Curious About Body Shaming? Ways to Deal with Haters
Like most people, you spend a lot of time scrolling through your feed on social media and following or commenting on anything that catches your eye. You may have observed the drawback of social sites, which is body shaming, even though it is typically innocent fun.
Over the years, body shaming has attracted a lot of public interest. It happens everywhere and is not specific to one gender when someone believes that your physique doesn’t meet their ideal standard and that you should feel horrible about it.
Receiving unfavorable remarks about your appearance might affect how you feel about your body and cause anxiety, embarrassment, and self-consciousness.
Understanding body shaming may be the first step in determining how to stop it.
What Is Body Shaming?
Making disparaging remarks about someone’s weight or size is known as body shaming. Underweight people are routinely ridiculed for appearing “too small,” and those who are overweight are usually called out for being “too fat.”
Any gender can be the target of body shaming, and the figures are worrying.
According to a poll conducted by the Obesity Action Coalition, daily bullying over body size or form affected 63% of high school girls and 58% of high school males who were medically classified as overweight.
What are the types of body shaming?
Body shaming most often refers to someone’s body. However, other attributes of a person’s physical appearance can also be targeted. Such as:
- weight
- attractiveness
- age
- clothing
- body hair
- food
- being trendy
- makeup
Do we all body shame, to a degree?
Even though people come in all sizes and shapes, anyone can still experience body shaming, intentionally or unintentionally. Sometimes people even unintentionally humiliate themselves or others.
Everywhere and in any culture, body shaming can occur. It can also happen in relationships, at the doctor’s office, and on social media.
Ingrained in Ethnic Cultures
Not in social media or general culture have you encountered body shaming. Studies have looked into the body shaming that is ingrained in ethnic societies. All civilizations have examples, even though the terms differ.
In Spanish or Filipino culture, terms of endearment like “Gordo” or “Flaco” might imply being chastised for having a softer frame. You might have dealt with internal tension or concerns with self-esteem brought on by others using the terms.
In a 2019 research, it was highlighted how Indigenous groups have long practiced fat-shaming. Many people receive the message that they are “big” and less effective due to their size [1].
Body values may vary among different cultural groups. Your facial shape, skin tone, or hair type might have come up.
A 2015 research that looked into African American women’s body image issues discovered that concerns about hair and skin tone took precedence over those regarding thinness, which are more common in White women [2].
Authors of a 2021 study on more than 950 “sexual minorities” reported alarmingly high rates of the following in Hispanic males between the ages of 18 and 30 [3]:
- Body dysmorphic disorder symptoms include those of eating disorders.
- abuse of performance- and appearance-enhancing drugs
- excessive drive for muscularity
In Social Media
The emphasis on beauty is more than ever in our time because of the image-heavy social media era. As more and more individuals publish unfiltered photographs online, it appears that fat shaming is getting more and more common.
Glamour Magazine’s survey of the 2000s depicts that 97% of women admit to having an “I hate my body” moment [4].
In Medicine
Body shaming can occur in the doctor’s office and occasionally even prevent a diagnosis. According to research, if doctors consider weight, they may miss a diagnosis [5].
More than 3 in 5 obese persons, according to a 2019 study, experience weight bias from their doctors. Additionally, they discovered that even if a person was thin before, they were more likely to become obese if they were subjected to weight bias [6].
In Relationships
Any connection, whether it be romantic, friendship-based, or even entangled, has the potential to involve body shaming.
Your significant other can like a different body type or “look” on you. Someone close to you might comment that you appear curvier than usual or express concern after observing your weight loss. Comments like these may impact your self-esteem.
Ways to Deal with Body Shaming
Regarding our weight, we are frequently referred to as being fat, obese, anorexic, flabby, or skinny. Most of us have probably encountered body shamers at some point. It can be challenging to accept the idea that “you are beautiful in your own way” when body shamers make it a point to make you feel inferior.
Our definitions of beauty should be internal, and I implore everyone to love themselves regardless of what the outside world may think or say. Your closest friends, coworkers, and the neighborhood where you reside will likely make the most negative comments about your body. Body shaming lowers our self-esteem and has been linked to eating and mental disorders, which can have more severe effects.
1. Fight Hate with Love
It’s straightforward to become entangled in the toxicity of other people. What people say or think about you is not essential to you. Show compassion to individuals who don’t value themselves and feel the need to undermine others to combat the hate you encounter with love.
Send love and light to those in need, and forgive those who turn against you. There is enough room for us to empower one another with kindness, compassion, and love because life is too short to hate.
2. Always be Authentic
Remember that what counts most is who you are on the inside. Do people criticize and shame both men and women for their body sizes? Your superpower is being authentic, which results from rigorous and ongoing self-knowledge. That entails being aware of both your positive and negative sides. Keep in mind that you are not your opponent. Knowing both sides will enable us to engage in extreme self-acceptance, and only then can our genuine inner strength be shown.
3. Embrace Positivity
Being aware is paying attention to your body and thoughts in the present. It is a divine force that contains the joy we all wish to experience daily. We can say “yes” to mindfulness that fosters strength, calm, compassion, forgiveness, and love when we learn to let go of our insecurities. We reveal genuine beauty that transcends what the outside world believes we should be. As those around us relate to our vulnerabilities, which we were encouraged to hide, we inspire them.
Final Words
It’s important to understand that when someone criticizes you, they have no power over your body. You should respond suitably. It’s critical to communicate to society that your body is ideal just the way it is.
You cannot ignore them if you are humiliated. Let them know your opinions when it’s time to reply. You won’t believe how much less shameful they become.
Nobody should make you feel awful when they criticize your body. After then, it’s time to act. It’s crucial to react when faced with this kind of behavior. Additionally, it’s critical to defend oneself if you’re overweight. Never let yourself be embarrassed by your appearance. After that, you can give others credit for their work. You’ll appreciate that they’re making an effort to look after their health.
References
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033350618302804
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4713035/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144520304186
- https://www.glamour.com/story/shocking-body-image-news-97-percent-of-women-will-be-cruel-to-their-bodies-today
- https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(14)00251-1/fulltext
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6565398/
Would you like to develop self-acceptance and a body positive attitude? Schedule a session today with Tradena N. Rayner, MS, RDN, CDN, the Weight Inclusive Dietitian. She accepts Aetna, Anthem, BCBS, United Healthcare, Sana Benefits, and self-pay.
