For the true purpose of this article, I won’t bother to mention the name of the maker of the current viral video on Facebook. For two reasons: firstly, because I refuse to give her the attention she seeks and secondly, because she is not the only person saying hateful things about another person’s body. If you don’t know what video I’m referring to, it’s the shocking one in which a young female completely bashes on people with a body different from hers (sorry that we can’t all be blonde, tan, and ignorant).
People are rattled and aggravated upon viewing the video. In an effort to be comedic, this young woman simply shames people for having a different body but offers the excuse that she just really cares about their well-being.
If she has ever opened up a book about anything related to health, she would know that there are some people who have medical conditions that prevent them from losing weight, or even make them gain weight. Not every body is built the same way. Not everyone metabolizes food at the same rate. Your physical appearance is NOT the only measure of your health.
Yes, we should all eat our fruits and veggies. We should all make time in our schedules for some cardio. Yet it’s completely unrealistic to expect anyone to follow this routine and somehow end up looking like a Victoria’s Secret model or Zac Efron. Being healthy is not about wearing a size 2 and having a thigh gap/not having a thigh gap. It’s about feeling strong and happy. Health is so much more than physical. Your mental health is equally important and greatly affects your body. So when someone gets on YouTube and rants about someone’s weight, how is that supposed to help anyone’s overall health at all? How is making anyone watching that video insecure about themselves going to lead to a positive change in society?
Shaming anyone is destructive, whether it be fatshaming, skinnyshaming, slutshaming, what have you. Health is about the way you feel more so than the way you look, and maintaining a balanced lifestyle. This means eating the right foods in a mindful manner, maintaining meaningful and happy relationships, having a rewarding job that isn’t excessively stressful, etc. Yes, obesity is real and a serious problem in America. The statistics are staggering. But so are the numbers of adolescents and adults suffering from anorexia and bulimia. Both extremes are equally unhealthy and have serious repercussions. For instance, obesity can lead to diabetes, osteoarthritis, and heart issues. On the flip side, anorexia and bulimia can lead to severe anemia, permanent organ damage, and osteoporosis. While I have put these situations on a spectrum, there are common factors between them. For instance, binge eating could cause obesity, but it is also a factor often associated with anorexia.
A lot of the health issues surrounding weight, especially eating disorders, involve mental health and well-being. Many of the situations in which there is an extreme body weight involve persons who are always preoccupied with the thought of food (like counting calories for every meal or constantly searching for something to eat). So it absolutely does not help to have people on the web shame bodies when we should be empowering each other to reach a health that is balanced, both mentally and physically.
Because unlike that girl in that terrible video and the many bullies in the world – both online and offline – I really do care about the condition of this nation. I value every body. I firmly believe that everybody has something great to offer this world and our bodies deserve to be taken care of it because they carry us through this Earth and through both the hardships and the joys we experience everyday. Your body has the ability to hug, kiss, feel pain and pleasure, think critically, voice opinions, etc. It’s the vessel that holds your soul. You only have one. Don't allow anyone to diminish it or make you feel less worthy. Cherish yourself.
