Body shaming. This is something many of us have experienced in our lives. Some of us may even be going through it right now.
Sometimes it’s a random stranger who points out our imperfections and many times it’s the people we hold near and dear.
It can be “skinny shaming” or “fat shaming”, being called out for “being too tall” or “being too short”.
As someone on the chubbier side of the spectrum, I grew up hearing taunts and underhanded compliments like “You know, you’re pretty for a fat girl” or “If only you would lose some weight, you could be just like the models.”
On the other hand, I have friends who are very petite. I have heard them be called so many nasty things from “life-size stick figure” to “skeleton boy”.
Sometimes even the “You’re so skinny, I wish I were like you” or the “I wish I had your thick thighs and your curves” can cause harm to the person you are saying it to. Why? Well we as the third person do not know what the other individual is going through. Maybe the person you envy for being skinny is trying their very best to gain weight, or maybe they are going through an eating disorder. And the person you are continuously fat shaming? For all you know they are spending hours and hours exercising and cutting down on their calories but it’s just not working for them.
Sometimes it’s PCOS and sometimes it’s body dysmorphia but their size and shape shouldn’t matter as to how you treat them!
The pen may be mightier than the sword, but if we are being honest it’s the tongue that cuts deepest. A few words have the power to shatter a person’s entire confidence and self esteem.
From someone who has been told all their life that their body isn't good enough, believe me when I say how deteriorating it is to hear that what I am doing isn’t enough and that my efforts are all a waste.
At some point the voices pointing out my supposed “flaws” stopped belonging to someone else. At one point, it was my own mind so uncomfortable in the body it was in.
It took me years to come to a place where I am happy and confident in my body. It took me years to love my own self. So the next time you call someone skinny, fat, too tall, too short or anything at all remember that everybody has flaws. You do too.
And for those of you out there who are going through something like this, just know that you are perfect the way you are. If you want change, go ahead. But do it for yourself and not because someone else told you you aren't good enough !!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shwetha is a high school student passionate about advocacy, music and fashion. She loves expressing her feelings in the form of written words and aims to use her voice to help everyone who is going through something tough.
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