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The word Body shaming might be a newly coined term but the idea of shaming has been deeply inculcated in our societies for ages. One is mocked for either being overweight or for having facial hair, someone is getting picked on for their skin tone, someone is getting thin-shamed for looking weak and the list continues.
These mean streaks in humans have made this a hard place to live in. In these modern times, we are well aware of the shortcomings in our culture yet it will take a considerable time for a change to come about. People across the globe have a preconceived notion about beauty and have unrealistic beauty standards, an invisible bar that everyone is trying to reach. We live in a world where the beauty industry is seen feeding into the insecurities of its customers and social media adds to the pressure of having a perfect life, and perfect skin and perfect everything.
Social media has increased the risk
of eating disorders and negative body images, and has built insecurities in people. We have
numerous examples of body shaming happening around and studies show how it can affect one's mental and physical
health. Surprisingly, negative body image begins at a young age and culture
plays a substantial role in exerting influence on it. Mocking a
person's physical appearance can be a painful experience to the one the slams
are hurled at. Being on the other side of the table one cannot contemplate the repercussions
of these toxic behaviorisms, criticisms and their comments. Most times a person's physical appearance has a lot to do with underlying health issues, making the journey of self-love even more difficult.
Celebrities are not spared from getting shamed too. And every time a woman has a bloated tummy a weird question just pops up, "Is she pregnant?", or there will be far too many people telling one what the right amount of body weight should be. Stars like Jessica Simpson, Demi Lovato have shared their individual experiences of online body-shaming through mean comments, news headlines that barred Demi from reading any articles about her for some time. Jessica Simpson's mother shared that she wanted to be in recluse after receiving criticisms and questions about her body weight constantly. We are all trying to project things as picture-perfect but the darker picture is we even lack basic compassion and integrity.
Anything unconventional gets shamed in our Societies. However, the silver lining in the cloud is that with time people are coming to terms with the fact that cellulite is normal, body fat is normal, stretch marks are normal. That's how people are also learning to love their bodies, slowly and steadily. Now, acceptance needs to come from within, and accepting who we are and how we look is the first step towards the journey of breaking barriers and faulty beauty standards.
Model and Activist, Ashely Graham had said in an interview that she doesn't like discussing her body but she has to. The very concept of having to discuss your body is not a pleasant experience. The way we view "one is doing so well" despite "how she looks" needs to change. Women tend to get body shamed more but that doesn't spare men getting shamed for looking feminine and for being overweight and so on. And sometimes all these forms of criticism come from the family and our loved ones, and the comments made by one's parents too can have a massive impact on a child's mind. To be sensitive towards these things is still not considered important to be taught in schools or at home. Unlearning the conditioned ways of thinking is not difficult but is not a rapid and easy process either. Meanwhile, it is essential for us to challenge the oppressive beauty standards where ever they show up.