This post was originally typed up as a guest post but the person I sent it to never got back to me so I don't actually know if it's "out there" or not. Either way I thought that I might as well post it on my own blog because it's a topic that is very important to a lot of people. Body image has always been a
hot topic online and ‘body shaming’ is becoming more and more common. ‘Body
shaming’ is embedded into pop culture and it’s not just ‘fat shaming’ that
occurs, ‘skinny shaming’ is getting increasingly more popular and songs like
Megan Trainor’s All About That Bass doesn’t help with the issue at all. It’s
important to realise that body shaming can happen to anyone, whether it is
self-imposed or a form of bullying so it’s unfair to only boost awareness of
one type.
For years it was thought of as
unacceptable to be what some people deemed overweight, it was impossible to
flick through a magazine without seeing a story about how someone was bullied
because of their weight. There has now been a boom in numbers of plus size
bloggers, models, actresses and artists. This has all lead to ‘skinny shaming’,
many people now praise plus size confidence and avidly protest the skinny.
Don’t get me wrong, ‘Fat shaming’ is still incredibly present and it has by no
means stopped, Katy Hopkins proved that when she produced My Fat Story. The
point I’m getting at is that it’s nearly impossible to win when it comes to
body image if you’re going to take in everything that appears on tv, on the
radio and online. People can’t even be muscular without being called disgusting
these days and really, who are we to judge? I’m sure anyone who shames people
for how they look isn’t exactly perfect either because nobody is.
It’s equal from all body
types; sporty people shame the unfit, the fat shame the skinny, the skinny
shame the fat and it goes on and on. People sometimes forget that skinny, fat,
muscular… They are all descriptive words! They weren’t created to be negative,
they were created to describe a body shape. If you really must insist on torturing
yourself about how you look you should remember to think positively and come up
with good points to overshadow the bad. There is no right or wrong way that you
should look, outward beauty is defined personally by what you pick up from
other people. Another common misconception is that ‘body shaming’ only happens
in the playground. Well, not the actual playground but school is where a lot of
people pretend it’s confined to. ‘Body shaming’ is something that can affect
your whole life if you choose to let other people get to you, the likelihood is
that anyone who shames you has their own body issues.
Whilst typing up this post I
came across two body image charities; Body Charity
(http://bodycharity.co.uk/) and The Be Real Campaign (http://www.berealcampaign.co.uk/home/).
They are well worth checking out as they raise awareness of Body Dysmorphic
Disorder (imagined ugliness) and self-esteem issues. Another figure to look out
for is Tess Munster who is an advocate for the acceptance of body size, she
doesn’t shame people for their size or shape. She started the
#effyourbeautystandards movement as a way to empower women and boost their
self-esteem.
I love reading these kinds of posts, because it's something I definitely struggle with myself not in a giving hate or receiving hate sort of way... but more so how I feel in my own skin.
ReplyDeleteI remember a time when nobody cared how thin or fat a person was, or maybe it was just me haha but ever since I piled on the weight I have definitely noticed this more... thankfully I'm all for good health at this point :) but It's very interesting that you included charities, in-fact I didn't realise there was such a thing! so I'll definitely have to check these out :) x
www.sheintheknow.co.uk
Thank you for taking the time to read it! No one is ever going to be 100% happy with their body, not even celebrities are! When it comes to shape, size and style you really can't go wrong if you're comfortable in your own skin. x
Delete