One of the most overlooked, underappreciated issues is how ignorant people can cause people emotional pain and remind them just how worthless they feel. Those who find themselves trapped within the boundaries of low self worth do not deserve to be reminded of their insecurities every time they leave their house. In September, stumbled across something called “Look At Me, I’m Skinny!”, and it appeared to be a bag of vegetable flavored puffs. Instead of thinking to pick them up, I was simply appalled. Not only did I myself feel inadequate because I am indeed not thin, but I thought about those who suffer from anorexia, bulimia, and basically anyone who struggles with their self esteem. Will telling them they’re only good enough if they’re thin help them or hurt them? This message is someone’s way of making themselves feel better in the same way the classic middle school bully is depicted: putting others down so one may appear to stand on top. The only thing more disgraceful than the fact that this is a casual occurrence is the fact that it is socially acceptable. Unfortunately, today we have become blind to the force hidden in our words, leaving body shaming one of the most common, yet unaddressed issue hidden in today’s society. These words with hidden derogatory meanings have become such a daily norm and so painfully evident. More often than not, they are overlooked because they do not offend some people. My question to you is, what about the rest of us?

These words are harmful to everyone, but since adolescent girls suffer from low self the most esteem, they take blows of body shaming very hard. They find themselves the most vulnerable when it comes down to their own confidence and their body image. Dove did studies on self esteem in teenaged girls, and seven in ten feel as if they do not measure up to standards in some way, including looks, relationships between friends or otherwise, and performance in school. Do you know what it feels like to feel like you’re not good enough to some standard society has deemed acceptable? Teenaged girls across the globe struggle with the idea of not being adequate because people think and act as if they should be thinner or taller or blonder or their eyes should be brighter or whatever else they’ve been corrupted with. This also leads girls to feel obligated and pushed to be whatever boys their age want them to be, making them an object for a male’s enjoyment. Girls become more likely to seek guidance and comfort from their male peers than their own dads after they’ve turned sixteen. Imagine having the constant reminder of your “inadequacies” shoved in your face. Where would this bring you? Unfortunately, one of the options that too many choose is suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 24. Logically, if people felt better about themselves some cases of suicide could be prevented, and teenaged girls would more than likely feel better about who they are.

Body shaming can be found almost anywhere you go. It’s in grocery stores, in rows and aisles of things listed “Skinny” or “Get thin now!” or even the aforementioned “Look at Me, I’m Skinny!”. You find it on TV, between advertisements where all of the girls are thin or people yapping about how this pill will make you lose that much weight. If you find yourself in the car looking at someone on the sidewalk and thinking “Wow, she would be so pretty if….” you are body shaming. Another extremely common way body shaming occurs is through judging people’s clothing. If it makes them feel comfortable, who are we to make them change? Phrases like “Real Women Have Curves” have the right intentions but are counter productive because it ends with the same results we had before. Now we are putting girls who are thin and wiry down to make ourselves feel better, and wouldn’t that make us the bully?

I’m not saying there is anything wrong with thin people at all, but they are generally deemed socially acceptable. Thin people, heavy people, wiry people, and muscled people are all equal and deserve to be treated with respect to themselves and whatever body they reside in. The entire point of being aware and being an activist in the war against body shaming is by making everyone feel like their body is okay and beautiful and that they are more than their weight, height, hair color and eye color. So, the next time you find yourself going to hug your relative and find the words “You’ve lost so much weight! You look amazing!” spilling out of your mouth, think to yourself, weren’t they just as amazing before they lost all that weight?