My problem with Body-Shaming

A very special greeting to the community, the following writing is part of a reflection, I hope it helps to become aware of a negative practice, which we must leave aside.

Promoting body care, encouraging better habits that keep us healthier both in terms of nutrition and incorporating exercise into the daily routine, is something positive that helps to achieve greater longevity. And why not? Look more attractive. 

This is well known, but we cannot ignore that there are also factors that condition our appearance, from genetics to situations in our environment, which modify the daily routine and affect our physique.

An example it can be like during the quarantine, our daily routine was impacted by restricting  our departure from home, limited our activity, and in many cases it influenced weight gain.

The lack of activity and the anxiety of confinement led some to eat a greater number of calories that made it more difficult for them to burn when they were at home. Returning to our jobs or reuniting with relatives, they noticed the change in weight.

Bringing as a consequence a fairly common and standardized practice that is Body-Shaming.

Perhaps it happened to many like me, that when running into an acquaintance the first comment received was: "you are fatter" accompanied on other occasions by malicious jokes.

Body-Shaming refers to:

The act of ridiculing or making fun physical appearance [...] Extensive levels of body humiliation can have negative emotional effects, including reduced esteem and other problems such as eating disorders, anxiety, BDD and depression.

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humillaci%C3%B3n_corporal

Criticism of the body of others is something that is normalized in my family environment, in fact for my family, appearance is something very important. They have always had a concept of me as a thin person, which is why my new appearance generated more comments.

In my environment it has always been an unspoken norm, always looking good, and to a certain extent promoting personal care can be a positive thing, what does not seem right to me is that a person criticizes when someone does not comply with the beauty standards you have in your mind.

The perception of beauty is influenced by what the media sells, and this has been increasingly questioned, because they sell standards of beauty that are impossible to achieve.

Although others believe that there is nothing wrong with the media giving greater representation to thin models, with porcelain skin, without cellulite, or stretch marks. Claiming that instead of affecting us, it should motivate us.

The reality is that more and more women in the entertainment world are looking to appear natural. Many have even felt great pressure and insecurity because they themselves do not reach the standards that they sell through social networks or magazines, where they modify their image to make them look perfect.

The truth is that many times people have this stereotype of the “perfect” woman and criticize others for not fitting into that mold, and the first thing we must understand is that there is a diversity of bodies.

The physique is not only influenced by habits, but also by genetics, so  a person can be seen as “fat” under a constructed stereotype, but can even be healthy.

Making negative comments can generate great insecurity in the recipient and habits really dangerous.

In addition, many times when making these comments we do not know the circumstances that the person is going through, sometimes we can believe that we are paying a compliment by telling a person that she is thin, and this person may be going through a difficult illness that has caused her to lose weight.

This is why commenting on another person's body can cause harm instead of being something positive.

Let's be more empathetic, it is difficult for a person to maintain himself without any bodily change throughout his life, our body transforms over time, that is natural and human. 

Instead of focusing on the appearance of others, let's try to value them for their virtues and what they contribute as people.