Body shaming remains prevalent regardless of size

Photo courtesy of Anna Shvets, Pexels.

As social media platforms continue to grow, so do their audiences. There are more than just well intentioned users on these platforms. There are trolls, hackers and bullies. The TikTok platform has grown and bloomed into something that includes trends, lifestyle tips, and the sad truth of body shaming.

Actress Lena Dunham recently received backlash surrounding her wedding photos based on her weight gain and body type. Many users took to various platforms to tear down Dunham on her special day. These hateful comments have led to her limiting the amount of comments on her social media posts.

She took her feelings on these hateful comments to one of her Instagram posts saying, “these changes have allowed me to be the kind of sister/friend/daughter that I want to be and yes, meet my husband (who, by the way, doesn’t recognise me in those old photos because he sees how dimmed my light was).”

Dunham is not the only creator facing these types of comments on their videos and posts. Many of these “Internet Bullies” have wrongly connected body type to health and happiness. Whether you are plus size or petite, there will always be a comment or two regarding your weight.

Charli D’Amelio is one of the creators who have recently been receiving hate comments coming in from the opposite direction. As an already thin woman, her weight loss made fans question her mental health. These comments range anywhere from “is she okay?” to “you look so good!” and can be interpreted in various different ways.

Back in April of 2020, sixteen year old D’Amelio was forced to delete a photo of herself wearing a bikini because her body did not look like a “woman’s body.” She said, “It’s not your place to tell me if I’m losing weight or gaining weight… Why don’t we all just be respectful and understand that we should just be kind and uplift everyone instead of trying to bring others down.”

Personally, I believe that there is no correlation between how your body looks compared to your happiness. Gaining weight can be a positive thing for some people, like gaining weight when you are in a happy relationship. Looking at someone who is on the skinnier side and determining that they are depressed is wrong. This person could be the opposite, they may be feeling the happiest they have felt in a long time.

The body positivity movement has been so prevalent throughout all social media platforms. By showing off all body types in various different kinds of videos and posts, it allows women to see accurate representation of the female form, and in turn allow them to view themselves as normal and beautiful.

The comments of “stop promoting obesity” and “wow she is fat, she must hate herself” or “too skinny, she needs to get some help,” are still top comments on these posts. Someone’s body type should not correlate with their mental health. As the body positivity movement keeps growing, so should people’s acceptance of bodies of all shapes and sizes.

 

aperez13@ramapo.edu