By Nina Chatzistergiou,
Have you ever wondered how many times you have heard vicious comments about your appearance from others and in fact quite often by people unknown to you? Have you ever had to walk down the street and feel indiscreet gazes flooding you? If so, then know that you are not the only one this happens to. This is just one of the forms of “Body Shaming”, a newfound scourge of our time.
Body Shaming refers to the tendency of people to criticize others or even themselves based solely on their appearance.
Body Shaming can take the following forms:
- I recklessly criticize my image.
- I criticize the appearance of another person in front of him.
- I criticize the appearance of another person behind his back.
At a time when the prevailing perception is that “looks” are more important than what people actually are, one should not wonder why body shaming has entered our lives for good. This concept, combined with the rapid development of technology, has contributed to the human body’s industrialization. Social media is constantly promoting campaigns, which deal with ways to improve our appearance, how to lose weight easily and quickly but also how to look like the advertising models. In this way, they reinforce the notion that external appearance matters more than our inner world. In other words, they cultivate the idea that the acceptance by us but also by others will come only through the maintenance and care of a beautiful body – and not necessarily a healthy one but a body type with ideal proportions.
As a result, people are trapped in a game of constant preoccupation with appearance, indifferent to the cultivation of their mental and social potential. This leads to the creation of weak personalities, prone to comments and negative criticism of others, with low self-confidence and a sense of self-worth.
Unfortunately, in our time, Body Shaming has taken on frightening proportions. In particular, it seems to be one of the most common forms of school bullying among adolescents. It can be practiced either in person or through social networks. Victims feel ashamed of their bodies, feel inadequate for others and this contributes to their psychological collapse, especially in a difficult age phase such as adolescence.
It is extremely important to understand that to a large extent our external image reflects our feelings, how we feel about ourselves and what stage of our life we are in. When we feel good about ourselves and lean firmly on our feet, we can certainly deal with any issues that arise that affect our body, whether they are related to obesity or lack of weight, which can distort our external image and cause us serious health problems.
