Ever since I was younger, I’ve always hated the word skinny. I remember it made me uncomfortable whenever someone said it, mostly because I wasn’t. I was never “skinny” growing up. I swam for eight years, I had swimmer thighs and a lot of muscles, I was always fit and healthy but I was never skinny. I had a great body, and throughout all of high school I always strived to be “skinny.” I always wanted someone to call me skinny, or comment on my Instagram and tell me that I looked skinny. Although the word always made me uncomfortable, it was something I always wanted to be. As I’ve grown up and gotten older, I’ve become very passionate about my hatred for the word skinny, I never said it and I never acknowledged the word at all. However, it wasn’t until recently when I was talking to a friend and she said, “OMG this girl is so perfect, she’s so skinny,” that I knew I had to share my feelings with everyone else.

It is degrading.

The word skinny is degrading to girls everywhere. When someone uses the word skinny to describe a person, it automatically degrades who they are. It not only takes away from their inner beauty, but it almost completely diminishes their physical beauty. A person’s physical beauty shouldn’t be defined by being skinny. When you comment ‘Skinny Mini’ on a girl’s Instagram photo, it might give her a feeling of achievement, satisfaction, or confidence and feeling good about yourself is great but that will become what she strives to be. That comment doesn’t just affect the girl whose photo it is, it affects every single girl that sees that comment. Girls who see that comment will strive to get that comment on their own Instagram photo, and from there it becomes a downward spiral. I know this, because I used to be like this. As much as I’ve always hated the word, I’ve always strived to be it, until now. Now I strive to be healthy and I strive to feel beautiful.

There are so many better words to describe someone.

There are so many better words to describe someone other than skinny. Tell someone that they’re beautiful, because beautiful can mean so many different things. Tell someone that their smile is gorgeous. Tell someone that you love their eyes, or their hair. Tell someone that you admire their confidence. Let someone know that you love their heart. Comment on someone’s Instagram and say that their outfit looks great on them. There are so many other things we can say to each other, and so many other words we can use to describe each other besides skinny.

So after reading through this article, I hope you’re encouraged to stop using the word skinny. I hope that you’re encouraged to take part in creating a generation of girls that strive to be healthy, and comfortable in their own skin. I hope that you’re encouraged to lift girls up, instead of tear them down. And to any one who’s reading this article, I hope that you know that you’re beautiful and you should never forget it, and I hope that now you can go out into the world and let other girls know that they’re beautiful through words of encouragement, and words that describe their inner and outer beauty; opposed to the shape of their body.