The tendency to mock people for their body shape or size, also referred to as body shaming may be a casual aspect for many but its repercussions on the victim are serious. Apart from the person being targeted, it also affects the person body shaming someone else.
Sharing her experience, a 21-year old graduate says, “Most women used to comment on how skinny they thought I looked and that I needed to eat more. People don’t know how hurtful their comments are. Body shaming on social media has become unbearable. Once a friend of mine commented on my social media post saying that my bones were showing and ended it with a laughing emoji. I wonder what’s funny in mocking and making someone feel bad. I guess I was mature enough to cope with the situation but not everybody takes it so.”
It is not only the females who face body shaming as males too are targeted. An 18-year old male wanting to remain anonymous said, “In high school I weighed 65 kilogrammes and my classmates used to tease me and make horrible remarks about my body. That time was devastating for me. I never thought I would be able to like myself but now I know people have a definite notion of perfection and I don’t want to fit in that.”
Neuropsychologist Dr Sona Kaushal Gupta said that body shaming is a type of bullying. She said,“When adults or teenagers who are inclined towards perfection or critical beauty standards, meet with people who don’t find them according to their expectation then he/she might get affected or hurt. Adults are adopting bad physical habits like dieting, too much gyming just to get that perfect body shape and all this just impacts their body and health badly.”
She further said,“Body shaming affects physical and mental health in surprising ways both for the person who is body shaming and the one who is being shamed. Both of them need counseling. For parents, they need to be careful while discussing their problems as it can directly affect the child. The way parents behave, talk, feel about themselves directly affects a child’s mental state. Parents need to tell their children at a growing age that they’re good the way they are. Parents must be positive and should appreciate them for good work.”
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 | Pooja Negi | Dehradun
