Body shaming is never okay. It’s not okay for little girls to grow up being told to eat less or more based on how their bodies look. It’s not okay for them to be taught at such a young age that how big or thin they are matters in this society. And it’s definitely not okay that this hyperfocus on body type has become a normal part of life.
In today’s society, we focus too much on finding the perfect body. Many see this as women like Victoria’s Secret models, but there really is no such thing as the ultimate, perfect body. We’re all built differently and each one of us is beautiful in our own ways. So instead of teaching women that their bodies are something to be fixed, or that they’re flawed, we should be teaching each other to celebrate the way we look. Because we’re all beautiful and you are the only one that matters when it comes to your body image. So love yourself.
Our society makes it hard to escape body shaming. Sure, plus-sized modeling is becoming a thing, but you still see tall, thin models gracing the cover of magazines or appearing on TV ads. And while there’s nothing wrong with the way they look, our society has yet to represent other body types in such ways.
We tell larger women that they need “to cut back on all the fatty foods” or that they can’t wear some form of clothing, such as crop tops, because “people don’t want to see their fat.” That’s not okay in any way. Each one of those women is beautiful, and instead of tearing her down, why don’t you let her know just how pretty she is?
It also happens in the opposite way. I think people sometimes think that it’s okay to skinny-shame because clearly those skinny girls are happy enough with the way they look that a few harsh judgements won’t hurt. People couldn’t be more wrong. Thin girls still worry about the way they look and when you call them out for their “twig-likeness” or laugh because they “have no curves,” they take those words to heart and start wondering if how they look is wrong and ugly. Meghan Trainor’s song, “All About that Bass,” was certainly trying to tell us that skinny women aren’t desirable. Sure, she was telling women to love themselves, but, while doing so, she was degrading other women.
Attacking body shaming with body shaming is not going to solve the problem. Saying degrading things about another woman’s body is not going to give you the body you want. You’re just adding to the problem and you’re saying that those ugly words that you throw at others are okay to say.
And it has become something that we almost do unconsciously now. We talk about how other women look all the time, not really thinking about the effect our words can have. And the worst part about this – it tells little girls that it’s okay, and that saying these degrading things is just a normal part of society.
No one should worry that people are going to think they’re ugly because they’re “on the larger side” or because “they have no curves.”
It’s time to start empowering one another. Don’t comment on what you see as something negative about a person’s body; instead tell her how beautiful she is. Start showing society that every single one of us are dazzling, unique, amazing human beings. Because it’s time that we started loving ourselves and the way we look.
It’s time to stop body shaming.