The Societal Belief that Bigger Bodies are Bad

Trigger Warning: Mentions of weight gain and loss, food, youth and body-shaming

For years, the war on body shaming has got into the mouths of many conversationalists, however talking about body shaming is not enough to change the behaviour of the majority but at least it’s a start. Scientifically, we know that too much or too little of the wrong foods can play detriment to the human body, resulting in a never-ending list of ailments including heart attacks, vitamin deficiencies and strokes. However the label of ‘healthy’ has been attached to a UK size 6-10, and anything above or below is deemed unhealthy. Yet instead of labelling someone’s size as a determinant of health, perhaps we should consider that all bodies are different, fat deposition and muscle growth happen differently varying on the individual, not to mention mental health as a large factor in the relationship that one has with food. 

Personally, I have feel as though I have always struggled with my body-image. After a large house move when I was seven, I had an unhealthy relationship with food. I vividly remember being shamed at my primary school, being asked if I was pregnant or even a teacher pointing out my chubbier fingers. Engrained from a young age, I believed that my looks were wrong, offensive even, and have had an altered sense of body image since. As I grew taller, I remember someone telling me that if my weight remained at that number for the rest of my life I would be fine. How ridiculous is that? Not only has my body been subject to huge levels of stress and change but puberty meant that I wasn’t going to stay the same weight as my 12 year old self. 

 

Nearly ten years later, my body continues to fluctuate in size, however quite frankly, it’s no one else’s business. Even I shouldn’t be as bothered by it as I seem to be! Despite that thinking, most people continue to comment on my weight as if they’re keeping tabs on me. Why has our mentality of weight loss or gain not changed since 10 years ago? The societal belief that bodies outside of the ‘accepted’ range are bad thrives in the minds of so many. As a result, money savvy business people have hooked onto this shared insecurity and made billions from diet schemes, fast fashion and targeted adverts based on your browser history. It is scary to acknowledge the scale to which this insecurity has been used. 

 

Clothing brands must hold some accountability alongside education and societal conceptions. A size 14 in one place might be 5 inches different from the same size in a different shop, leading to a body-image insecurity epidemic. There seems to be no shared consensus as to how sizes should be measured in both men’s and women’s fashion. Being below a size 8 is labelled petite and above a size 16 as plus-size, which doesn’t leave much scope for changes in the human body. 

 

The seed of body shaming was sewn for me at such a young age, that having an unhealthy relationship with my body was normal. In the girls changing rooms, there felt a sense of solidarity as we all poked and prodded, and hid behind our towels at the bits of ourselves we didn’t like. Because of this, we can begin to understand today’s spike in eating disorders and mental health conditions. 

 

Things need to change. Mental health services need more funding. 

I know that I can do better, better at being kinder to my body, fuelling it with better food and drinks alongside moving more and being in nature. But for the small scale changes to take place, there’s a few things I need you to remember:

-       You need food to fuel your body. It literally powers every inch of you. 

-       Clothes are made to fit you, not you made to fit clothes. If that were true, you’d have been born one size and not changed. 

-       Be kind. To both yourself and others. 

-       Think of compliments not to do with looks yet about the person within. 

-       Keep talking and working in changing the outlook of those around you. 

 

Look after yourself, 

Harri.