For years the definition of beauty has been a typical 90-60-90 body type, long legs, skinny face with big eyes, perfect skin and so on. These stereotypical standards do more harm than good. In India, advertisements and movies promote this “ideal body” image too. It socially constructs a notion that physical attractiveness is the most important asset. People generally get body-shamed for their looks. Youngsters are getting diagnosed with mental health problems to fulfil these beauty standards. From friends to relatives and even parents hurt people by commenting on their looks. Indian pop culture reinforces fat-shaming by portraying fat female characters as one-dimensional, and only defined by their weight. Fat single women are never portrayed as desirable. A woman who has gained weight after marriage is also not desirable and forces the husband to look for other options. Tying a woman’s worth to her physical appearance, and then shaming anyone who doesn’t fit a narrow beauty standard, is pervasive.
Some people take medications to lose weight. Some people go through surgeries. Some people use harmful chemical products to attain clear skin. Indian advertisements have shown that fair skin can get you a job or a muscular body can get you into a movie. We should teach the upcoming generations that looks don’t define you. To stand out you don’t need to have a perfect body. Nowadays, we have seen situations changing social media influencers, content creators, celebrities have openly called out this discrimination. We have to understand that body and beauty standards have shifted throughout history, based on economic society, and culture. Human bodies are different, it remains diverse in shapes and sizes. Instead of judging and mocking other people should concentrate more on their fitness and well-being. Generally, shaming starts when people don’t feel confident about themselves. They should do everything to make themselves feel better and accept others as they are.