I Am The Best Version Of Myself, And So Is He, So Is She

Our parents teach us to thank God every day. Thus, before going to school, or college, or to work, or while we pass by a temple, we remember to thank God.

It’d be surprising to know the various reasons why we thank him. Some of us thank him for gifting us good lives; a life with enough money to sustain ourselves, enough love from our families, enough brains to get us through different levels of life. Funny enough, some of us thank him for giving us ‘ideal’ looks.

Each day passes by, and we witness Body Shaming in ways we can’t even notice. Every day, when a mother or an aunt asks you to lose weight because ‘no one will marry a fat girl’; when you compare your skin colour to your friend’s, who is fairer; when you’re told that being a boy only means something when you’re more than 5’5; you are getting shamed for something not under your control. People get critiqued for their appearance a lot more than they should be criticized constructively; one can wonder, how much improvement we’d go through if we were told off for the right things!

Some of us thank him for gifting us good lives; a life with enough money to sustain ourselves, enough love from our families, enough brains to get us through different levels of life. Funny enough, some of us thank him for giving us ‘ideal’ looks.

The idea of Body Shaming takes birth and evolves through childhood and eventually, persists for life. It has become so common that we no longer feel offended by it; we’ve become so used to being criticized for how we look, we no longer remember to protest against it.

In the world of Social Media today, real life has been defeated by reel life; girls are driven by the need to have a 0 waist, following diet plans and starving themselves to death. They wear heels that make them look taller, but injure their feet to such extent that they cannot walk without hurting themselves. They use fairness creams to change their complexions, destroying their skin and its natural oils. Boys, on the other hand, stick to rigorous diets and exercise, consume steroids and high amounts of proteins to build their bodies and look masculine and muscular. Shah Rukh Khan endorses ‘Fair and Handsome’, for success comes with a fair skin, always. Bulimia, Anorexia Nervosa; these are the silent predators that kill young men and women alike.

In the world of Social Media today, real life has been defeated by reel life; girls are driven by the need to have a 0 waist, following diet plans and starving themselves to death.

The first step to overcoming a problem is realising that it exists. People need to realise that Body Shaming is indeed real; it is serious, and it is, one hundred and one percent, a problem that needs to be dealt with. Parents and teachers need to wake up and take things in their hands; teach your children to live and let live. The media needs to wake up and be vigilant with their content; advertisements, movies and TV programmes urgently need to be body positive. Pageants and Beauty Contests need to ensure that they spread the right message - ‘Love Yourself’, and not ‘Be a Fair, Size Zero’. And at the end, we need to wake up the human inside our own selves.

The first step to overcoming a problem is realising that it exists. People need to realise that Body Shaming is indeed real; it is serious, and it is, one hundred and one percent, a problem that needs to be dealt with.

I am the best version of myself, and so is he, so is she.

The views expressed are the author's own.

Picture Credits: Emaze