Body Shaming – Creating Awareness

By Deanna Smith, ACI Content Contributor

When it was announced that Amy Schumer may be playing the part of Barbie in an upcoming live action film, the Twitterverse was flooded with mean-spirited body shaming tweets about the comedic star. Even Vin Diesel received an onslaught of “dad bod” shamers after a shirtless picture of him emerged revealing a softer mid-section. From the tabloids that circle celebrities’ cellulite to the constant monitoring of baby bumps and post-baby slim-downs, body shaming has certainly become an unfortunate new normal and celebrities are not the only victims.

Body shaming can be expressed by:

1. Shaming another person directly – “How’s the weather up there?” to a tall person may seem harmless, but bringing attention to a tall person’s height is a form of body shaming. Nicknames like “Chubby” or “String Bean” can harm a person’s self-esteem for a lifetime. Making a comment to someone about their weight gain, complexion, shoe size, or body type can all be types of body shaming.
2. Shaming oneself – Very few people, if any, can look at their own bodies without a critical eye, wishing their feet were smaller, their hips curvier, their necks longer. Fashion and beauty magazines make their money with promises of longer lashes, silkier hair and stylish clothes. But the shaming here is not done by the magazines or the ads, but by a person’s own self-shaming thoughts and behaviors.
3. Shaming another person indirectly – It may seem funny and innocent enough to talk about someone else’s weight or bust size behind their back, but these comments quickly turn into gossip, eventually repeated to the target, resulting in social humiliation.

When children practice this sort of behavior, it is labelled bullying. In most schools today there are zero-tolerance policies on bullying. In the workplace, this type of behavior can result in a hostile work environment for the victim, and can be grounds for discipline for the offender, with potential legal ramifications. But in social situations and across social media, there are often no people in authority to monitor bad behavior, allowing body shaming to go unchecked.

Awareness is the first step in understanding and stopping this kind of behavior. As soon as a body shaming incident occurs, in person or online, it is important to call it out and support the victim. Not every jokester will understand or change inappropriate behavior, but some might be unaware of how damaging deprecatory comments are to other people and may be grateful for the eye-opening lesson.

If everyone takes responsibility for personal behavior and takes the time to educate others, there can be a social movement to put an end to body shaming, reduce the psychological damage to victims, and build a more respectful culture.