The Impact of Body Shaming and How to Overcome It

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBody Shaming in Our CultureWho Are the Targets of Body Shaming?Why Do We Need to Stop Body Shaming?How to Be More Inclusive

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Body Shaming in Our Culture

Who Are the Targets of Body Shaming?

Why Do We Need to Stop Body Shaming?

How to Be More Inclusive

Close

Body shaming is the act of saying something negative about a person’s body. It can be about your own body or someone else’s. The commentary can be about a person’s size, age, hair, clothes, food, hair, or level of perceived attractiveness.

Body shaming can lead to mental health issues includingeating disorders, depression, anxiety,low self-esteem, and body dysmorphia, as well as the general feeling ofhating one’s body.

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In our current society, many people think that thin bodies are inherently better and healthier than larger bodies. Historically, however, that hasn’t always been the case. If you think of paintings and portraits from before the 1800s era, you can see that plumpness was revered.

Being fat was a sign that a person was wealthy and had access to food, while thinness represented poverty. In her book “Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture,” author Amy Erdman Farrell traces the shift from revering heavy bodies to the preference of smaller shapes to mid-nineteenth century England when the first diets books were published.

Below are the various reasons why people might be body shamed.

Weight

One of the most common reasons people are body shamed is because of their weight. Someone might be body shamed for being “too big” or “too thin.”

People in thinner bodies can also be shamed for their weight. Often called skinny-shaming, it may sound like, “They look like they never eat” or “They look like they have an eating disorder.”

Body Hair

Hair grows on the arms, legs, private areas, and underarms of all people, except for those with certain health conditions. However, many people have the idea that women should remove all of their body hair, or they won’t be “ladylike.”

Examples of body hair shaming are calling a woman with underarm hair “beastly,” or telling a woman she needs to shave.

Attractiveness

Known as “pretty-shaming,” the bullying or discrimination of people for being attractive, is something that happens regularly. And even more than that, people are bullied for being considered unattractive, which is also known as “lookism.” Lookism describes prejudice or discrimination against people who are considered physically unattractive or whose physical appearance is believed to fall short of societal ideas of beauty.

An example of pretty-shaming is how attractive women are less likely to be hired for jobs in which they’d have positions of authority.And an example of lookism would be how unattractive people may receive fewer opportunities.

What Is Slut-Shaming?

Food

Food-shaming is generally done in relation to body size. For example, when someone makes a remark about what a person is or isn’t eating, that can count as food-shaming. Someone saying, “They look like they don’t need to be eating that,” is an example of food-shaming.

You can also food-shame yourself. For example, you might say, “I’m so fat, I shouldn’t eat this piece of cheesecake.”

Clothing

The 1980s saw the rise of spandex clothing, and there was a popular saying, “Spandex is a privilege, not a right.” This meant that people should only wear spandex clothes if they had the “correct” body shape for them. This is a prime example of clothing-shaming.

Age

Also known as ageism, age-shaming is discrimination or bullying towards people because of their age. This usually focuses on the elderly or the older population.

Hair

Western society has long focused on sleek, shiny, straight hair as the ideal. Thus, hair with curls, kinks, or other textures has been viewed as less attractive. This is known as texture-shaming.

An example of texture shaming is, “They’re so brave to wear their hair natural.” While that sounds like a compliment, it’s actually an insult. That’s because it implies that a person’s hair is outside what is considered normal and that they are courageous for wearing their hair in its natural state.

Additionally, bald-shaming happens to people of all genders who have receding hairlines or thinning/balding scalps.

Body shaming has myriad negative consequences on mental health. Here are some important ones:

Additional mental health concerns associated with body-shaming include:

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

Body shaming may be rampant, but that doesn’t mean you should take part in it. Making a point of not being a body shamer is the kinder option for all people, yourself included. Being intentional about not engaging in various types of shaming may lead to better mental wellness.

