you're not concerned, you're just ignorant
it's no secret but I get a lot
of unwarranted comments about my body by just existing here on YouTube, and on top
of that I get to bear witness to comments about idols bodies even within
my own comment section. frankly, it gets a bit exhausting just hearing the same
things over and over again about my own body, about k-pop idols bodies, some more
recent examples of this are blackpink and even CL who are constantly having
their bodies policed by people who neither have a PhD in a relevant field
or an MD, and then thinking that they're actually doing something revolutionary -
it just blows my mind. people's bodies are none of your business and your
opinions on them are not only unnecessary but actively harmful.
with that being said, it has come to my attention that some people are confused
as to what actually constitutes body shaming and this isn't shade to anyone,
because it is a genuinely good question, which comments on people's bodies
borders into body shaming? so I think it's really important to explore that.
I'm gonna give you guys some examples of things that I consistently hear people
say about k-pop idols bodies and even my own body.
saying that a kpop idol looks
like they have an ED is problematic. you are judging them and playing doctor by
trying to diagnose them with a mental illness based solely on how their body
looks and if we take a look at the dsm-5 or the ICD 11, I don't know if that's out
yet, tell me if low body weight is enough to base a diagnosis off of, spoiler alert:
it's not! and inferring that someone is suffering from a mental illness because
their body makes you feel uncomfortable just perpetuates the idea that a body
needs to adhere to societal standards and we do not support that in 2019. if you
rank people's bodies from least sexy to most sexy, that is body shaming, it is not
a compliment to put someone on the low end of a spectrum which is intrinsically
associated with undesirability, it's not even a compliment to put someone on the
high end of that spectrum because you're literally just perpetuating that their
physical attributes are all that matters and we already have enough of
that coming from the media. we already have enough of this message being
ingrained into our brains, even stating simple facts about people's bodies can
be harmful whether you think you're coming from a good place or not, whether
you think you're complimenting someone. if you say someone has a nice body it's
because you're adhering to this ideal that a ''bad'' body exists, and if a ''bad'' body
can exist then you're associating that with undesirability and if you're
attributing people's body, something largely based on genetics, to something
like undesirability, that's how the rates of EDs are rising! expecting everyone to
fit the societal standard, everyone to fit the same body type is just
ridiculous. the simple fact is we're all different, for everyone to fit one single
body type would require us to actually go against biology. if you're not body neutral,
your comments are just harmful because there's no way to know by
looking at someone if they are suffering from a mental illness or a physical
illness that is weight sensitive, if someone is suffering from an ED, any
professional will tell you to not comment about their body, whether it's
positive or negative, it does not matter because the comment will still be
harmful. putting people's bodies on a pedestal under the guise that you are
concerned for their health is body shaming, if you are really concerned
about someone's health and yes mental health is part of that, you would know
that by shaming their bodies in such a way would have a negative impact on
their mental health which then could have a negative impact on their physical
health, you're not concerned you're just ignorant
you cannot bully people for their bodies and then pretend like you are actually
concerned for their health all along when you are actively contributing to
the detriment of their health, but my point remains you cannot diagnose people!
you are not qualified to do that and even if you are qualified to do that, you
don't know them- you've never gotten to meet them or talk to them or ask them
where they are mentally. and I'm telling you this as someone who has suffered
from an ED for the majority of my life but of course this is the Internet and
you guys are all allowed to have your opinions, warning people beforehand
that your opinion is reprehensible does absolutely not cancel out the damage
that you're actively contributing to, so that's why we need to
be more body neutral we need to compliment people on their
personalities, we need to stop putting such a focus on people's physical
attributes because at the end of the day it's just contributing to the rise of
EDs, so next time you think about complimenting someone's body- maybe don't
maybe compliment them on their personalities, on their innovation, their
intelligence. I need to take a moment to say this to people who need to hear this,
you are allowed to love your body the way it currently is, you're allowed to
let go of diet culture and you are allowed to enjoy food. food is great, food
literally keeps you alive, I hope this helps some of you understand the
dynamics of body shaming and even just commenting on someone's body feel free
to send this video to anyone who you think it would help and I will see you
guys next time