Body shaming is described as an action or practice of humiliating a person by making mocking or critical comments about their Body shape or size. It is something that is seen almost daily across social media and has become a popular joke to mock the way that others look.
In modern society, there is so much focus on our appearance and how we are told we should look. Platforms like Instagram encourage us to compete for ‘likes’ and compare ourselves to others in the most unhealthy way. It is easy to forgot that images can be manipulated and especially online, people choose to show themselves from the best and most flattering angles. This all leads to an unrealistic representation of the female body, and can be so damaging to young girls in particular. We are being led by the media to believe that our appearance is our most important asset, with newspaper headlines often focusing more on a woman’s outfit or hairstyle that praising her for her achievements. It is also not uncommon to see horrible comments in response to what should be empowering images of Women.
This comparative society encourages us to focus on what is wrong with our bodies. According to the media, we are always too fat or too thin. A celebrity in the public eye can’t eat a cheeseburger without being hounded for binge-eating or leading an unhealthy lifestyle. We have all been led to believe that there is this ideal body type, this slim and sexy figure that manages to maintain curves on a skinny frame. It is impossible for the majority of us to achieve this, so why is this the poster image for women across the world? What harmful affect is this having on young women?
And to be quite honest, I’m done. Our bodies are our business. The media both on and offline has no say in how we should look or how we should feel in our bodies. What we put into them, how we dress them, how we look as women is down to us and we should be proud. We should be proud to look different, to be all kinds of shapes and sizes, because what fun would it be to all be the same? As long as you are healthy and happy, be who you want to be and don’t let anybody stop you.
