When you think about body shaming you probably think of Meghan Trainor, Mary Lambert and Melissa McCarthy. These are just three examples of celebrity women who work to increase body positivity mindsets and decrease body shaming for young girls and women everywhere. However, each of these women have one thing in common; they're curvy. Since most women out there who are more petite aren't the ones preaching body positivity, then as a society we assume the only people that struggle with their body images are curvier women. And with that, people assume that thinner women don't have any insecurities and therefore can say anything they want to them in regards to their weight.
But we do have insecurities. I have been thin since the day I was born, I have never dieted a day in my life. I eat whatever I want whenever I want and I don't gain weight. I never even noticed that I was skinnier in comparison to most people until I was well into my high school years. To me I was always just normal. And even though I am technically considered underweight for my age and height, I can't help my weight. It's something that I have no control over.
I started noticing that I was thinner than most people when I started getting comments thrown at me from friends, family and even adults. Things like, "Do you even eat?" or "Are you anorexic?" and "Eat more, you could use it," were all said to me at one point in my life. I have had parents of friends tell their daughters that they, "better not start looking like me." And all of this is supposed to be a compliment?
As a thin person I am not allowed to complain about my weight or the hurtful things people have said to me regarding my weight because I should just "consider myself lucky" for being so thin.
But how many times have we heard, "real men like curves, only dogs go for bones," or, "you wouldn't want a steak that was nothing but bone, why would you want a woman that was?" or my personal favorite, "Studies suggest that 9 out of 10 men prefer women with curves, the 10th one prefers the other 9 men." With all of these messages floating around the internet it's just as easy for a thin girl to hate her body as it is for a curvy girl staring at obviously Photoshopped advertisements of models.
And maybe it isn't meant to be hurtful or malicious. I think that when people are trying so hard to look a certain way that they forget other people have insecurities too. And that just because someone is thin doesn't mean you can call them out on their weight. Wouldn't you be mortified if while eating at a restaurant the wait staff commented on your weight in relation to the amount of food that you ate?
The fact of the matter is body shaming is body shaming, no matter what the size. If you comment on someone's weight in a negative way, whether they are thin or curvy, you are shaming them for their body. Yes, thin women experience body shaming too. But it shouldn't matter what size you wear. People shouldn't be commenting on your weight or making you feel bad about your weight or how much you eat. That is your business and your business only. As young women we are constantly told by society what we need to look like in order to be beautiful, but the fact of the matter is that no one fits all of the characteristics. That's why they invented Photoshop. So learn to love yourself and feel beautiful in your own skin. Don't let others tear you down but also don't tear down others because their body type is different than yours.
Real women don't base their value and the value of others on their weight.
