Eating disorders have been on the rise since 1930, and one in five women struggle with one. This has a lot to do with body shaming. Body shaming occurs when someone makes a negative statement about someone's size or weight. Now, people think this only means when you comment on someone who is overweight, but body shaming happens when you comment on anyone's size, whether you are being negative about someone being "too skinny" or "too fat."
Body shaming happens all the time and we are so used to it we barely notice it. People have taken to posting things like, "I have curves because I'm a woman, not a 12 year old girl." This is still body shaming. You don't have to lift yourself up while putting other people down. The media refer to women who don't have large breasts or a large rear as boyish, as if woman aren't womanly enough. We let this happen because we think it will make other people feel better about themselves.
People can't always control their weight, so why do we attack people for it? There are so many sicknesses out there that effect people's weight. So when someone says something like, "Wow, I hate you so much, you're so skinny. Your body makes mine feel self-conscious. Ha ha," they don’t realize that they are hurting that person because that person can't gain weight, even though they have tried. People also say things like, "You should eat more, you're too small," or "You should eat healthier, I'm only trying to help," they are bullying and making someone who might not be able to help it feel bad. Stop assuming you know what is best for other people based on their looks. You don't know their story or health background, so you can't just assume they just need to eat more or less.
Magazines and TV shows like to talk about what clothing works best on certain body types, but if you really pay attention to what they are saying, you'll notice that they are just trying to make everyone's body look the same. For someone who has a straighter body, they will tell you to wear clothing that will give you "womanly" curves, if you have an hourglass figure they will have you accentuate it, and if you are curvier they will have you pull in the waist. This is so you can look like you have the "ideal" body type. They forget that being different is a good thing, and everyone is beautiful. You don't have to look a certain way to be attractive. There is no right or wrong way to dress for your body. Wear what you want to wear and what makes you feel comfortable.
The world is filled with beautiful woman of all different shapes and sizes, and by trying to make one ideal body type, we are ignoring that beauty. We need to start learning how to uplift people without putting others down. Don't share that picture with hateful words written on it, and don't take a picture of a stranger because you thing they look funny. By sharing or liking that stuff, you are feeding into a hateful society that thinks body shaming is OK, even if you are doing it to make others feel good. You are not more of a woman because you have curves or because you don't have curves. There is so much more that goes into being a woman. We can't expect men to accept all of us in all forms if we don't accept each other. Women should always build each other up, not tear each other down. Spread love, not hate.
