Ananya Panday Talks About Being Body-Shamed In Childhood

Women are often ridiculed for having small chest as they are conditioned to the idea of an ideal female body. They are called names about their bodies and offered unsolicited advice about their diets. It's the 21st century yet we can't seem to accept the fact that every body is beautiful irrespective of the size and we should respect that instead of making someone feel insecure about their own body.

It is not just healthy women who are fat-shamed for their body size but skinny women are also shamed for being "too" skinny. From being compared to a matchstick for their thin body size to unnecessary diet advices, skinny women are often told to put on more weight in order to comply with the ideal female body conditioned by the society. This has made skinny women feel that having small chest makes them less beautiful and they get insecure about their own bodies.

And this has happened to the best of us. Actor Ananya Panday while speaking to SheThePeople revealed that she was also shamed for having small chest in her childhood saying, "When I was younger, I would get teased by some people in school saying that "oh, you're a flat screen" you're this, you're that. I was like, this is only happening to me." She further said that she starting feeling that there was something wrong to her.

The actor also admitted that as she talked to more girls about it, she realised that she wasn't the only one going through body-shaming. "I felt like if I speak about it, then it'll make someone feel less alone," she added.

Contrary to the common belief, there are no scientifically proven food items or diet which helps to enhance the breast size. And why is it necessary to have bigger breasts anyways? How does having small chest makes one less beautiful? The answer lies in the age-long obsession with sexualising the female body to cater to the male gaze. Having small chest shouldn't define you or your beauty and it's perfectly normal to have smaller breasts because your hormones determine your breast size which can vary among females.

The road to embracing smaller breasts goes through self-acceptance. Until and unless we accept the way we are and appreciate our bodies for keeping us healthy, we will keep creating a toxic environment for it to grow and manifest. Whether you are small or big, whether you have perky or sagging breasts, or even with stretch marks or pimples, it is important to love yourself as well as your body the way it is because unless you don't love your body, you can never be fully confident about yourself.

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The unrealistic idea of an ideal female body needs to be done away with because there isn't one. The idea of always a perfect skin, big breasts, curvy hips and lean waist may sound appealing but it is only realistic to understand that as one grows older, the body grows older too and may not remain as sturdy and enduring as it once was. In any case, it is high time that we accept that just like human minds, not all human bodies are same and we must respect and love each body irrespective of its size.