Nothing is more painful other than being mocked for having a shape of the body. The shape can be anything skinny, fatty, plus size or something else. But there is always a desire for the “perfect size”. This “perfect size” in case of women comes with a chest of 38, a tummy of 24 or 25 and a waist of 36. Also, height should not be less than 5’6. Both men and women irrespective of gender are victims of body shaming but in maximum cases women are objectified and judged on the basis of their appearance. The advertisements on weight loss, diet for becoming thin, etc are largely feminine. The body of a woman is portrayed as an example of either “overweight figure” or a “perfectly maintained slim figure.” This is the general attitude of the society which forces an individual to fit within the so called normal body standards. For achieving this “perfectness of the body” sometimes an individual had to go through a lot of harmful artificial treatments which disturbs the healthy living.
Bullying, self-destruction, and body shaming
Body shaming is done by relatives, peers, siblings and everyone who lacks sensible senses. The instances of bullying because of the body shape are very common examples of body shaming. The common sayings such as “you look malnourished”, “don’t you exercise because of your weight”, “what makes you so fat”, “don’t you eat anything to look good”, etc reflect the bullying nature of society. This creates a negative impact in the minds of the individuals which ultimately leaves them emotionally traumatized. This is also humiliating and violates a person’s privacy. The worst situation which results from these traumatizing experiences is the diminishing nature of self confidence. This also implies self destruction in many ways. An individual starts to compare him or her with others and tend to think that he or she is worthless. This makes themselves their worst critic. In such situations the criticisms are not always about their flaws but their natural instincts. This is how sometimes the individuals develop hate towards their own body or the biological mechanism. If a person is fat he or she will try every possible way to become thin. In case the person is skinny then he or she would try hard to gain weight in order to escape the taunts. The bodily changes are not always healthy. Maximum number of times the consciousness to achieve “perfection” of the body comes with dire consequences because all artificial treatments disturb the natural and biological order of the body.
Need for sensitization of mentality
Body shaming and all forms of bullying cannot be justified any way. The individuals who are victims of body shaming should stand up against such insensitive behavior instead of struggling to achieve “perfectness” of the body. Just like everything it should be remembered that having a skinny body or a plus size figure does not mean an unhealthy body. All shapes are normal and depend on the mechanisms of a person’s body. Even if a person is not well and requires losing or gaining weight then also no one has the right to make judgments. It is not the problem of shapes or sizes of the body that makes an individual appear less beautiful or perfect. It is the serious problem of the judgmental society that requires sensitization. National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) has joined the fight against injustice of body shaming faced on social media. The association encourages individuals to report instances of body shaming through a “Media Watchdog Program”. Creating petitions, making awareness campaigns and reporting the cases in appropriate places are the best ways to fight against body shaming. Protesting against any indignation done in the name of fun should be normalized because pain inflicting fun is never desirable. This will help to sensitize the insensitive attitude of the society.
