Friday, February 5, 2016

Body Shaming

I have never fully understood why people feel the need to disrespect, cut down, belittle and body shame someone else for not being the ideal weight. I am having some difficulty understanding why people feel the need to control and dictate what someone else does, especially when it comes to their body. While there are a number of things I could list, the biggest problem I have is people of all races, ethnic groups and various upbringings feel the need to condemn those who do not make perfect and wise choices, as a person feels they should. Some may argue that they are simply "looking out for another human, for health reasons." If you do not personally know the person, have a loving and respectful relationship with that person, how are you able to know anything about them much less have a right to tell them how to lose weight?

There are several reason why someone is "unhealthy" or "unfit and out of shape," but why is it we hear more about people being "obese," "fat," and "over weight" than we do of people being under weight. Everyone has their views of "Plus Size," and that is irrelevant, but what does matter is how you make someone feel. What purpose does it serve to re-inform someone they are "fat?" How does body shaming help anyone? You may be right, the person may need to lose weight, or stop eating, or exercise more, or whatever else you judgmental people may think. BUT, is it really worth the judgement and criticism from you to make someone else feel bad? You do not know someone's past, present or even future, so you are unable to determine by FACTS the true nature of a person's weight, body and if they can even help it. What if they already are doing something about it? Then you not only wasted your breathe saying something mean but you also validated the horrible negative thoughts that the person may already thinking. Don't you think this world is already filled with enough hatred, body shaming and other horrible things?

Why is it ok for someone to disrespect and cast stones at a bigger person but it is not ok to say something to a smaller, maybe under-thin person. We are all battling our own demons, body shaming and criticism from ourselves, why add to someone else's by your selfish thoughts and opinions. I am not saying you should not help a friend who wants to lose weight or express concerns, but I am saying we all, me included, need to keep watch on our thoughts and make sure we are not judging someone else while we have our own "judgements" going on. I encourage you to be the smile that brightens someone's day and the person that shows someone not all people in this world are cruel!