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Body Shaming: The Horrors of Society

We all know what body-shaming is— the practice of insulting or making critical comments about someone’s body shape or size. Most people believe that it’s completely unethical, whether it be skinny-shaming or fat-shaming. And without a doubt, they are correct! However, many people still continue to consciously body-shame others on a daily basis. A small smirk or whisper can turn into a laugh or rude comment. But our main question is, does anybody ever do anything to stop it? Does anyone know what even a small comment can make on a person’s physical or mental health?


Today, body standards have been doubled prior to years before and are becoming more oddly specific. This is slowly becoming the cause of body dysmorphia, lack of self-confidence, and anxiety. Let’s admit it, we’ve all at least once looked at someone else’s body and compared it to ourselves. It’s just the harsh reality of what goes on day by day in this world. Body shaming is critical, but social media is yet another fuel to this isolated feeling. Social media is consistently being flooded with images of people with “perfect” bodies, indicating to us that “this” is the ideal way we should look. As a result, it leads to many people feeling like they’re the odd-ones-out or the “bad-looking” ones out of the rest.


Unfortunately, body shaming has more to do with a person than just making them self-conscious. It has further increased severe ever-lasting effects on a person’s physical and mental health. First of all, when a person is publicly bullied, they develop social anxiety, culminating in isolating themselves or avoiding social interaction altogether. It results in a person fearing that they will be carefully looked at or made fun of when around others. Pointing out someone’s weight or body can also increase feelings of a low-self image or feeling lonely and sorry for oneself - some of the main factors that lead to depression. And most importantly, this low self-esteem can develop eating disorders such as Bulimia or Anorexia in an effort to change how they look.


To make things worse, according to a study from the National Eating Disorders Association, 94 percent of all teenage girls and 64 percent of teenage boys have been shamed for the way their body looks. Even if you think that it’s okay to tell someone they’ve gained weight or look different, you may not realize that you are subtly shaming someone for their looks.

Body image is a sensitive topic in society; we never know what’s right, who’s wrong, and how we should react to what others say. And for those getting body-shamed, there isn’t much help available to them. Body shaming is considered to be a very touchy and hidden topic in society. Regardless, the most important thing for everyone to remember is that there are no certain rules on how you should look. And before you point out something about someone else’s body, just make sure you realize the negative ways you are impacting that person mentally and emotionally.

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