Body Shaming

 

Body shaming is a very sad phenomenon which has been happening for many centuries now, caused by the idea that there is an “ideal body type.” Both men and women experience this, but women experience it more, since they are more pressured by the society to present themselves as beautiful. However, the fact that there is an ideal body type is an outright lie, since every era or decade have very different beauty standards.

When I was a little kid during the nineties, I remember that slim girls with little to no curves were perceived to be beautiful. However, during the 2010s and onwards, I noticed that people perceived curvy and “meaty” women to be more beautiful, especially on the hips and buttocks area. It is as if trends dictate which group of people are more dominant and have the right to bully other groups of people who do not fit into the current beauty standards. It sounds crazy, because it really is. Fitting into a certain beauty standard does not entitle anyone to bully or body-shame other people.

Almost all people have experienced body shaming in some way. We were told that we were “too fat,” “too thin,” “not thin enough,” or “not curvy enough.” We hear all sorts of things about our outer appearance that, when repeated enough, it starts to affect us or we start to believe that we are not good enough. Body shaming causes low self-esteem, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders. And another sad thing I have noticed too is that the people who body-shame others have been body-shamed themselves and are only projecting their own hurts and insecurities onto others. Basically, as a society, we are perpetuating this toxic behavior and hurting each other.

Like our faces, our bodies are a result of genetic lottery. The only thing that we should improve about our bodies is their health. Abusing our bodies in order to fit in some ridiculous beauty standard can never result in anything good. I have done it myself, and I regretted it. I have a naturally slim body type, so the people around me kept bullying me for it, and they keep telling me to eat more even though I actually eat more than them – it is just my fast metabolism which keeps me thin. Because I could not handle hearing anything about my body anymore, I started taking pills which increase the appetite. I really did become fatter, but it looked abnormal. Plus, I developed allergies and rashes because of it. I was bullied more when I became fat, so from that moment on, I swore to myself never to listen to anything that other people say about my body. It is none of their business anyway. Right now my body is back to being thin and healthy.

Fortunately, more and more people speak up about body shaming. It is only a matter of time before the world realizes that the right thing to do is to accept all body sizes and shapes. But until that day comes, I believe that we should be mentally stronger, and not give in to the nasty comments of our people about our bodies. Our flesh is the temple of our spirit, and it unceasingly serves us so that we can function comfortably in the third-dimensional plane. It is time to stop body shaming, and compliment other people instead. There is so much beauty in this world to focus in this silly thing called body shaming.