How To Fight Body Shaming And Accept The Skin You're In
In a world dominated by social media, it has become incredibly easy for individuals to body shame others for the way they look, thus altering the way an individual feels and experiences their body. You can't go anywhere without hearing comments such as: "She’s too skinny, get her a burger." Or, "Look how fat they are, get them a vegetable, STAT!"No matter who you are or how you look, at one point or another we have all been body shamed or cyberbullied to some degree. Not to be the typical cliche, but now is the time to reclaim your power, and no matter who you are, and learn to love yourself while accepting the skin you're in.
What Is Body Shaming?
Body shaming is the act of criticizing or mocking an individual for their body shape and size, and generally being negative about the way they look. It seems this type of negativity is everywhere these days; from magazines and the media constantly offering tips and telling you how to lose weight, or how to appear leaner, skinnier, taller, and how to hide or get rid of our imperfections, all without knowing your personal story and appearance. These messages from the media and towards each other often imply we should want to change and should care about fitting the beauty standard of perfection of appearing slimmer, smaller, and more tanned.
Body shaming manifests itself in three distinct ways. First, it starts with the individual criticizing their own appearance, based on a judgment or comparison to another person. Secondly, it is created when we criticize another person’s appearance in front of them. Lastly, body shaming is born when we criticize another’s appearance without their knowledge. Regardless of how it manifests, body shaming often leads to comparison and shame, which perpetuates the idea individuals should be primarily judged on their physical appearance.
The Impact Of Body Shaming
When an individual feels bad about themselves, it can negatively impact not only their physical health but their mental health as well. Research published in the journal Obesity showed higher levels of weight-bias internalization are associated with metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of health issues that raise the risk for diabetes and heart disease. Weight-bias internalization is a term describing when individuals are aware of negative stereotypes about obesity and apply these stereotypes to themselves. In this study, overweight women who believed these negative remarks about their bodies were at an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes than individuals who maintained a positive body image. Other long-term impacts body shaming can have on an afflicted individual include developing low self-esteem, which can transform into depression and anxiety, as well as eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia.
Body Shaming And Social Media
With a social media dominated society, it is not a surprise many women and men turn to social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube, for inspiration for what they should look like. More individuals are becoming accustomed to sharing glimpses of their lives with carefully filtered and edited images of themselves to depict an ideal lifestyle and to alter the way they look and how society views them. Considering how immersed our culture has become within social media, the fact there is a strong correlation between social media, body image, and self-esteem is not alarming.
A study conducted by Unilever for the Dove Beauty company discovered more women look to social media for beauty inspiration, even if this influence is not a positive one. Out of the women who partook in the survey, seventy-five percent felt the portrayal of women on social media was unrealistic, despite the fact these same women were highly influenced by the images they saw online. Research also has shown social media use is associated with numerous body image concerns, depending on the type of online activity users engage with, such as comparing appearances with others who fit the ‘perfect’ standard of beauty. These are similar effects experienced by traditional media, such as magazine and television advertisements.
The New Generation
Body image has become a trending topic on social media lately, as women and some men of all shapes and sizes are posting their unedited photos online, proudly displaying their stretch marks, body rolls, and what society considers 'imperfections' in all of their glory. As a result, a new generation of women (and men) have started their own dialogue of what it means to be beautiful while embracing imperfections rather than just focusing on trying to achieve the 'perfect' body. As studies have shown, body image and self-esteem issues are a significant issue both genders and people of all ages struggle with. However, stressing over body image is particularly an issue for young women, who are seven times more likely to worry about their body image than their career.
With new initiatives taking a step in the right direction, such as Dove's Beauty Campaign, and social media influencers opening up the dialogue on social interfaces to discuss these body image issues, millennials have the power to not only find body acceptance but to possibly put an end to body shaming online.
Learning To Love Yourself
The road to increasing your self-esteem and creating a more positive body image starts with you. Body positivity is more of a mental state rather than just a physical one. Before you can change the way you physically look (if you want to), you have to change your thought process and learn to accept and embrace every little imperfection, because let's face the cold, hard truth: nobody is perfect, and that’s okay! Whether you're tall, short, thin, curvy, your hair is crazy curly or stick straight; you should embrace what you have and learn to love it. Yes, this is easier said than done, but if you want to start a new fitness regime, eat healthier, change the texture of your hair, or try different makeup you should be doing it because you want to-not because society and social media dictates you to do so!
It's about being able to look yourself and your body in the mirror and feel happy and proud of who you are and the work you are or are not putting in. You also need to accept and allow yourself to not feel okay some days, as it is a normal emotion to feel, and by covering it up and pretending you're okay, will not benefit you in the long run. Lastly, realize the ideal standards of beauty are not ideal at all and almost impossible to achieve, and the ‘perfect body,’ does not exist as beauty is subjective and means something different to everyone. What is ‘perfect’ and achievable is finding harmony between your lifestyle and your physical body. Most importantly, stop comparing yourself to others. It’s your life, therefore you should live it for you!
Little Things You Can Do Yourself To Feel More Body Positive
You do not have to change anything about yourself if you don’t want to, and you shouldn't want to change simply because somebody says something negative towards you or your body. A few simple tips you can try to start feeling better about yourself is to try affirmations every day. Whether you motivate yourself in the mirror first thing every morning or write down what you love about your body and what it can do, celebrate yourself every day and use kind words when describing yourself through your internal monologue. By just thinking and speaking kind words towards yourself every day, you will begin to believe it and therefore live it!
Construct A Body Positive Support System
Other things you can do include making sure you have a strong support group, such as surrounding yourself with positive-minded people who support and love you for who you are. You should consider taking a step back from anyone being excessively negative in your life and reevaluate the relationship and if it is healthy for you. Seeking psychological help has also benefited many who suffer from self-esteem and body image issues, as a trained psychologist is there to listen and can get down to the nitty-gritty of where these issues arose from, and come up with healthy solutions for you to start on the road to self-love.