In recent years, I have seen so much discussion about body shaming and calling for an end to it. I've seen people call for an end to shaming people for being "overweight". This is great because body shaming is wrong. I've also seen people try to justify body shaming of people who may be overweight because it's a "health concern".
Let's knock this out right away: If you're genuinely concerned about someone's health, you're not going to be inclined to shame them or make fun of them. So, your justification is canceled. I said it. Thank you, next!
I've seen people call for an end to shaming people for being too "thin". This is great because again, body shaming is wrong. I've also seen people try to justify body shaming "thin" people by saying it promotes being "unhealthily skinny". Let's knock this out, too: Not everyone who is thin is unhealthily thin. Generalizing all people who are thin is inaccurate.
Shaming people for being overweight is just as bad as shaming people for being thin, and vice versa. Are there cases where people are obese and unhealthily overweight? Yes, but that's not the case for everyone who is any amount of pounds over your ideal body weight in your head. And are there people who are unhealthily thin? Absolutely. But that does not mean that everyone who is thin is unhealthy. This generalization is gross.
Please, I'm begging, stop generalizing everything and speaking on things based on a limited number of experiences. We should absolutely be promoting being healthy and happy.
If you're generally concerned about someone's health based on their weight, whether they're over or underweight, if your first instinct is to shame them and make them feel bad, I am genuinely concerned for you. You're not being "honest", "keeping it real", or "helping them", you're just looking for an excuse to be an asshole.
So no, I'm not saying that we should promote being obese or promote being unhealthily skinny, and if that's what you take away from this, you're missing the point because that is not at all true.
I am saying, though, that it's not a one size fits all topic. You can't generalize.
Moving on from that little rant:
I advise everyone to look into the million resources that are available to you to educate yourself on health. There is not one specific body type or weight which is "healthy" for everyone. 2 + 2 = 4 but so does 3 + 1. There is more than one "right" way to look.
Body shaming is ridiculous and quite frankly, I'm over it. Let's all be over it.
