Shame on Every Body

Have you ever been body-shamed? 93% of women, along with 83% of men, say yes. Body-shaming begins young, when grandma looks pointedly at the dessert and tells us to stick to stick to the salad - it consumes us when we are teenagers. Some of us skip meals, smooth makeup over our flawed skin - others give up entirely.

We live in a society where no matter your size and shape, it seems like somebody always has an opinion on your appearance - and thanks to social media we have constant access to people's opinions on others, too.

This means that even if nobody says anything cruel in your personal life, you can be scrolling down your Instagram when you see hateful comments directed to people's bodies - and some of those bodies might look just like yours, and now you feel like crap too.

Take, for example, the celebrity community. Body shaming has become rife within the A-lister world. Recently on the socials, 28-year-old pop sensation Ariana Grande was called out for being too skinny.

Despite the nine million-plus likes on the post, some trolls went to the extreme, calling her anorexic and leaving comments such as Damn, she got no cake and built like a 12 year old.

It is very disturbing to see that this kind of behaviour still exists, especially only two years after the #bekind movement inspired by Love Island hostess Caroline Flacks' passing. We made a promise to each other to be kinder - but nothing has changed.

On the other hand, the beautiful Lizzo continues to be hounded in the media for being 'too big' and 'unhealthy'. And the list of unflattering descriptivism goes on, with people feeling comfortable enough to project their opinions onto plus-sized people under a front of caring for their health and wellbeing. The thing is, it really is just a front.

Racist and fat-shaming comments brought the 33-year-old "Juice" singer to tears last August, after the release of her "Rumours" collaboration with Cardi B.

Other notable examples can be found on YouTube, with Eugenia Cooney, Tess Holiday and Nikocado Avocado being prime examples of people who look unhealthy and so get chased down by people who feel entitled to comment on them.

While this feedback coming from a friend or relative may be meaningful and constructive, nobody needs to hear what some stranger thinks. Your body-shaming comments just aren't that important.

So we'd like to salute the people who put up with these comments on a daily and who promote body confidence. There is no such thing as perfection, and we need to start understanding and teaching ourselves to love the things that make us unique.

 And if you would like to add some more body-positive influencers to your daily routine, these ladies are filter-free and accept themselves in their own skin - @bryntstagram and @danaemercer.

Written by Tracey T 
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