Body shaming is unfortunately extremely prevalent in our society. It affects children starting from a very young age and continues to hinder self-growth and self-development into very late years, sometimes even present throughout people's entire lifetimes. Body shaming-related bullying is the cause for one too many suicides. Below is a list of slam poems from Button Poetry and other slam channels that help the poet, and hopefully you or someone you care about, embrace and love their body.
1. Your body mass index is not representative of who you are as a person.
Somehow the society has come to equate being fat being unworthy and incompetent. Falley with this poem instills a sense of freedom and self-confidence that most of us are lacking due to our bodies. "Fat Girl" is a cry to loving your body and all that it has to offer while trying to battle the negative stigma that society has associated with people who are fat. This is one of my favorite slam poems because not only does it cover the self-hate that is all too prevalent in society, but also takes away the blame from the self and places it onto the society that has created such unattainable standards.
2. Your weight does NOT determine your worth.
Spoiler Alert: One of the most striking lines in this poem is "no one has enough willing suspension of disbelief to buy anyone loving a fat girl." If that doesn't speak to the sad state of our society and its ridiculousness, I don't know what does.
3. Body image issues aren’t limited to people who weigh more. "Skinny shaming" is a very real thing.
Due to the perpetuation of media with images of skinny people, we often forget that they might be suffering from body image issues too. Their problems are just as real as those of people who are on the other end of the weight spectrum. Often times, comments like "you are a stick" or "you should eat more" are seen in jest, but they hurt just as much as comments like "you are so fat."
4. Sometimes the need to conform will hit you in an unexpected place, but fight back.
Although women are often the target of much of the propaganda related to body images, men aren't immune to it. They too have the idea of "machismo" imposed upon them by the media and the society. They are expected to look and act a certain way and majority of the men don't fall into that tiny, ignorant box.
5. Always fight back.
Body image issues aren't just limited to weight, but is an umbrella term for people who are having trouble accepting their bodies fully because they don't fit the idea of what a person "should" look like. Tall women are often seen as unattractive because they might stand taller than their dates and somehow that completely natural attribute makes the date, especially if it's a male, seem submissive. This ridiculous idea of a man needing to be the taller one in a relationship might make tall women hate their body and that is just not okay.
Coming to terms with your own body is difficult enough without other people making it worse by imposing their ideas about the ideal image onto you, so the next time someone does that - walk away. Walk away and know that you are more beautiful and worthwhile than you can imagine.
