Don’t let them say you ain’t beautiful… : The Tribune India

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Don’t let them say you ain’t beautiful…

In a society that places great value on the beauty of human body, it must be a blasphemy of sorts to be ugly, fat, dark, or even too thin! We have all, at one point and time or another, struggled to correspond to society’s standards of the ‘conventional’ beauty; or what else would amount to the steep rise of beauty parlours, gyms, fairness creams, muscle building steroids, cosmetic surgeries, and weight loss treatments?

Don’t let them say you ain’t beautiful…

The sculpture Bronskvinnorna (The women of bronze) outside of the art museum (Konsthallen), Växjö, Sweden



Amarjot Kaur 

In a society that places great value on the beauty of human body, it must be a blasphemy of sorts to be ugly, fat, dark, or even too thin! We have all, at one point and time or another, struggled to correspond to society’s standards of the ‘conventional’ beauty; or what else would amount to the steep rise of beauty parlours, gyms, fairness creams, muscle building steroids, cosmetic surgeries, and weight loss treatments? 

How far are we willing to go just to please others, fit in, or to be accepted? Body image issues, unlike what most of us think, can get too serious, not just because of its tendency to blow out of proportion at slightest mental provocation, but because it’s a battle that you fight against yourself, and mostly alone. 

What is body image?

According to the National Eating Disorder Association, body image is how you see yourself when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself. The phrase was first coined by the Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst Paul Schilder in his book The Image and Appearance of the Human Body. 

Social media

In the zone of virtual reality, where you are judged by the standards of your display picture, pretty could have the most superficial meaning. 

I had been pretty depressed of late! I put up a picture on Facebook two weeks ago and I was flooded with congratulatory msgs as my beer belly was mistaken for pregnancy! I walk regularly and have spent thousands of rupees in weight loss programmes! I didn’t sleep that night! I was even about to deactivate my Facebook account. I used to take social media pretty seriously but not anymore!" — Mansi Mehta, Public relations professional

Men has it too 

Body dissatisfaction has become a much more prevalent problem in men and young boys. Although exposure to media content is what launches the body image process for women, endorsements featuring the muscular ideal make men selectively exposed to certain content within the media. 

I was depressed and started taking steroids; I only stopped when I was told by a friend that steroids make one infertile. — Manpreet Singh (name changed). 

I was bullied for being thin and I have often been called chinki. No wonder, I had to abuse my way through to convince my peers I am one of them. — Anshul Bhatia, city-based musician

Am I too fat?

..No, you are delightfully plump! And the next time you find yourself asking that, might as well remind yourself of the word—acceptance or a simple, “So what, even if I am fat!”

The fat acceptance movement (also known as the size acceptance, fat liberation, fat activism, fativism, or fat power movement) is a social movement seeking to change anti-fat bias in social attitudes. The movement grew out of the various identity politics of the 1960s and campaigns for the rights of fat people to be treated equall. 

I was fat throughout my college years and I used to pretend to be confident and immune to all the insulting jokes, trying hard to just laugh it off, but it wasn’t easy. I have lost a considerable amount of weight in last four years, but I am still fat, still insecure. However, I don’t pretend anymore. I am confident and I know I am beautiful. — Aki Magan, Delhi-based Social media professional 

As a young child my self-esteem was corrupted by those that should have built it up—my family. It didn’t help that I was short in stature and had a thick in bone structure, which lead to eating to try and soothe the negativity.  It’s not easy to change the way you see yourself, even if the world sees a better more attractive person in you. — Christine Mehal, stay-at-home mother from Yamunanagar

I have been onto the fatter side throughout my life. Though it pinched to be pegged down at all times due to the obsession with the so-called lean and fair thing, I reminded myself to be confident. — Tanvi Sukhija, Asst. Prof at Guru Gobind Singh College, Sector 26

Racist, are we?

Sometimes, race, or ethnic differences can cause one to have body image issues. You don’t believe us, well, go and ask a north-eastern in Punjab, who is often referred to as a “chinki” or a dark skinned girl, who’d easily be mistaken for a South Indian or a Bong!

I have spent a bomb on fairness treatments. My parents would wonder who’ll marry me, just because I didn’t have the ‘fair-skin girl’ tag to put on my matrimonial ad. I was ashamed to look at myself in the mirror and now I see the futility of it all. — Sapna (name changed)

I never had any issue till I got this photo allergy which gave me dark spots on all sun exposed areas. The last few months have been hard not because I suffered but because people pitied me...Archana R Singh, Professor, School of Communication Studies, Panjab University

 

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