesn't fit you must need an even bigger size rather than smaller. The thing that I absolutely hate the most though is when shop assistants are discussing my weight and body size right in front of me assuming I can't understand them. I always turn to them and ask them why they are speaking so impolitely which usually results in profuse 'kor thort ka's'. In this situation I think it is good to let them know you understand and if they're going to gossip, at least wait until your out of earshot!

First of, I'm a man, second off - stop apologizing - start asserting yourself, thats what gives Asian's your attention, and respect - not just Thai's - I have lived in Asia on or off for about 26 years, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia, Fiji - all same same - even when they themselves are short & fat, they expect the 'Falang' to be tall, nice nose, slim lady - Lord Buddah, I yearn for the days when we couldn't even see a lady in Bra & Panties in a newspaper, or a magazine - heaven forbid, a Billboard, Thailand in 2006 is not the same Thailand I came here in 1971........and I owned a bar in Pattaya for 6 years, I was still amazed at how the Thai's attitude changed from being Thai - to being what Thai's think they should be - what the magazine's & television show, that's why I sold my bar and just lived in Sida cha - no stress, no wife, no inlaws - my advice on top of all this - get a divorce if he doesn't support you 100%.................no stress

[Head Snake]

Capt Shot,

Please inform the mother that uan women are not 7-figure sinsod candidates.

By her admission, (the mother's), she is saying her daughter is not much of a find. How can she ask such a high price for a supposedly pudgy companion?

Think of all the mental baggage as well. Tell the mother that it is proven that mental stress is a result of the constant fat innuendos from her. This also reduces the fair market sinsod value.

According to Head Snake's General SinSod calculations, that makes her a low 5-figure sinsod payment.

Head Snake approved.