Dear women,
I want to speak on a topic all of us face at least once in our lifetime. Have you read magazines that constantly offer tips on losing weight in days and hiding all your imperfections? Also, have you watched Sitcoms that frequently use overweight character bodies as the basis of throwing a joke? Well, this has certainly become the norm of criticizing our bodies. But ladies, do you know that we spend half of our lives adjusting and understanding our bodies? Well, a woman’s body change and fluctuates every month, during pregnancy, menopause, and breastfeeding. While these changes are vast and immense, the stigma associated with body-shaming is huge. So, whether you call it body shaming or fat-shaming, one thing is very clear: nobody should feel shame over their body, shape, and weight.
So, if you are covering up your curves, standing in the back of family photos, or making disparaging jokes about your body, then you are demeaning your own body, which is not right!
It is a problem. Women; we deserve a better world, and a better society to live.
WAYS OF BODY-SHAMING:
1.) Criticizing your appearances through judgment or comparisons.
2.) Criticizing another’s appearances in front of them.
3.) Criticizing another’s an appearance at their back.
BODY SHAMING’S IMPACT ON WELL-BEING:
Well, body shaming has myriad negative consequences on mental health. So, here are some important ones:
1.) Adolescents who are body shamed are more prone to depression.
2.) It leads to eating disorders.
3.) It worsens outcomes for obese women attempting to overcome binge eating.
4.) It can cause dissatisfaction with one’s body, which leads to low self-esteem.
WAYS OF COMBATING BODY-SHAMING:
1.) Recognising the cycle of body drama:
Despite the growing body-positivity movement, weight stigma still exists. Only about 10 women feel good about their bodies.
Society as a whole has taught us to favor thin. For example, the average American woman wears size 16 clothing, and most female celebrities wear outfits between 00 and 2. So, my point is every person of every size and shape should be valued. Sometimes, overweight people are commonly labeled as lazy or stupid. But, that is not right, and it is cruel too.
2.) Seeing yourself through your woman’s eyes:
If you have got issues with your own body, you just cannot snap your fingers and start loving your body. So, here are two things which you can do:
A.) Think back to a time when your woman wanted to wear color-coordinated outfits. That is the proof that your woman thinks you are beautiful just as you are. So, treat yourself the way she treats you.
B.) Following the age-old advice of faking it. Till you make it.
3.) Curbing ‘diet’ and ‘skinny’ talk:
Making healthy choices is an awesome form of self-love and a great way to model for your woman. But what is not good is teaching your woman about a culture of thinspiration. So, if you are talking about making some lifestyle changes, talk about giving your woman the best advice on strength and energy. Set health and fitness goals for her. That’s the best way to make her understand your care and concern.
4.) Telling your woman that she is beautiful:
Have you heard advice from people who say complimenting a woman on her looks is a big no-no? Well, then you are supposed to tell her that she is brave, curious, funny, and smart-basically anything but pretty. With so much body shaming going on in the world, tell your woman that she is beautiful. Also, try mixing in some praise for her hard work at school, and her can-do attitude.
SPEAK UP:
So, if you see someone commenting on another person’s body, whether their weight, size or clothing, you can gently let them know that it is not fair enough to talk about other people’s bodies. And if this keeps happening regularly with your peers, you can bring it up in a bigger way, letting them know the importance of their bodies. Body shaming needs to stop by bringing body positivity into action.
