Skinny Shaming Is Not Body Positivity | The Odyssey Online
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Health and Wellness

Skinny Shaming Is Not Body Positivity

It's just being an awful person.

Skinny Shaming Is Not Body Positivity
Vallentina Battorti Design

All women are beautiful, and we finally have a society in which its members are in full realization of that fact.

Oh, we couldn't be further away from that fairytale.

We are impacted by the media every day. We are constantly being bombarded by ads, whether we are skimming through a magazine or scrolling through Instagram. Endless publications of famous models are introduced to us daily. Let's face it: sex sells. The female population slowly grew more insecure as these models got thinner and thinner, and we pinched our back rolls in defeat. We didn't like ourselves because we felt that we didn't fit the "perfect mold" of what a woman should be. So we acted; we decided that we were fine the way we were.

Except that we decided to shame others instead of supporting ourselves.

Skinny shaming is not the same thing as body positivity. Putting down another girl because "At least you don't look 12" does NOT make you any more of a woman than she is. And the term "Real men go after meat" -- Why would you want to put yourself in a disposition where the sole reason your body exists is to please men sexually? Why do you assume that men are only attracted to women of larger sizes? Individuals can be attracted to whomever and whatever they please. Unless that person is your significant other, it really isn't any of your business.

We're in an age where women claim that they are trying to empower each other, yet we keep ripping someone else down. We're using one another to strategically climb up the ladder. Why does a hierarchy need to exist anyways? There is no award for being at the hypothetical top, only that you get to realize how much self esteem you have destroyed only to momentarily enjoy your own. There will never be a "perfect woman." Perfection does not exist. The opinion of beauty varies from individuals all across the globe, so achieving said pinnacle of beauty is virtually meaningless. You might as well do things for yourself; to make yourself happy instead of appeasing to the masses.

You are not better than the girl next to you just because your thighs touch when you walk. And she isn't better because she has a tiny waist. You're both humans, individuals with cognitive thought processes. You both have personality traits and behaviors that form you into the women you are. The phrase "beauty is only skin deep" speaks loud volumes in this situation. No amount of rudeness will cover up your closeted insecurity; we can all see it from a mile away (I know you all know a girl like this). So let me shove my face with a burger and take naps. Or let me eat fruit and workout as I please. Or, imagine this wild concept: let me do both! Isn't it so bizarre that humans are capable of both a healthy lifestyle and indulgence? I know, shocker.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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