Body Shaming & its Effects

Have you ever been body shamed?

Have you ever body-shamed someone?

Did anyone close to you ever face body shaming?

The answers to all the above questions can be yes or no depending upon the people or society you live with, but believe me, as a society we can’t deny that body shaming is one of the ills that is very much part of our life and not many eyebrows are raised when during a conversation with friends or relatives, someone or other is mocked for his or her bodily faults. Sometimes it is sugar-coated with care or concern for the person being body shamed. We have become a society full of adjectives, each one of us has some or other adjective that we associate with any random person whom we start judging because of his or her appearance. Sometimes, we body shame or age shame ourselves and become too critical of our appearance.

Body shaming is the humiliation or criticism of someone’s physical appearance or imperfections. These days if you look closely around yourself men, women and even kids are body shamed or mocked for their bodily faults. Mocked for their height, weight, age, skin color, hair color, the way they dressed and disabilities if any.

How body shaming is affecting us

1. Youngsters are the most vulnerable

Fear of public shaming is affecting the mental well-being of the younger generation most while adolescents are becoming more and more vulnerable to body shaming, weight shaming and appearance shaming. It is a race to become perfect, either you are born perfect or change yourself to become perfect, as imperfections can invite shaming from family, friends, colleagues or society.

2. Increasing Self-criticism

People especially youngsters are not happy with themselves, they start judging themselves and their loved ones on the opinions of others. They criticize their own appearance compare themselves with others or start judging themselves by listening to the negative comments of others. This, later on, leads to depression and eating disorders. Learn to be happy always and not pay attention to what others say.

3. Low self-esteem

Self-esteem is touching a new low in persons who get affected terribly by the cruel words of those whom they are close to and are part of their ecosystem like friends, colleagues and close acquaintances. Attitudes or beliefs about body image and self-esteem get influenced by social media, peers and family a lot. Family members should try and make the younger lot understand what is more critical than the false pressure of looking good is self-belief and self-care.

4. Health issues

Body shaming is prevalent these days and leads to several health issues like mental health problems, psychological distress, anxiety and low self-esteem. The general feeling is hatred toward their body, higher body dissatisfaction and poor quality of life.

How to deal with it

A. Body Positivity

Recognize the importance of body positivity, and be positive about yourself and your appearance. You need to reject and ignore the negative viewpoints and opinions of body shamers. Try to be accepting and understanding towards yourself and feel good about each and every aspect of your personality. Always love and respect yourself and don’t get deterred by negative emotions directed towards you.

B. Practice self-love

Start to love your shape, skin color and height and feel happy about it and this practice of loving yourself will help improve your emotional health too. Be kind to yourself and don’t judge yourself harshly for what others' perspective is about you. Being kind and loving towards yourself means having respect for yourself for who you are and don’t be self-critical and self-deprecating.

C. Appreciate yourself despite flaws

Stay mentally strong and build inner confidence that no one is perfect. Try to understand that your imperfections make you unique. Accept the way you are and stop hiding and isolating yourself from the world. Try to be happy and feel good about yourself. Be grateful for your precious life and good health.

D. Take responsibility of yourself

Some people like parents or trusted friends can never be your body shamers or fat shamers, if they want you to be responsible and accountable towards yourself and your health then you better follow their advice without any hesitation. As they are genuinely concerned about you and your wellbeing and they have a big role in guiding you and generating confidence in you. So, if corrective changes are needed to help you look better, go for it confidently after fully analyzing and agreeing to it. Never be shy of hard work to improve your personality.

E. Follow positivity influencers

If you are active on social media then follow those influencers that talk about positivity and help you improvise yourself. Follow those people who promote health and body positivity and encourage self-acceptance. Improve yourself physically and mentally and try to spread positivity around you. Help those who have gone through the same social humiliation as you.

F. Never be argumentative

It is useless to fight back or be argumentative with people who body shame you. They might be your own family, friends or acquaintances or possibly complete strangers, but by mocking you, perhaps, they might not be knowing the depth where their words are hurting you. Better try to make those ignorant souls understand how this is not expected from them, speak for your dignity firmly but peacefully. Control the situation and try to move forward.

G. Be sensitive to others

Be sensitive to all those who you find being body shamed, Don't pass any wrong statements, be extra sensitive to them and choose the right words always to address them. Remember your journey and struggles and be sympathetic to others.