Written by Nandini Agrawal | Reviewed By John Victor | Updated On November 22, 2022
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Today social media is flooded with multiple commercial captions concerning body positivity telling "BEAUTY COMES IN ALL SHAPES". The Internet is packed with many such articles addressing the history of body positivity and fat acceptance but I suspect- WHAT BEAUTY REALLY IS?? DOES BEAUTY REALLY COMES WITH BODY AND SHAPE OR IS IT JUST A STEREOTYPICAL VISION OF WHAT BEAUTY IS??
I see beauty as something that can come with anything that is aesthetically pleasing and therefore everyone can have a different definition of beauty, and their own descriptions of what beauty looks like to them, but the question remains the same, Should beauty be defined by looks and shape? if yes (for you)! then you need to go into your description of beauty once again and inquire yourself WHY and HOW beauty correlates only to the body.
Your body is a part of you and not entirely you. An individual is composed of morality, spirituality, thoughts, experiences, achievements, and his/her own sense of self (and not just physical dimensions). Our body is just a residence for our soul. Body (for any occurrence) can be an aspect of beauty (only if you consider it to be one) but can never be how wholesome beauty can be defined or should be defined!
In a nutshell, neither living in a bungalow can assure wealth at heart nor living in a slum can assure a poor heart. Beauty comes from your behavior, intellect, and morals. A vibrant and handsome personality is where the real beauty extends. The difference rest in how you sketch your body in your thoughts and understanding. Body positivity is a social movement rooted in the belief that all human beings should have a positive body image.
Your body image is your perception of your own body, how you view and comprehend your own body, and REMEMBER perceptions can distort. Your body image might not overlap with your body reality, and disorders like Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa perfectly illustrate this body image and body reality mirage. This negative body image influences our Feelings, thoughts, and behaviors which in turn have a major impact on our mental health and how we treat ourselves.
You keep on reprimanding yourself with “Ahaa! She looks so damn hot in that body-fit dress OR He has got such great abs. I’m just trash. I haven’t got anything. I don’t have a presentable body. Nothing suits me” and many such self-sabotaging thoughts. But have you ever tried to dwell in the layers? What if she has scars all over her belly? What if a greedy and selfish mind is hiding behind that skin with abs? You never know! And here is where your definition of beauty comes into the picture. No matter how attractive, artistic, and elegant body one gets but to have what you got is not what everyone can afford.
Don’t value your body over the value of your being Because your weight doesn’t and can't define your worth. I get it that you might fear going out with that cellulite deposit around your belly or arms or thighs or maybe under your chin but what about let's sit back and think WHY? Why do we need to fear what's yours? What it has to be ashamed of or fear? Judgments? FOMO(fear of missing out)?
1. Remove people from your life who body shame you.
Try to get along with like-minded people and with like-minded I mean with the ones who can relate, recognize and appreciate your idea of beauty and body and not the ones who are still stuck with the biased beauty stereotypes or the ones who make you feel uncomfortable about who you are or how you display yourself.
2. Accept yourself the way you are.
Before anyone else, accept yourself. Accept yourself as you are. Construct your worth higher than your shape. Don't value your shape over your value of being. Aim at standing up to your standards of beauty and just your own standards, not of others or of society. Achieve your beauty from the inside and not from some stupid physical attributes.
List out everything you like, admire, or love in your body. Your hairs, eyes, lips, dimples, smile, piercings, breast shape, thighs, butt shape, curves (even if they are out of fat), feet, fingers, height, jawline, collarbone, and your whole body is unique and beautiful in its own way. Find your favorites and flaunt them. There's no gain in regretting what you don't hold, better be happy and fortunate about what you got, also let others appreciate your pretty edges, this will also help you to grow out of your FOMOs or fear of being judged.
Know your depths and boundaries and don't let others define your worth ( and never based on your cellulite deposits at least). Make yourself a priority over others' opinions and don't let anyone's stupid beauty standards rule your life.
Stand for what you feel is right. If someone criticizes you for being extra at your edges, stand for yourself right there and tell them how they need to reconstruct their idea of beauty, how their comments(even if humorous) affect and damage you, and how they are threatening not only someone's mental health but also their whole sense of being. You can speak out for yourself on social media and take a stand for your impression of beauty and body by engaging in various body positivity initiatives and letting others know how is body-shaming unacceptable and abused, no matter what.
(I have attached a quick list related to such an initiative assisting body positivity.)
Identify and acknowledge your strengths and limitations. Appear and spread out with your inner beauty, your achievements, your ideas, and your uniqueness. Don't let your flaws to come up as a barrier between you and your happy real self. Before they reprimand you for your shape, shut them by your accomplishments.
Feel confident about your body by Reminding yourself how a happy soul values more than a perfect shape regardless of how society and popular culture view ideal shape, size, and appearance. Enjoy the body you have and don’t beat yourself up over changes that happen naturally (sometimes due to aging, pregnancy, or even your lifestyle choices)
Rebuild your impression of beauty (if based on shape or color) and respect and consider others' ideas and opinions about the same as much as you want your idea to be respected. Try not to judge anybody on the basis of their body type, give their personality a chance to glam out.
b) Don’t let the plasticity of social media affect you and your friends.
Don't let the glamour of social media allure you by making you feel physically poor and pitty, because, at the end of the day, we all know everything to everyone is fake there, it's meant to connect with people so don't let it connect with your sense of being and feel inadequate about ownself. Use it wisely, try stretching out to your friends who you assume might be suffering or holding such dilemmas or troubles. Talk to them, support, comfort, and encourage them by showing them how you love them for who and what they are and now for how much fat they have on their body.
Praise and compliment people randomly for the tiny to tiniest things. Doing this can not only make them feel positive about themselves but can also make your day, and feel good about your own self.
Dishonoring or humiliating someone for their looks or appearance is not only damaging to their mental health but also their entire sense of self. It can make them question their existence and ultimately lead them to anxiety, depression, or other body-related disorders.
So, Don’t (never ever) comment on anybody’s body/color/amount of food they eat/physical structure.
BODY IS NOT BEAUTY, ITS YOUR INNER SELF.
Remember: all bodies are good bodies.
