Body Shaming: When You Are The One Doing It

Body Shaming. Two words usually used when someone besides yourself is body shaming you. However, sometimes the person body shaming is your own self.

Have you ever looked in the mirror and stared at everything you didn’t like about yourself? Picking at maybe the extra fat on your stomach or the untoned area or even some cellulite you have carried over the years? I have. 

Have you ever thought you couldn’t wear white skinny jeans, skinny jeans in general or shorts because of how your body was? I have.

Or have you ever just wished your body looked like someones’? I have. 

If you have, you have body shamed your own self. If I am being honest, I know I am my biggest critic. When I was younger, I use to body shame myself a lot, without even knowing it. I would miss out on swimming events or anything with tight clothes because I felt I was too ‘fat’ to wear those items like my friends. However, I learned that body shaming myself made me miss out on amazing opportunities like swimming events, beach days and more. It made me miss out on life events. 

We blame society for a lot of body shaming events, which in fact they are one of the causes because we pick at each other however as I have gotten older I have noticed when I talk to girls, we never body shame each other, we body shame ourselves.

We are always making comments about what looks good or bad on us. How much weight we want to lose or something of the affects of how unhappy we are with our bodies.

Consciously I don’t even think we realize it. We compare, we pick and we get upset over the little pieces of our bodies instead of loving everything about who we are.

Body shaming comes from…

1. Criticizing your own appearance, through a judgment or comparison to another person. (i.e.: “I’m so ugly compared to her.” “Look at how broad my shoulders are.”)
2. Criticizing another’s appearance in front of them, (i.e.: “With those thighs, you’re never going to find a date.”)
3. Criticizing another’s appearance without their knowledge. (i.e.: “Did you see what she’s wearing today? Not flattering.” “At least you don’t look like her!”).

Number one of these three ways to body shame is the biggest one we seem to do.

Body shaming yourself does not create self-love. Self-love is a consist battle we are trying to fight but the less we body shame ourselves and focus on what really matters, life becomes so much more amazing. 

So I am challenging each of our readers to recognize next time you are body shaming yourself and instead smile in the mirror and give yourself a compliment.

Remember the only way to create change is to live it.