- by ankita
"I definitely have body issues, but everybody does. When you come to the realization that everybody have that — even the people that I consider flawless — then you can start to live with the way you are." —Taylor Swift
Body - Shaming is one of the biggest problems of today's generation. People used to discriminate on the basis of race, skin tone or nationality, but nowadays they have started treating and judging people on the basis of their body style which is not acceptable. Body shaming means criticizing and humiliating someone by making harsh and impolite comments on someone's body shape or size. This has become common in many social circles because people have made it a way of enjoyment. We can experience body shaming everywhere in colleges, schools, and even by our family members. Body shaming doesn't care about gender. Both men and women faces body shaming. They presume that a person's body style such as weight is completely under their control, which is completely wrong, as there many reasons which makes a person to gain weight. Body shaming has been brought in light with the help of social media. Many celebrities have talked about body shaming and have shared their experiences. People judge you everywhere: if you are skinny, they judge you; if you are fat, they judge you. People pass comments very easily. Unfortunately, they never think about the other person's feelings, and that how their comments will affect other person. Comments like “you should put more meat on your bones” and “you should go on a diet” are very demeaning. They have set a bar, or we can say a definition of perfect body. Body shaming is horrible as it makes us feel terrible. Because of body shaming, people are so concerned about their body types that they torture themselves just to save themselves from it.
I read an article about body shaming that said young girls are afraid of becoming fat, and engage themselves in dieting. Nobody chooses the body they have. If someone is overweight, that doesn't mean he/ she eats a lot, or he/ she is lazy. There are many reasons of being overweight, like medical conditions; stress also contributes as a factor to gain weight. “You are overweight, you need to do exercise, you need to lose weight” , these types of comments affect other person's mental health and lowers his/her confidence. Body shaming can result in death too as people become so concisious of their body that they torture themselves by starving themselves. Nowadays, we can see people of all ages going to gym, because we have set a perfect body definition which they want to achieve. Even kids of 10 years are so concerned about their bodies. A third of all children surveyed in a UK primary school said their bodies were their number one worry. The average age children begin dieting is 10 years old, which is horrible.
Film industries, media and many platforms also promote the definition of perfect body. For example, there are only a few number of actresses who are fat, and even they are pressurized to lose weight, so that they can achieve a big budget film, or to become a hit in industry. Even magazines put the spotlight on thin models or girls; they prefer size 0 and reject the others. This is to make a picture of so-called “ perfect body.” Just because of body shaming, people have stopped loving themselves, their bodies. They are coming out of their comfort zones to make their bodies so-called perfect. Body shaming leads to self shaming. After being conditioned with this kind of body judgement, a person internalizes it, becoming their own bully who silently taunts and berates himself/herself as fat, lazy, and ugly.
Sadly, we have all become body haters now. We use Instagram filters to make our photos look better. We take a dozen selfies to find the best one, pinch our thighs and start diets. We want to lose a few kilos for summers. We buy trash magazines that belittle celebrities on the cover, then sell us their “dramatic weight loss secrets” on page two.
Body shaming sells us the lie that by shaming ourselves, we will be motivated to take action, lose weight, be better. What happens in reality is the exact opposite: the feelings of shame drive us to give up in, “stuff it” moment of hopelessness.
If you have faced body shaming, remember you are not alone. Everyone goes through this. Even I face this every day because I am skinny. People advice me to eat more, make funny comments. But, lately, I have realized that I have to love myself for who I am and what I look like. I shouldn't be ashamed of who I am or let negativity manifest. You should never stop loving yourself. What can make you stand out is if you don't let what other people say or the devil sitting on your shoulder weigh you down or make you miserable.
We live in a world of great diversity where people are of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. Learning to accept others for who they are and not how they look can only be beneficial at the end.
There are many people out there working towards putting an end to body shaming as well as the stereotype that goes alongwith being plus size. Body shaming is wrong, and needs to stop. We should respect each other. It's very unethical and shameful to judge somebody on the basis of their body type.
“I realize everybody wants what they don't have. But at the end of the day, what you have inside is much more beautiful than what's on the outside.” —Selena Gomez