Today's blog post is all about body shaming. It's a topic that's been on my mind quite a lot lately, for a number of reasons. Firstly, one of those being the immense amount of body shaming in the media and online - there isn't a day that goes by without at least one article or piece being published shaming someone (women and men) for their body - whether that be fat shaming or skinny shaming. Another reason is that, within the past week, I've experienced two separate incidents which I would consider body shaming - or at least the closest to it that I have experienced in my 18 years. The first of these incidents was someone (I won't mention names) saying to someone else that I was on a diet (I was in fact unaware of being on said diet) and when corrected, they said 'well you should be'. For this to come from someone who is very close to me, I was shocked to hear it and it actually really got to me. Having pushed this to the back of my mind, a mere three days later was the second incident, when someone who doesn't actually know me well at all called me a 'fat cow'. Now, I don't care what kind of humour you have, or how little you actually know me, this is not okay. I don't know why anybody thinks that it's okay to go that far and insult someone's weight - yes, I know I'm not the skinniest person in the world and I would like to be skinner but making remarks like that is completely unnecessary and offensive. In fact, I can deal with someone thinking it, but actually saying it to me was a step too far in my opinion - I do not need anyone to comment on my weight or how I look because, at the end of the day, it's nobody else's business but my own. I actually was at a party with my friends at the time of receiving this message and they were just as shocked as me that someone had the audacity to say that and, despite laughing about it at the time, it has been playing on my mind and it did upset me. It genuinely baffles me that people think that saying these things is okay. It's not.
The thing is, I shouldn't be shocked that things like this are still being said and are still happening. Body shaming isn't rare. You just need to flick through a gossip magazine or a newspaper or hop onto social media and it's there - it's a massive thing, and that's not even including the body shaming that comes out of peoples mouths IRL. It's everywhere, and it comes from anyone - even the President.
Everyone has their own personal view of what's pretty, or what's beautiful - beauty is subjective and it's okay for everyone to have their own opinion. What the problem is, however, is people making a judgement about a person based upon their weight or physical appearance - you are entitled to an opinion no matter what the topic is, of course, but it's important to remember that what you say can really affect someone and so, if it's offensive, can hurt someone's feelings and so on, don't say it.
It's not just fat shaming, either. Skinny shaming is just as bad - telling someone they need to eat a proper meal, or that they're 'too skinny' or telling them to get some food down them is just as bad. You are making these remarks without thinking of the effect that they might make on someone. There are a massive amount of reasons for someone being the weight that they are - so many factors that it would take forever to list them. Not that I am going to list them, because it's unnecessary - it's absolutely nobody else's business what the reasons for someone being a particular weight are. It is not up to you to make a judgement, an assumption, a decision about someone's weight and treat them unfairly as a result of that judgement. Nobody should be discriminated against and denied opportunities due to the way they look - or at all.
As a society, we have become more aware of and willing to tackle social issues such as bullying, abuse, discriminatory behaviour and so on but I think it's fairly obvious that the issues here aren't going away soon. Body shaming is still extremely common and, despite negative statements about individuals' bodies being plastered all over the internet and on magazine covers, it doesn't mean it's right. It is encouraging that there is an awareness of the issue and there are things being done to tackle the problem, but we need to continue to condemn such behaviour. Trust me, it says a lot more about yourself than the person you're making the judgements about. The same goes when it comes down to sexism, racism, homophobic behaviour and so on. Any kind of discrimination is wrong on every level and it needs to stop. Why can't we all just be supportive of each other and help to uplift our peers? At the end of the day, all that matters is a person's health and happiness - just let them be. Focus on yourself and project positivity towards others. It's so much nicer.
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