Here we are, in 2015, on the edge of our lives still fighting, still battling. Not once have we sat down and achieved harmony because that’s not how the world works. No, the world works in mysterious ways and here we are, in 2015, still shivering behind the echoes of body shaming. Shame on us.
Your body is not a construction site. No one should be able to claim it; no one should be able to demolish it. It is yours, and only yours.
So here we are, laughing and smiling while we utter the over-used phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Yet here we are, never practising what we preach. Having been conditioned to criticise at first sight, it doesn’t seem wrong to do so.
“Shame on you; you’re so fat. Shame on you for being ‘plus-sized.’ Stop eating. Go exercise. You’re so unattractive. You’re repugnant. Fix yourself; my eyes hurt by looking at you.”
So tell me now, does it seem right to say these things? Of course, you’re sitting here reading these few transient lines and probably feeling pretty sympathetic for those who have to go through this oppression. Sure, you’re feeling sympathetic but you’re also blithely unaware of how you condone this behavior in ways more than one.
Think about those who are overweight. Think about what they go through every moment of their lives. Can you please leave him alone so he can eat the rest of his lunch without feeling like there are weights on his shoulders or eyes peering at him? Can you please tell me how easy it is to be able to play God and declare who’s attractive and who’s not, based on their weight?
Please, enlighten us. Please, someone like Nicole Arbour who proudly spends six minutes on her YouTube channel telling the world how extremely horrendous it is to be fat, how fat-shaming is not real, how fat people should be given their own parking spaces (as if they’re disabled?) and how they are not valued as members of the society; please enlighten us as to how this makes anyone’s lives better.
She can’t go to the gym because people will stare at her and make her the subject of their “fat person at the gym” Snapchats. She’s embarrassed to go shopping because nothing fits. He can’t eat properly or even at all because society tells him not to. He can’t even look at himself in the mirror without cringing. Is that not sad?
Dear society, there are people who are overweight and their bodies also deserve to be loved. There are people who are underweight and their bodies too, deserves love.
Yes, of course, society’s ideal body is basically thin. The ideal body is also narrow waist, big bust, thigh gap, long legs, toned stomach, and the particulars go on. The ideal body is so many things it may as well be non-existent, because who are we to play “Barbie doll” with the world? We are no one’s dolls and we are not models. We are humans.
Newsflash, thin girls are attacked too. Yes, it's hard to believe, isn't it? We all think we’re so progressive when we sing along to songs that say “every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top”, but only apply it to those who have fat in the “right places.” Our math is dangerously wrong because no one needs to be made to feel less than what s/he deserves. Who are we to perpetuate this hate? Who are we to fire shots?
“Shame on you. Look at those arms, so limp. Your legs are so thin they’ll snap like twigs. Your hips are too narrow; you’ll never be able to give birth. You’re so skinny; you must be anorexic. You’re so unattractive. You eat, you say? Stop feeding everyone lies and start feeding yourself.”
Please, tell us how much it is the victim’s fault that his metabolism is fast. Tell us how it is so funny that she can’t fit into her clothes despite buying the XXS. How great do you feel about yourself when you know no one will want to hold her bag of bones at night. Please, convince us that this has nothing to do with your own insecurity. Let the world know about how much YOU love your body. Tell everyone how it’s all right to be over/under-weight if one has a medical condition. Declare, with all your might, that this is how the world works; this is the world we live in.
Think twice before shaming someone based on his or her body because firstly, do you understand the consequences? Do you understand how many dark and twisted reactions come of this behavior? Do you understand that people starve themselves, self-harm and go into depression? Do you really know what’s going on behind the walls people put up?
Think twice, because why does it matter? He’s fat, she’s thin. What does it have to do with you? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
