‘Look, you’re skinny.’
Those three, seldom ever seen as contenting words, have been heard and stigmatized by those of the thin body type since the dawn of time. From physically punishing diets to being called ‘bony’, being thin has not been easy. That is why it can be all the more confusing when people find themselves questioning: why is fat-shaming bad but thin-shaming okay?
It feels unfair, like a never-ending cycle of double standards where thin-people are constantly subjected to the same abhorred fat-shaming and yet, are not allowed to vocalize these insults. This discrepancy propagates a climate of discrimination against certain body types, with those in the thin figure receiving the least assertiveness. It comes as no surprise, then, that the prejudice against thinness is often overlooked.
But for those who do recognize the inequality, this is not only deeply disheartening, it’s every bit as damaging and wrong as fat-shaming is. Both offer unequal rises of self-confidence and inferiority complexes, detrimental to our collective physical and psychological wellbeing, acting as a motivator of concern rather than acceptance.
Sometimes this prejudice takes on subtle forms, such as assuming that someone is unhealthy because they might not fit a certain idea of an ‘ideal’ waist size or a ‘normal’ BMI. All of these miscalculated assumptions traffic in a world of incapacity rather than being entirely considerate of people’s actual health. This culture emphasizes an anti-fat sentiment that has clung to the edges of modern society and attaches itself to issues of appearance in a way that deeply difficulties people’s sense of impartiality.
To make matters worse, the media encourages ignorance and judgment of all body sizes if one fits the patterns of mainstream expectations. This leads to people feeling ashamed of their bodies and creates a heated hatred about certain appearances that begins to adversely affect our public and personal behaviors.
This behavior does not occur in a vacuum; both fat-shaming and thin-shaming carry with them an often unseen power structure that privileges certain bodies over others. In order to challenge this notion, we must focus on combating these oppressive narrations of size, shape, and identity in favor of more progressive notions of self-love and appreciation of body types, regardless of size.
In today’s society, the presence of fat-shaming and thin-shaming makes it feel nearly impossible to identify oneself without judgment. But that doesn't mean it still can't have a positive outcome. By making understanding and working to fight against body misjudgments of any kind, we demonstrate that no one should have to constitute themselves to maintain a narrative they don’t believe to be true.
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