The Derogative Effects Of Body Shaming
Have you ever felt guilty of yourself every time someone insults your body type? Well, if yes, then you are a victim of body shaming, it is a common coping and defense mechanism of the people around you who judge quickly without good consideration. According to a series of articles, body shaming is defined as the “inappropriate, negative statements and attitudes toward another person’s weight or size, ” It is sometimes usually a teasing technique by our friends which is seen only as a joke. It can be a direct or indirect insult to someone your angry with or insecure with. Also, it can be an intrapersonal conversation which you insult yourself, wanting for huge change in your body cause of lacking in confidence or contentment.
The chubby ones are being called "baboy", "naiwan sa ref", "dalawa bilang", "mataba", etc. while the thin ones are teased as "isang ubo na lang", "tingting", buto buto", "gutom", etc. but have you ever know the reason for their being? Of course not because all you think of is yourself. We never know, maybe one day, the girl you called fat in the hallway starved herself just to fit-in in your standards. You never know the boy you called "stick" in the streets have to feed first his siblings before himself?
Both Ends of the See-Saw
People who have experienced or still experiencing body shaming are more likely to be victims of harassment or bullying due to their lack of confidence and having this ideology of what others say might be correct and they have to change themselves so that they can be “in” to what’s trend. We have learned that body shaming is just normal or right and we learned to set our standards. Those two aspects that we acquire are very unjust. Victims experience social anxiety where they feel excluded in the society and they fear judgment of others as if our body is in a competition for public analysis and commentary. There are two sides of body shaming; first, the offender and the other one is the receptor. There are few situations where the offender uses body shaming as a defensive mechanism in which they are trapped in an argument so instead of focusing on the real problem, they tend to body shame the receptor, for example, they often say "at least, I am not fat, " rather than tackle the main roots of the argument. Also, there are times where the offender just gets used to it because of his/her environment which they think it is okay to say such things in front of other people. In worst case scenario, the receptor experiences body shaming as a daily routine and gets to the point where she/he felt guilty and blames her/himself for being that such like it is their own choice to be like that, like they have chosen those kinds of bodies given to them.
Rotten Effects of Body Shaming
“I have a crazy idea, let’s be honest for a minute. No matter how many times we hear, ‘It’s what’s on the inside that matters, ’ women know deep down it’s what’s on the outside that the whole world judges. ” A quote from the film entitled I Feel Pretty which pretty summarizes the realness of the situation on today’s society. In this generation where everybody can easily access the internet and the social media, body shaming got worse. According to Bullying Statistics, a website which tackles different kinds of bullying, “Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University. " This is a proof that the worst thing which might happen to the receptors is losing all the positive vibes within them and be depressed were at some point of their life they thought of tying knots in their ceiling and rope themselves hanging.
Victims of body shaming became obsessed to the models they see in televisions and wish they were as sexy as them. For example is the cartoon we used to watch in our childhood days, Barbie, the girls who are pretty slim, we seem to attain the body that is not attainable just so they can be an exception of the body shaming. Though it is very dangerous and harmful, there are already few women who tried to copy the body and face of the characters in the said cartoon series.
More than that, a victim of body shaming might face eating disorders where they became very conscious of the foods they eat to the extent that they don’t want no fats to be included in their meal which possibly can lead to hunger as fats provide satiety, poor body temperature regulation, extreme mental fatigue, and loss of menstrual cycle.
Philippine Standards “Is Body Shaming Part of Our Filipino Culture?” A question from Mara Agner’s article from Candy Magazine got the society thinking, is it really a part? Do we have to continue this so-called culture? Admit it or not, at least once in your life you have experienced the scenario wherein in every family gathering, there’s this one ‘tito’ or ‘tita’ which will shamelessly comment about your body figure or some friend you didn’t see for a long time and then you accidentally stumble with each other and there’s this comment like “uy tumaba ka” or “uy wala ng space yung mukha mo ah” in a joking manner. In the Philippines, men and women who are standardizing the beauty and weight are not that unusual. You can walk past through the streets and be called either fat or thin, it is because everybody catches an eye about who they are being with and with whom they have seen. It may seem a very big deal to the Filipinos for we are cautious and observant of the things we encounter. We wanted to correct every wrong in our society but the harsh truth is we cannot because change cannot be done just by correcting what is wrong but starting by ourselves. Filipino culture really do involves usage of teasing as their way of showing affection, but on the other hand, it does not sound the same in the ears of the victims for they are thinking what have they done as if they wanted that kind body in their life. They overthink it and later have anxiety and depression which will probably cause the person to lose interest in life.
How to Deal With Body Shaming
ou cannot help but to receive what others might say to you but here are quick tips on becoming more considerate to your peers and not to be the one who teases or body shames on others. Based on an article by Erika Vargas entitled “Body-Shaming: What Is It & Why Do We Do It?” it states that in order to cope up with these doings, you must find the reason why you are upset about the situation then eventually try to verbalize the reason behind it.
Second, find a person in which you can see a form of body positivity so that you can eventually learn how to love your own body.
Third, talk to those people who body shames, discuss your feelings towards body shaming and how it affects your life as well as how can body shaming be hurtful to them. Lastly, you must find something you like about your body, find something that makes you “YOUnique” and celebrate it every day.
Two of the weapons that you could use against body shaming is confidence and kindness where you can do whatever you want without the permission or agreement of others and show them kindness despite of what they have done to you because nobody in this world knows yourself more than you, yourself. In the end, it’s our body which is still our ally and will accompany us our entire life.
Show and share some good vibes instead of messing someone’s day! If they cannot stop what they are doing, why not show them how to deal with body shaming in a good approach and be a role model. Instead of seeing bad things in life, enjoy the things you have, including your body. No matter how tall, short, fat, slim, or whatever you are, in God’s eyes, we are all equal. We are all His children which He made beautiful on our own ways.
