We all know and accept the fact that different humans will have different characterstics, likes and dislikes but what about the physical appearance. Why is it that a standard is set for people which everyone accept them to follow . The ones who fail to meet the standard criteria are then “shamed” on the pretext of motivation.
Crticising someone for their body fat, “thin” built, hair texture and colour, hair density or bald looks, too much height or “such a shorty”, different body shapes, size of various body parts like small or heavy breasts or hips, skin tone etc comes under the broad term of BODY SHAMING. Not only just the looks but people are shamed with the accessories they decide to decorate their body with like tattoos, piercings etc and also with the marks that the diseases or some accidents leave. The memories of diseases and the accidents are traumatic enough, in addition to this one has to bear the addition burden of someone not liking some marks on their bodies which they have learnt to make peace with hereby scratching the old wounds making the person relive the trauma.
A person is defined by its physical and mental health. While the latter includes moral virtues , the former stands for a healthy body where all oragans function properly. Different skin colors , height, length of hair until and unless you have got an illness is all okay and acceptable. Anything which doesn’t threaten the working of your organs is completely normal. Sadly, this is not the case today.
This blog will tell you what leads people to body shame others and affect it has on the victim.
What causes people to BODY SHAME
- It is like a chain reaction which goes on in the society. There are some standards set by the people themselves which they expect everyone to follow to be “an epitome of PERFECTION”. For example – If you are a male , you ought to have good height, good muscles, lusty dense hairs and if you are a female, then the list extends to a great measure. A “good Indian girl” ought to have “fair ” skin , should not be covered in the layers of “fat”, should have markless, flawless skin, medium height , good natural color hair, tattoos makes one characterless and piercings except the traditional ear and nose also contribute to the former category. Now I ask, which text or rule book has defined these charactersticcs of a man or woman. The most funniest thing is the third gender is not even mentioned and talked baout anywhere instead they are shamed. Because some “boys” prefer wearing make up with female clothing and some girls keep short hairs and speak for themselves. The onlything which are ancient texts teaches us is to be honest , hardworking and possess good moral virtues there was never a mention about the physical appearnce. History is evident of the fact that people who were beyond this tandard criteria , proved better than the ones who followed it . The best example being Physics genius STEPHENS HAWKING. It is a sort of revenge game which continues.Because the people were teased and criticsed about their looks by the others they continue to do it with the rest to take out their frustration. The origin of this “toxic game” being unknown.
- A default reaction to something which someone says or does and we dont like is to comment on their physical attributes making that person feel guilty about themselves . Like if someone acts in the manner which we dont like, people are often heard saying, “Obviously, she/he will do that. Didn’t you see how ugly they are”. This process of making a person guilty by remarking about their physical attributes is very common in today’s world specially in this age of social media.
Affects of BODY SHAMING
- Reduction of self esteem, self confidence because you think you are not worthy or capable because someone told you that you are “unfit”. Everyone is unique with a different story behind each of their “not normal looks”, until and unless the third person knows about it they should not comment about it. This is very common to feel because confidence is the belief we have on ourselves which motivate and enable us to do the things properly and our confidence specially in the teen years is based on what the people around us friends, peers or family feels about us. In these growing years, one needs motivation and support in the form of words not the harsh words making people to change their appearance and hate themselves. This often leads to anxiety, stress, eating disorders bringing the ACTUAL DISEASES, depression sometimes leading people to self harm themselves. And then people says today’s youth is so reckless and “Teenagers attempt suicide because they were CORRECTED ABOUT SOMETHING or Scolded for their won well being”. Correcting someone’s natural built is equal to meddling with the nature and we have enough evidences of the consequences of meddling with the nature. This all is the result of the trauma which sometimes lead people into the actual bad habbits like alchol, drugs fastening the process towards their mortality.
- In order to fit into the “standard criteria” , people undergo diets, proteins for increasing weights and heights, laser treatments for those who have thin hair or bald look, dozens of products containing many harmful chemicals to whiten their skin tone. This not only takes a toll on financial health , but also on the mental physical health. The treatments are not always effective , it causes more harm than good at times. The stress and anxiety in the anticipation of the result is a very acute thing which is actually to be worried about.
We need to stop criticising people on the pretext of looking after them If you really want to look after your “loved ones” , then it should be to take care of their health in all aspects not to bring them on the verge of madness.
