One of the serious problems, which according to me has been perpetuating over the years is, Body Shaming. Yes, each and every one of us out there has been body shamed at least once in our life-time.
What is it and why do we do it?
Do you ever stop and think about how often we are told to change our appearance?The answer is,”Yes Definitely”. Magazines constantly offer tips about how to lose weight “in days,” appear slimmer “instantly,” and hide our “imperfections”, without actually knowing anything about us, much less our appearance.This is one example of body-shaming, and it is omnipresent.
Sitcoms so frequently use overweight characters’ bodies as the basis of a variety of the show’s jokes.Surprisingly it has become the norm to criticize aspects of our bodies as some type of bonding experience with friends – if we all hate our bodies; it somehow makes us feel connected and united.Body-shaming (criticizing yourself or others because of some aspect of physical appearance) can lead to a vicious cycle of judgment and criticism.
Messages from the media(social media) and from each other often imply that we have to change, that we should care about looking slimmer, smaller, and tanner. And if we don’t, we worry that we are at risk of being the target of someone else’s body-shaming comments.
Talking about fat shaming, it has been the charm of the Internet so far. A couple of video wherein fat people were being criticized went viral. Some psychologists suggest that passing comments’ on somebody’s appearance doesn’t motivate them to work harder towards improving upon it, rather lower downs their morale and cause them to eat more than what they usually eat, thereby increasing their weight and making them even more unhealthy along with mental instability.
What is Fat Shaming?
Fat shaming involves criticizing and harassing overweight people about their weight or eating, in order to make them feel ashamed of themselves.
Apparently, some people believe that making overweight people feel ashamed of themselves will motivate them to change their behavior so that they start eating less, exercising more and finally start to lose some weight.
Others are just horrible human beings, as simple as that. Horrible people are more like coward individuals who often feel comfortable saying things over the internet that they would not dare to say in real life.
In the majority of cases, the people who do this are skinny. They have never had to struggle with a weight problem themselves and don’t understand what it is like ( to be overweight and on top of that be body shamed).
There are actually entire communities on the internet where people gather in order to make fun of overweight people. Often it turns into downright group harassment which has a severe impact on the stooge.
Fat Shaming Causes Overweight People to Eat More
When people are discriminated against, it causes stress, tension and makes them feel pathetic about themselves.
In the case of overweight people, this stress can drive them to eat more calories and gain even more weight.
Bottom Line: Many observational studies show that weight discrimination is linked to weight gain and a drastic increase in the risk of becoming obese.
Skinny people have it just as bad
The following was narrated to me by my friend.
Growing up I was super thin, a little on the taller side, and had long legs with a thigh gap. As much as the media portrayed this body type as “ideal,” I was still insecure, bullied, and body shamed to the point where I wanted to just hide. Getting called anorexic and having people laugh about how I had no ass was an everyday thing. I was perfectly healthy and I ate like every other kid my age, but girls would constantly question my body. “Do you like, only eat salads?” “You should go to a doctor, you look sick” “Why are you so skinny?” I always felt like yelling back, “I DON’T KNOW THIS IS JUST MY BODY, FOCUS ON YOUR OWN.”
At this point, I didn’t even like my own body so I got into fitness and gained some weight and lots of muscle too. I love my body now. I love my bigger shoulders and how my quad muscles pop out. I want to continue on my fitness journey and have shredded abs and bigger muscles someday because that’s what makes me happy. Even though I’m happy about my body, the body shaming still exists. Comments like, “Don’t get too big!” “Men don’t like women with abs” and “You’re gonna look manly” happen every day. A lot of these are from other women who have different body types than me. I still get the questions, “Isn’t it hard having such a strict lifestyle and always going to the gym? Why can’t you just love yourself the way you are?” And when I post before and after pictures, there’s always someone saying I looked better before.
My body and what I choose to do with it isn’t the only thing other women have questioned. I have a love for makeup. Whenever I have the energy and time, I go full out with the contouring and everything. I feel so proud of myself for doing a good job with my makeup skills, but there’s always that one girl who has to say, “You look better without makeup” or just talk on and on about how they don’t wear make up and it ruins your skin. There have been instances of women questioning me when I tan. “Why do you want to get darker? You’re already tan.” I never understood how me being a few shades darker is impacting anyone else.
It’s so common to see women body shaming and “personal choice shaming,” and I’ve been noticing images supporting this one all over social media. At first, it looks like an effort to be body positive and show appreciation towards a certain body type. But is putting down another woman’s body really being “body positive?”
My thoughts when I saw this picture were, “my body doesn’t curve like that at all…am I not a woman?” I’ve always felt insecure because of my lack of curves and seeing posts about, “real women” with pictures of girls with large hips and DDs doesn’t make it easier. The worst part is, many times it’s other women, some who call themselves body positive, posting these pictures with captions like, “real men want curves” or “bones are for dogs.”
Honestly, men love and want whatever they want. There’s no single body type that’s more attractive than the other, and I believe that women should just focus on being the type of woman they want to become, and find a man that loves them for who they are. Because there is a man out there that loves you for who you are regardless what any other women has to say about how you choose to look and live.
It’s not just curvy women against skinny women, it’s skinny women against curvy women, muscular/athletic women against skinny and curvy women, etc. And it goes beyond just body types, I see women who don’t wear makeup shaming women who do, women who leave their hair natural shaming women who don’t, and the list continues.
Wouldn’t it be great if we all just enjoyed one of the best parts of being a woman? We have so many options. We can do our hair how we want. We can be skinny, muscular, curvy, or whatever we want as long as we’re healthy. We can rock completely bare faces and natural hair, or get artsy with the makeup and curling wands. All that matters is what makes YOU happy. It’s hard to stop others from body shaming, and the hard thing to realize is it will always exist no matter who you are. Everyone is different, just because someone does not agree with your choices does not make you any less valuable. We are versatile, unique, and the most beautiful when we are happy with being ourselves.
Harmful Effects of Body Shaming
Depression: People who are discriminated against due to weight are at higher risk of depression and other mental issues (no surprise there).
Eating disorders: Fat shaming is linked to an increased risk of eating disorders, such as binge eating disorder.
Reduced self-esteem: Fat shaming is linked to reduced self-esteem.
Others: By causing stress, weight gain, increased cortisol levels and mental problems, weight discrimination may raise the
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