Creig Luke
Introduction
Every human is unique. No two people are completely alike. People have various different strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. The uniqueness of various people is what makes them different. Even though everyone is unique, we try to fit everyone into a cookie cutter to make them the same. We want everyone to do the same things and follow the same guidelines. It is the same with beauty.
What is beauty?
There are many versions of beauty. It is said that “beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”. Beautiful people come in all shapes and sizes. What standards you have for beauty, may not be the same for another person. Then why do people body shame other people, just because their bodies are different? If someone is comfortable with their body shape and size, why do we judge them? Why do we give them defamatory labels just to demean them? On what basis do people frame their beauty standards? Is there any logic behind that? Or is it the fact that our narrow view of human beauty, due to the advertisements and the movies we have been fed, by the entertainment industry? If so, we have got a lot to unlearn, as a society.
(courtesy: mic.com)
There are various different slurs that people get called, just because their body size is different. Changing one’s body size is out of the hand of the individual. One cannot grow taller, or become thinner, just to be acceptable to others. It is high time we accept people for who they are and respect their decisions. The excessive beauty standards put forth by the society does not make any sense, since it has no basis and keeps on changing. In the olden days in Rome, fat men were considered to be beautiful and appealing, since being fat meant being rich. Nowadays, thin and fit men are considered to be beautiful. The beauty standards have no basis. Being a little fat or short does not have any detrimental impacts. Being fair skinned does not give any advantage whatsoever.
The Toxic Modelling Industry
How is it that size zero models, who starve themselves just to fit-in in the beauty standards, more beautiful than a healthy plus size model, who is confident about their body? How do people consider starving oneself just to fit-in as appealing? This size zero industry for fashion models should stop. Not only does it put the size zero model’s health at risk, but also demeans the people who aren’t as fit as the models. Israel has taken a step forward in this initiative and banned the size zero models in the fashion industry. Even other countries such as Germany and United States have started promoting models and actresses of all shapes and sizes for advertisements and movies. South Indian film industry has also started to star healthy and dark skinned actresses in their films. The world is slowly accepting that beauty is not a cookie-cutter standard, and that beauty comes in all colours, shapes and sizes.
Amazing concept and very well written…keep writing
Body shaming has become more than a norm. Everyone is used to doing it. People criticise others who don’t fit into the term “beauty” because it affects their perception. By criticising, it helps them feel more better. Very well written.
Well Written
great work , very important topic
Bitter truth
Body shaming has to be condemned seriously. Well written article.
Thank you guys for the feedback! Means a lot to me!
Very well advocate and amazingly written. Body shaming in today’s world is seen so much especially on social media where reality is easily morphed. It’s so important to talk about such topic. Beauty is subjective and it’s more that what’s seen on the surface. Keep voicing about such issue it really matter towards bring a change. Really great work.
Body shaming is a very shamefull. It should not be done . It can even cause mental harm to few people. You have done a great job here.
Yes exactly!
People need to understand these individual differences which makes us all different from each other.
And everyone is beautiful in their own way.
It’s high time this topic really needs some attention especially from our modelling societies.
The introduction gives a really good overview of the article. The word beauty which is so subjective is explained so precisely. It unfolds the different behind the same word. Finally, appreciate the way the harsh truth of the toxic modelling industry is put forward.
Your true meaning of beauty looks morebeautiful
Finally someone said it
Very well put!
I have to say that this is truly the sad part of our society. I truly connect to this because being a chubby fat girl somewhere or the other I have gone through shit. Great to see someone has come up with this which is truly an fantastic job @Creig Luke! This motivated me to write about it.
Thanks a lot for the feedback! I’m glad you liked this article!
Nicely done , a topic that needs much discussion in today’s times. Everything is precisely explained, very well articulated. Very important to talk about this topic as it can severely affect a person’s mental well being
beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that’s definitely true. I truly wish people understand that everything is beautiful. I could totally relate to this. Since I’m fat. Thanks for writing this.
Heyy
During my graduation I also worked on a body shaming project.
I learned a lot that time but now you have added more to my knowledge and have told the reality of today’s society at some point I must say
Thank you
Good luck!
Great article Craig…Body shaming is a very relevant issue of our time that needs to be brought to the limelight and discussed about.
More and more people , as highlighted by the article , are struggling with body image issues because of the various societal pressures to look a certain way.
