Your body is a wonderland

Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who’s the thinnest of them all,
I am own asset,
I have other facets.

Standing at my favourite store and seeing those beautiful pair of white shorts, I wondered how amazing they would look in the summer if I matched them with a cute top. But then suddenly I heard a loud voice — ‘thunder thighs’, ‘big bum’ and other derogatory comments. I had to think a million times before even having the courage to pick those shorts up, but I did. Now the measuring tape says something and the size chart something else, and the worst thing ever is when you have to ask for a ‘bigger size’ in a store.

I am so done with feeling this way and to have to think a million times before wearing something. It’s high time people stopped looking at my thighs and started looking at a person for more than just their “weight”. Maybe if they ran a marathon with me they’d know what these thighs can do or maybe if they went on a trek with me they could see the strength. When on the one hand I can stretch my leg to new extremes, these people can’t even stretch the horizons of their mindset a little. Now what can I even do, except just own my outfit.

The dictionary defines body shaming as inappropriate negative statements and attitudes toward another person’s weight or size.

This is not only towards so-called ‘fat or oversized’ people but also the ‘thin and slender’ ones. It happens to everyone who is not ‘perfect’. But who decides what is perfect anyway? Why do people assume authority to command how MY body looks or my weight shows? How about you mind your own health and let me live in peace?

I love it when people tell me to ‘dress according to my body type’. And when did you get the degree to categorise my body or even have an opinion about it. My best friend on the other hand gets shamed for being skinny. People ask her if she doesn’t eat food, or if she is sick or something, and there are times when people assume the liberty to even comment on her dressing and how she looks like a ‘hanger’. First of all, clothes are made for bodies and not vice versa, and every person in this country is given the freedom to wear what they want, when they want and wherever they want. Those standing on a pedestal waiting to judge my body, how about you take a look in the mirror, see and come to terms with your own insecurities before making someone feel inferior because of theirs?

It’s time we grow up, guys. It’s time we grow not only our academic qualification but also our mentalities. It’s time to comment on our political scenario, have views on the crimes committed in the world and actually do something about that and not sit and comment on others’ bodies. It’s time we stopped thinking about how we look and rather think about what we talk and how we present ourselves. One step at a time. Let’s first start with ourselves and change our own mentalities and then go and change the world.

PS: Just walked out of a conversation where my grandmother commented how I’d never get married if I don’t lose weight anytime soon.

(The author is your everyday adolescent who thrives on gossip and yet brings her brutal honesty to her YouTube chat show with celebrities)

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