I received an email from a coordinator about an organization called BeYOU on our campus, a body positivity peer group. This group seeks to verbally challenge the âthin idealâ sustained in our society. My question is… What if you are a thin girl, just by chance?
My mother always cautioned me that if I ate another chicken finger I might get fat. I never considered what it meant when she thought I wasnât eating enough and looked too skinny. Or why people thought because I was thin and a ballet dancer that I must be sick. Or when a girl whispered behind me, âSomeone needs to tell Colleen anorexia is not cute.â I always used to be self-conscious of my ‘slender’ figure.
The opposite side of fat shaming is skinny shaming. That was something I would confidently say I was a victim of. Changing in the locker room brought about appraisals of my physique and comments like “Wow, she could be a Victoria’s Secret Model with a body like that” or “Oh yikes those are your ribs.” Those words were never born of sincerity but of the insecurity perpetuated on them by the patriarchal corporation dominated by white men, i.e. the cosmetic and clothing industry.
Even in a young mind, as represented by statistics in The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, girls at the age of 6 begin to subscribe to the âbeauty mythâ. This is the unattainable standard women are compelled to conform to, which is sold to women by social institutions. Women are also pressured to participate in the âcurrency systemâ of beauty. This is universally oppressive, as it costs women valuable money, time, and, in some cases, their life to achieve the âbeautifulâ look.
I think BeYOU has great potential to dismantle the poisonous ideals that women are bombarded with on a daily basis, but perhaps only after accepting this criticism. Instead of wording their mission as attacking âthe thin idealâ they should be promoting the acceptance of ALL body types. Body shaming is something that affects every woman, and enough is enough.
Photos courtesy of Pexels.