While I’ll be one of the first to admit that the perceptions of body image in the media can be unrealistic and being skinny is glorified, I don’t agree with the skinny shaming that can come with it.
I’ve heard plenty of arguments on how the media uses photoshopped images of models and how it’s unrealistic to women who see these ads or magazine covers. I’ve heard how it makes women insecure and how not everyone is built the way these models are and how it glorifies the idea that “skinny is the only way to be pretty”. I don’t always disagree, I think that all body types are beautiful and should be represented in advertisements and other forms of media. I think that it’s only fair and realistic to do so. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, as cliché as that is, it’s true.
It starts to get to be too much when girls that are naturally skinny become this “unrealistic expectation” and how it’s unfair that some girls are naturally small. I am 5 feet 4 inches tall and barely weigh 107 pounds. My BMI is one decimal below the healthy weight at 18.4 so I am considered underweight. Just because this is the case doesn’t mean comments directed at my size aren’t hurtful.
I’ve heard it all. I’ve heard the, “are you going to throw up after that meal?” comment. I’ve heard the, “ooh skinny girl ordering a salad, shocker,” comment too. I’ve heard the, “you don’t have to worry about anything because you’re skinny, you have no reason to complain,” or the “eat a burger or something, jeez, you need meat on those bones,” comments.
Though I am totally happy with my body type and I’ve come to love myself throughout the years, these comments still hurt. Yes, I’m skinny and yes, it’s hard to gain weight no matter how much I eat. Yes, I have a fast metabolism. Just because this is my build, doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings!
If you look at Giuliana Rancic, someone who is naturally skinny and even went through cancer and survived, her Instagram is full of hate comments. Before her cancer she was skinny and even though having cancer probably made it a little worse, she still was never a curvy girl.
Just scrolling through her Instagram makes me sick because every time she posts a picture of herself the comments are, “EW! Too skinny,” “OMG she needs to eat a burger are you kidding me?” Some others are, “this dress would be prettier if she wasn’t so skinny,” or “I can see her bones, she needs to eat more,” and the worst of them all: “does she have an eating disorder?”
All I can say is, how is this fair? A skinny woman can get all these comments but if one person said to a curvy girl on social media, “EW, she needs to lose weight,” they would get obliterated for their opinion. Both are wrong, so why does this double standard still exist?
I remember when the song, “All About that Bass” by Meghan Trainor came out and how, though it had this positive message for girls with curves, it totally missed how hurtful it was being to those that can’t help how small they are, no matter how hard they try.
“Yeah, my momma she told me don’t worry about your size. She says, boys they like a little more booty to hold at night, you know I won’t be no stick-figure, silicone Barbie doll,” are just a part of the jabs made at skinny women. Yes, of course girls with curves are awesome, all women are! But a girl that is a stick figure is not undesirable to men, which is this impression Meghan Trainor is giving off. Some women cannot help it. It’s that simple.
She continues to say, “skinny bitches,” which also paints this negative picture of skinny girls. PSA: They are real people and words hurt them just as much as someone telling an overweight person to, “put the fries down.”
I don’t listen to the song because there’s no point in getting bent out of shape over it, but it just shows how skinny shaming can pass off into a hit song, but if another artist were to release a song fat-shaming women, it would probably get a ton of backlash. Once again, I ask: How is this fair?
I get that photoshop is real and eating disorders are real and not everyone is naturally skinny, but it doesn’t mean that every single skinny person is unhealthy or unrealistic. It just comes down to genes and metabolism and it’s not something anyone could just change. Believe it or not, trying to gain weight is just as challenging as trying to lose it.
Though I know this stigma won’t disappear overnight, I just wanted to speak about it as a girl who has dealt with skinny shaming her whole life. Despite your body type, it’s important to love yourself and others, even if you aren’t built the same. Being unique is a blessing, not a curse.
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