Thank you for bringing this topic up..
Keep up the good work..
This is such an important issue and am so glad you took it up. I would like to say that it is equally important for us to keep checking our own language and vocabulary and remove the use of any such word/phrase that body shames in anyway. We have been conditioned for so long to talk in a way that body shames people around it, it’s so important to pay attention to our own behaviour and set it right. I hope we all are able to do it.
Good one. Yeah! Everyone should understand the real meaning of it.
sad and bitter truth of society explained by you . keep writting more like this
As an individual who has personally faced body shaming and also witnessed what it does go close ones around me, it is saddening to see that it still prevails.
Despite the harsh reality, I loved the fact that you started and ended your article on a positive note. There is very simple, yet honest and innocent touch to your writing, it definitely hit home. I’m glad you spoke about the struggles although majorly focused on how the society is gradually changing and working towards inclusivity and radical acceptance.
Very well written ☺️
Yeah I agree! The sad thing is that nobody questions such things, and hence it has become a norm to body shame others.
I’m extremely pleased that you chose this topic to voice your opinion. It’s really important to change the narrative around what beauty is. There should be no set standards because every individual is different so there is no comparison. Most of us have faced some sort of shaming when it comes to our physical appearance and this negatively affects our mental health and self concept. it’s time to fight the toxic concept of beauty. You put out a really great article!
You’ve put out a wonderful article.
“While it’s said that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, we are in an era where our societies have been brainwashed and socially conditioned to believe that our weight and the shape of our body is a critical component of our worth.So often, societies we live in have set beauty standards that we need to conform to, to be considered beautiful or handsome, according to their desires. These unrealistic beauty standards, set by our societies for women and men, have become a must-have to an extent that those who don’t endorse them are considered ugly.”- Former Miss Rwanda and motivational speaker, Jolly Mutesi.
Society’s idea of beauty has made people conscious about their physical appearances. People are judged by their physical appearances and not by what’s within i.e. their nature, soul, talents etc.
The subject of skin color and social status in Indian culture is incredibly complex. While people with darker skin tones are subjected to harsh discrimination and prejudice, fairness is revered and associated with beauty, wealth and power. These are a few points that you could have added.
Keep up the good work! I’m pleased that you chose this topic.
I definitely agree with this. There is no fixed definition for beauty. Concepts of beauty keep fluctuating with time and age.
Truely said! I can feel the aggressiveness through the screen by reading the blog.
Even today, people body shame others for being skinny, obese, dark and what not. It is extremely sad we still judge people by their outward appearances and not what they truely are!
The society has deep rooted beliefs regarding fair is better or regarding body shape of woman. Women are more brutally judged in such scenarios, she is expected to fit in a particular size and have a particular color to be worthy of love. This is very prevalent in the Indian society, still! The more we talk about it, the less it is.
A much need topic!
Well written
Bravo
Keep up the good work
Brilliant
Wil lshare
*will
🙂
As a victim of body shaming, I am really glad u took the initiative to write about it. Especially about the toxicity in the modelling industry
Thanks for this one..Love your article.. This is so informative.. Keep writing.. & all the very best for your future. ✨
Thanks a lot for the positive feedback. I’m sorry that I will not be able to reply to all your comments, since there are so many.
nicely written, awesome.
Very well written article
Loved the topic and the way of presentation. Very engaging.
great job.
well written
Body shaming is so prevalent in today’s world… it is extremely disappointing… well written article
amazing concept beautifully presented.
a very major topic that needs repeated recognition in order to be instilled in people. well written. you can also add about how in the name of obesity they pass ideas of the ideal body to declare one is healthy.
I agree, there is no linear relation between body weight and fitness.
Well written… Even body shaming should be taken seriously like any other issues
Amazing concept.
Very important topic in today’s time and very well written.
Really love this one!
Very well written, keep it up.
great article on a very important issue!!
I completely agree!! nowadays bodyshaming has become a very interesting topic where people just sit together and chat over but they do not realise how much it can affect the other person!! It can lead to underconfidence.. so whether skinny, curvy ,dark, fair-skinned each and every body type is unique in its own way!
Yes. I agree.
Thank you for addressing this topic.
Body shaming has done some serious damage to our society, Its high time we start thinking different. Great work!