In addition to not body shaming, it can be helpful to be more body-inclusive. This means encouraging the acceptance and celebration of shape and diversity in appearance, focusing on health instead of size or weight, and appreciating the human body for all that it is and does.

Below are some ways you can stop contributing to body shaming culture.

Stop Talking About Other People’s Bodies

It may be socially acceptable for people to mock and body-shame others, but you do not have to accept, participate in, or tolerate such words or actions. You wouldn’t want that to be done to you, and now you know that it can cause real problems for those it happens to.

So, when you are tempted to point out a person’s body hair or their hair texture, their size, stop yourself. Instead, why not think of something nice to say to the person?

Clearly, they caught your eye, so you could use this as an opportunity to find a positive attribute. “I like your smile” is one idea of a way to compliment another person without speaking negatively about their body.

Try the following steps:

Learn About Body Neutrality

Body neutralityis a practice that has manyproven mental health benefits. It’s the notion of accepting bodies as they are, without casting judgment on them. This can apply to your own body, and to the bodies of others.

Body neutrality encourages a focus on the positive functions that bodies can perform. Learning about it can make you feel better in your own body, improve your relationship with food, and boost your self-esteem.

Change How You Talk About Your Own Body

In a culture where so much emphasis is placed on what is wrong with us and needs improvement, it can feel like a huge challenge to speak positively about our own bodies. Doing so, however, is a healthy thing to do, and it also saves other people from harm.

By practicing speaking positively about ourselves and our bodies, and noticing qualities about ourselves and others that we like and appreciate, we can deepen our care, compassion, and connection with others and with ourselves.

When you make a comment like “I feel so fat today,” you’re making a judgment about fat people and implying their bodies are less valuable than the bodies of thin people. This can be hurtful for anyone around you, especially those who are larger.

It isn’t realistic to only think positive thoughts about yourself, but you can express your feelings in ways that are less harmful to others. For the above example, you could instead confide in a friend and say, “My pants aren’t fitting as they usually do, and it’s making me feel self-conscious.”

Rather than body-shaming, you’ll have opened up to a loved one, creating more closeness and trust between the both of you.

Speak Up

If you’ve gone through the steps to stop body-shaming yourself and other people, that’s wonderful! However, there is still more work to do.

As with all instances in life when you see other people causing harm, it’s important to speak up—provided it is emotionally and physically safe for you to do so.

If you see someone making a comment to another person about their body, whether about their clothing or age or size, you can gently let them know that it’s unkind to talk about other people’s bodies. And if it happens regularly with friends or loved ones, you can bring it up in a bigger way, letting them know that their ways of communicating about bodies don’t always feel good for you and others.

Ask a Therapist: How Can I Improve My Self-Esteem?

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Body-Shaming.Braun S, Peus C, Frey, D.Is beauty beastly? Gender-specific effects of leader attractiveness and leadership style on followers’ trust and loyalty.Zeitschrift für Psychologie.2012; 220(2), 98–108. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000101Tietje L, Cresap S.Is Lookism Unjust?: The Ethics of Aesthetics and Public Policy Implications.The Journal of Libertarian Studies. 2010.Throughline.Lululemon founder to women: Your thighs are too fat.Brewis AA, Bruening M.Weight shame, social connection, and depressive symptoms in late adolescence.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(5):891.Vogel L.Fat shaming is making people sicker and heavier.CMAJ. 2019;191(23):E649. doi:10.1503/cmaj.109-5758Palmeira L, Pinto-Gouveia J, Cunha M.The role of weight self-stigma on the quality of life of women with overweight and obesity: A multi-group comparison between binge eaters and non-binge eaters.Appetite. 2016;105:782-789.van den Berg PA, Mond J, Eisenberg M, Ackard D, Neumark-Sztainer D.The link between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem in adolescents: Similarities across gender, age, weight status, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.J Adolesc Health. 2010;47(3):290-296.Gilbert P, Miles J.Body Shame: Conceptualisation, Research, and Treatment.New York, NY:Brunner-Routledge.

