In case you were wondering, yes, I eat food. No, I don’t want a burger, and, yes, you are hurting my feelings.
Skinny shaming may not get as much recognition as fat shaming does, but I can attest to how many times I’ve felt ashamed of my body because someone felt the need to voice their opinions about how thin I was. While it may seem as if the world caters to thin body types, the truth is, the world caters to an ever changing unrealistic-without-plastic-surgery physique.
Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez — three beautiful women, three insanely curvaceous bodies. Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate these curvalicious idols; for a while I remember a dark time when model thin bodies were in, and anything that didn’t fit that mold was considered less attractive. The times have changed; while thin used to be in, thick has quickly taken its place. Though I have no issue with the recent switch in body type preferences, I do, however, have an issue with body shaming. Regardless of whether thin or thick is in, the problem at hand is that while society praises one body type, it inadvertently disapproves of the other.
Subtle lyrics like “Say he don’t like ’em bony, he want something he can grab” in Niki Minaj’s “Anaconda” or “Boys like a little more booty to hold at night” in Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” suggest that if you’re on the thin side, then men can’t possibly find you attractive. The media is to blame for allowing public figures to blatantly insult women with slender body types. Because we sadly live in a “monkey-see-monkey-do” society, people have accepted the idea that openly and negatively commenting on a women’s thin body, despite their feelings, is perfectly OK.
I’m 5 foot 2 inches 110 pounds, and completely comfortable in my skin. But I am uncomfortable with is the pressure I get from other people to constantly eat more or to gain more weight. Why do I have to eat more? I’m already a human garbage disposal. Why do I have to gain weight? My body is functioning perfectly at the size it is now, and most importantly, why is it acceptable to mockingly comment on my figure? The thought of eating disorders and health problems never cross the mind of people who see thin women. All they see is a skinny woman who should, in their opinion, gain more weight.
I get it: curves are sexier than skeletons, men prefer a little junk in the trunk and only a dog wants a bone, but do you know what I want? Respect. I want to be able to turn on the radio and not hear “F–k the skinny bitches! F–k the skinny bitches in the club!” I want to be able to eat as much or as little as I like and not hear “Where does all your food go?” or “No wonder you’re so skinny.” And most importantly, I want people to realize that body shaming, regardless of extreme size differences, is not OK. Women come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, and to value one particular body type over another does absolutely nothing for society except put us in imaginary “hot” or “not” categories. What’s “hot” to me is confidence, something that all women deserve to symbolize.
So the next time you’re in the presence of a skinny or fat woman, instead of suggesting she eat more or eat less, take the time to realize that she is well aware of her body type, and negative comments pertaining to her weight are merely a reflection of how society has single handedly created an unrealistic image of beauty in which you’ve easily fallen victim to.
