The History of Body - Shaming
In our current society, many people think that thin bodies are inherently better and healthier than larger bodies. Historically, however, that hasn't always been the case. If you think of paintings and portraits from before the 1800s era, you can see that plumpness was revered.
Being fat was a sign that a person was wealthy and had access to food, while thinness represented poverty. In her book "Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture," author Amy Erdman Farrell traces the shift from revering heavy bodies to the preference of smaller shapes in mid-nineteenth century England when the first diets books were published. She noted that the focus on diets, and bodies at large, was centered around women. Author Sabrina Strings says that fat phobia resulted from colonialism and race in her book "Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia."
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the first known use of the term "body shaming" was by journalist Philip Ellis.
Types of Body- Shaming
Below are the various reasons why people might be body -shamed.
Weight
One of the most common reasons people are body-shamed is because of their weight. Someone might be body -shamed for being "too big" or "too thin."
Saying anything negative about a person being "fat" is body- shaming. This is also known as "fat-shaming." Fat-shaming comments are ones like "They'd be pretty if they lost weight," or "I bet they had to buy an extra plane ticket to fit." Men are often body -shamed when people refer to them as having a "dad bod."
People in thinner bodies can also be shamed for their weight. Often called skinny-shaming, it may sound like, "They look like they never eat" or "They look like they have an eating disorder."
Body Hair
Hair grows on the arms, legs, private areas, and underarms of all people, except for those with certain health conditions. However, many people have the idea that women should remove all of their body hair, or they won't be "ladylike."
Attractiveness
Known as "pretty-shaming," the bullying or discrimination of people for being attractive, is something that happens regularly. And even more than that, people are bullied for being considered unattractive, which is also known as "lookism." Lookism describes prejudice or discrimination against people who are considered physically unattractive or whose physical appearance is believed to fall short of societal ideas of beauty.
Food
Food-shaming is generally done in relation to body size. For example, when someone makes a remark about what a person is or isn't eating, that can count as food-shaming. Someone says, "They look like they don't need to be eating that," is an example of food-shaming. You can also food-shame yourself. For example, you might say, "I'm so fat, I shouldn't eat this piece of cheesecake."
Also known as ageism, age-shaming is discrimination or bullying towards people because of their age. This usually focuses on the elderly or the older population.
Age
In relation to body -shaming, an ageist remark may sound like, "They're too old to wear that much makeup." Additionally, news articles that show photos of how "bad" or "old" celebrities look when not wearing makeup are shaming. Making negative comments about someone's wrinkles or loose skin is another form of body-shaming.
Body-Shaming's Impact on Well-Being
Some mental health concerns associated with body-shaming include:
1) Anxiety
2) Body dysmorphic disorder
3) Depression
4) Higher risk of self-harm or suicide
5) Poorer quality of life (due to body dissatisfaction)
6) Psychological distress
Stop Talking About Other People's Bodies
It may be socially acceptable for people to mock and body-shame others, but you do not have to accept, participate in, or tolerate such words or actions. You wouldn't want that to be done to you, and now you know that it can cause real problems for those it happens to.
So, when you are tempted to point out a person's body hair or their hair texture, their size, stop yourself. Instead, why not think of something nice to say to the person?
Clearly, they caught your eye, so you could use this as an opportunity to find a positive attribute. "I like your smile" is one idea of a way to compliment another person without speaking negatively about their body.
Try the following steps:
1) Notice your thoughts and acknowledge your own conditioning, bias, and/or judgments.
2) Make an intentional effort to notice what you like, appreciate, or admire about this person (this may be physical or non-physical traits).
3) Practice this with others and yourself to develop and deepen respect, care, and compassion for yourself and others.
Body-shaming may be prevalent, but you can do the work to stop perpetuating it and to help heal its harmful effects by practicing body positivity with yourself and others.
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