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Body-Shaming.Braun S, Peus C, Frey, D.Is beauty beastly? Gender-specific effects of leader attractiveness and leadership style on followers’ trust and loyalty.Zeitschrift für Psychologie.2012; 220(2), 98–108. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000101Tietje L, Cresap S.Is Lookism Unjust?: The Ethics of Aesthetics and Public Policy Implications.The Journal of Libertarian Studies. 2010.Throughline.Lululemon founder to women: Your thighs are too fat.Brewis AA, Bruening M.Weight shame, social connection, and depressive symptoms in late adolescence.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(5):891.Vogel L.Fat shaming is making people sicker and heavier.CMAJ. 2019;191(23):E649. doi:10.1503/cmaj.109-5758Palmeira L, Pinto-Gouveia J, Cunha M.The role of weight self-stigma on the quality of life of women with overweight and obesity: A multi-group comparison between binge eaters and non-binge eaters.Appetite. 2016;105:782-789.van den Berg PA, Mond J, Eisenberg M, Ackard D, Neumark-Sztainer D.The link between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem in adolescents: Similarities across gender, age, weight status, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.J Adolesc Health. 2010;47(3):290-296.Gilbert P, Miles J.Body Shame: Conceptualisation, Research, and Treatment.New York, NY:Brunner-Routledge.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Body-Shaming.Braun S, Peus C, Frey, D.Is beauty beastly? Gender-specific effects of leader attractiveness and leadership style on followers’ trust and loyalty.Zeitschrift für Psychologie.2012; 220(2), 98–108. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000101Tietje L, Cresap S.Is Lookism Unjust?: The Ethics of Aesthetics and Public Policy Implications.The Journal of Libertarian Studies. 2010.Throughline.Lululemon founder to women: Your thighs are too fat.Brewis AA, Bruening M.Weight shame, social connection, and depressive symptoms in late adolescence.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(5):891.Vogel L.Fat shaming is making people sicker and heavier.CMAJ. 2019;191(23):E649. doi:10.1503/cmaj.109-5758Palmeira L, Pinto-Gouveia J, Cunha M.The role of weight self-stigma on the quality of life of women with overweight and obesity: A multi-group comparison between binge eaters and non-binge eaters.Appetite. 2016;105:782-789.van den Berg PA, Mond J, Eisenberg M, Ackard D, Neumark-Sztainer D.The link between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem in adolescents: Similarities across gender, age, weight status, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.J Adolesc Health. 2010;47(3):290-296.Gilbert P, Miles J.Body Shame: Conceptualisation, Research, and Treatment.New York, NY:Brunner-Routledge.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Body-Shaming.

Braun S, Peus C, Frey, D.Is beauty beastly? Gender-specific effects of leader attractiveness and leadership style on followers’ trust and loyalty.Zeitschrift für Psychologie.2012; 220(2), 98–108. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000101

Tietje L, Cresap S.Is Lookism Unjust?: The Ethics of Aesthetics and Public Policy Implications.The Journal of Libertarian Studies. 2010.

Throughline.Lululemon founder to women: Your thighs are too fat.

Brewis AA, Bruening M.Weight shame, social connection, and depressive symptoms in late adolescence.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(5):891.

Vogel L.Fat shaming is making people sicker and heavier.CMAJ. 2019;191(23):E649. doi:10.1503/cmaj.109-5758

Palmeira L, Pinto-Gouveia J, Cunha M.The role of weight self-stigma on the quality of life of women with overweight and obesity: A multi-group comparison between binge eaters and non-binge eaters.Appetite. 2016;105:782-789.

van den Berg PA, Mond J, Eisenberg M, Ackard D, Neumark-Sztainer D.The link between body dissatisfaction and self-esteem in adolescents: Similarities across gender, age, weight status, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.J Adolesc Health. 2010;47(3):290-296.

Gilbert P, Miles J.Body Shame: Conceptualisation, Research, and Treatment.New York, NY:Brunner-Routledge.

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