Too fat? Too thin?

“Oh hey! Long time no see. Wow, you’ve put on weight. Look at those belly rolls, have you considered yoga?” Or “God! You’re still as skinny as a stick. Dude I can literally feel your bones. You should probably eat more and put on some weight.”

Aren’t these the most famous conversation openers we’ve heard when we meet someone after a long time? These are simple words that have the power to drastically affect one’s well-being. Too fat, too thin, too tall, too short... and it goes on and on. These are some of the very common words we use to body shame others either on their face or maybe behind their back.

What does body shaming actually mean? In simple words, it is the act of criticizing oneself or others on the basis of their body shape or size. Whether we know it or not, body shaming kills the same way that cancer does and most of the time people do not realize that it could strongly affect the mental health of an individual. In a lot of cases, it leads to problems such as eating disorders or even suicide.

Body shaming goes beyond just fat-shaming or skinny-shaming. People could also be shamed for their height or be criticized that they are not beautiful enough for the physique they have. No matter the form, body shaming is absolutely unacceptable and should not be encouraged whatsoever. On behalf of a body shaming victim I want you to know that it is not okay to joke around about a person’s body and it doesn’t matter if it’s unintentional or not. An individual’s body figure should never be the topic of discussion or a topic to merely gossip about.

This is the story of a beautiful 25-year-old beautiful pathologist named Aashi. This is what I consider to be the ultimate height of insensitivity and stupidity in our society.
Aashi has been rejected for marriage by 11 suitors at a stretch. The reason behind it? It was nothing but her WEIGHT. It gets worse... One of the suitor’s mother made her stand on a weighing scale and when the scale showed 79 kg, she said, “but how do you not weigh more than 90? When I looked at you I was so sure that you would be anything above 90 kg“

These are the kind of people that do not understand how body shaming impacts one’s emotional and physical health. It literally has the power to take someone’s life.

So, the next time you think you have the right to express your opinion about someone’s body, think twice before you comment because you cannot even imagine how your words could be affecting them.

What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you look into the mirror? What do you feel and do you describe or label yourselves?

Ever since I was a child, I’ve always wondered why do we have to label each other by adjectives. Why do we have to label each other as fat, skinny, short or by comparative adjectives?
By doing so, we are allowing ourselves to believe that what we look like is more important than who we actually are as human beings. We need to stop body shaming ourselves in order to stop body shaming other people. I want each and every one to know that there is no right or wrong way to have a body.

Our body is a temple and it deserves to be worshipped.
So to every single one of us who has ever doubted your self-worth, second- guessed if we’re beautiful, who has struggled and fought so much to learn how to love themselves; you are beautiful for your soul, your mind, your heart, for how much you’ve been through, how far you’ve come and most importantly for the body you have.
Body positivity is not just a trend, we’re doing this for our friends, our family, our future children, and the people we know, love and care about. We are doing this for ourselves and most importantly for the victims of body shaming. I am not writing this to provide any solutions but I’m here to express my opinion and speak up against the sickening practice of body shaming and I believe each and every one of us should do the same. I aim to get you thinking, to get you talking and raising your voice against this.
I alone, do not have the power to stop something as universal and body shaming but we can start with small changes within ourselves and together we have the power to influence the world to do the same and to keep fighting against this issue.

Jagruti Dialani