STOP BODY SHAMING

Body shaming is the act of suggesting that someone’s body isn’t good enough, and that they should not be satisfied or comfortable with its current composition, proportions, or exposure to the gaze of others. It is rude and disrespectful behavior, and there is no body type that creates an exception that would make body shaming less rude or less disrespectful.

A person’s body is their own. It is none of your business. You are not their medical practitioner, and you are neither assisting nor improving the lives of anyone by boorishly sharing your opinions and “helpful” intentions. There is no person on the planet that is not keenly aware of the ways in which their body does not meet the current standard. There is not one person who needs you to point it out.

Body shaming includes:

Suggesting that slender people are too thin, their bosoms and backsides are inadequate, that they’re weak and not manly, that they’re unhealthy and that their eating or exercise habits must be disordered. Dismissing very slender people as stuck up, meek, cowardly, weak, pathetic, neurotic, or shrill because of the composition of their bodies.

Suggesting that fat people are too fat to deserve basic human dignity, that fatness is a result of a flaw of character or failure of self discipline and therefore deserving of derision and mockery.

Suggesting that a body is too old to be beautiful. That the signs of maturity and experience are unsightly and revolting, and should be covered or “fixed”. That people over a certain age should cover up, that a woman’s body is meaningless after menopause, that older adults should not reveal their bodies or sexuality.

Suggesting that short people are undesirable and therefore foolish to attempt to begin a romantic relationship with a potential partner of average or above-average height.

Suggesting that tall people should only wear or do certain things because of their height, and that tall women should avoid high heels or shorter partners.

Suggesting that bodies are not sufficiently gendered: that muscular bodies are not feminine enough, that willowy bodies aren’t masculine enough, and that bodies that do not clearly evoke a gender are an embarrassment to be fixed.

Suggesting that some bodies are to be hidden from view. Too fat, skinny, tall, short, unusual, scarred, tattooed, devoid of curves or of defined muscles, unusually or deeply pigmented, affected by physical or medical challenges…and that they should not choose clothing that allows their skin and form to be visible for what it is and to celebrate it.

Body shaming is all around us. Judging has become such an automatic response that people tend to do it without any prior thoughts. Some people try to find humor in degrading someone else’s body which is highly undesirable. The problem is not just limited to judging others but judging our own selves. Thinking about the parts of your body you could change or comparing them with the notion of “perfect body” our media has successfully created. It saddens me to witness the social media popularizing certain body types as beautiful. Today, almost all the teenagers are highly active on social medias. When platforms like Facebook and Instagram reinforce the ideal concepts of beauty, it distorts the thinking processes of the teenagers who in turn experience insecurity and face issues of low self-esteem later in life.

“The world is too big to have one sort of view to show beauty”. It’s time to break the mold if we want to stop body shaming in all forms. Motivate, encourage and support the differences. If each one of us start to accept our own body structures, nobody can make us feel bad about it.

FIVE WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF:

1. You can wear WHAT YOU want and whatever makes you feel confident whether it’s being fully covered from head to toe, naked or anywhere in between.However, its not that wear a bikini to go to a temple. Always be appropriate to the area and situation it’s but YOUR choice. And should always be your choice.

2. Don’t be insecure about any part of your body. Or trying covering it up because you think “it’s dirty”. It’s ain’t. Your body is royal. Your skin is precious. Every part of you is important. Dress how you please BUT don’t think “oh, I can’t wear a bikini because of my cellulite, or stretch marks, or butt acne, or belly rolls, or bra bulges, or not having the same skin tone or being hairy or whatever you feel you’re insecure about.”

3. No matter what has happened to you, your body is not shameful. You are is not a disgrace. You my loves, are a fucking warrior made of resilience.Having scars (sometimes you can’t see them) on your body for all the battles you’ve fought. Every scar has a story. You are admirable. Wear your skin with pride.

4. And you know what for most of us who have hated our bodies for so long it’s difficult to “love ourselves”.But accept who you are, what you are now AND ALWAYS work on getting stronger. You will find moments of self love and then you’ll be addicted to it, and you’ll know how to truly take care of yourself. It will happen.

5. No matter what you start taking HEALTHIER options for you to get better. Yes, accept yourself and love yourself but also take steps for you TO BE HEALTHY. For your to get better, to get stronger, to get healthier than you were before.

Please choose kindness. Choose empathy. See the beauty in every body, and choose to spend your time bringing people and ideas together. We each have a staggering array of our own flaws on which to focus — let us not mock others for the state of their earthly form.

We often blame the society for what is happening around but we need to realize that it us who form the society. Thus, the first step is to fight our own thinking patterns to accept ourselves and then we need to make others aware of the same. Embrace who you are!