Body Shaming: How you need to shut the mouth of your critiques

When I switched on the TV, a “magic-belt” advertisement showed how a girl who was failing at interviews due to a bulky-belly, elicited the confidence to accomplish her dream job by getting a “toned stomach.” I flipped through the channels and found another commercial where a youngster, considered a social misfit because he was too skinny; apparently got acceptance in his peer group after gaining weight by dumping oodles of a certain powder into his body. Because only the “ideal body” matters and honesty, sense of humor, compassion, and other such traits are secondary. At least that is what the contemporary media is propagating.  And if you do not qualify the “socially constructed ideas of beauty”, then there are plenty of apprehensive pricks to remind you about your “imperfections”.

We live in a world that is becoming increasingly hedonistic; making a hobby out of criticizing the physical appearances of each other. What is a “perfect body” anyway? How can there be a wrong way to have a body?  Even Kate Middleton was body-shamed for not having the “curves” required to drape a sari. Men, too, have to worry about the potbelly, lack of chest hair; women have to worry about getting their unwanted hair removed. Too thin, or fat, too dark or pale, flat- chested, or a huge bosom, wobbly, bony, scrawny; there is no end to this incessant scrutiny.

The insensitive shamers do not realise that their unwelcome comments can have a deep psychological impact; ruining the mental and physical health of people, gradually wrecking their confidence. People can develop serious eating disorders, dwell into anxiety and depression and may even commit suicide, succumbing to the pressures of the fallacy of beauty standards.

Instead of focussing on your shamers, take time to meliorate your body for your own sake. The relationship you have with your body is sacred. And like every relationship, do not give anybody the right to interfere between the two of you. Give yourself a dose of confidence by focussing on what you are good at. Remember, everybody has insecurities, even those people you consider flawless, have body issues, but it is none of anyone’s business to keep pointing them out. To quote Dennis E. Adonis “People would say bad things about you because it is the only way their insignificant self can feel better than you “. Remember, you do not exist to please others.