Each year the Victoria’s Secret fashion show creates a buzz on social media. Men and women take to online outlets to voice their opinions. Tweets range from anything about the fashion, the music, how this makes women want to hit the gym more, how hot the models are, or how grossly thin the models are.
Society is extremely focused on how media molds the minds of young girls and the view they have of their own bodies. Fat shaming is a huge ordeal and flat out wrong. Fat shaming is when someone is put down for their weight and are made to feel lesser because they do not fit an ideal, societal body. Society advocates to love yourself no matter what and fat shaming is an awful thing to do.
Why do we not focus on body shaming in general though?
Although I firmly believe young girls should not be taught that thin is the best body to have, I also believe it is crucial to teach young girls to love their bodies no matter what.
We focus so much on fat shaming, but isn’t skinny shaming just as bad? Both are body shaming and both make one feel that their body is not adequate.
One Victoria’s Secret model, Bridget Malcolm, took to Instagram with her opinions on skinny shaming. (Read her full story: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/n...)
Her caption of a selfie read: “Can we STOP with the skinny shaming please? I am extremely fit and healthy and am not in the slightest way anorexic. I have worked hard to look like this and am proud of my body. I may not be the curviest, but I am a woman who has every right to look the way I do. Maybe today take a look inside yourself and wonder why you feel the need to shame strangers over the Internet about their bodies. Peace and love to you all — let's change the conversation.”
People will tweet about how the models in the show look unhealthy or too thin, but the problem with that is that it is still a body criticism. We can not tell someone who is curvy and heavier to love her body no matter what, but then tell a girl who is thin that she looks sickly. That makes the whole body love movement ironic and contradictory.
Here is what we should be telling young girls- love yourself no matter what.
Fat shaming is wrong, but so is skinny shaming. Body shaming is the problem here.
I know the argument could be that media needs to display real women, but the models on that runway are real women and that is how they choose to live their lives. No they are not the majority of the day to day women, but they are still women who are affected by people critiquing the way the look. We have no room to judge or shame them for their appearance.
I agree that girls should not be taking extreme lengths to appear a certain way. I believe everyone needs to embrace what is natural for them.
Stop fat shaming, stop skinny shaming, and stop body shaming. Love what is natural for you and do not judge others for their bodies.
