I have been obese since I was a kid and back then being chubby wasn’t really a problem, no one complains about the baby fat, and you are bombarded with compliments like ‘cute’ all the time.
The real trouble starts when all the ‘baby fat’ stays throughout your teenage years, when people’s idea of beauty is stuck on a particular body type and any person who does not fit that mould is put a label on,- ‘too fat’,’too skinny’,’too short’ or ‘too tall’.
Diagnosed with PCOD (Poly-Cystic Ovarian Disease), the last few years have been very challenging. With difficulty in losing weight, traumatic period cramps, facial hair growth and depression came an inferiority complex to an extent where looking in the mirror made me despise myself.
What made me feel like typing out an article was when lately, few people around me told me that I should not be wearing a body fit and sleeveless dress because it does not look good on someone as fat as me, and I must lose weight in order to look beautiful and to be able to carry a dress that tight. I have been a victim of body shaming for a long time and did not let this get to me, but at the same time, the hypocrisy of ‘educated’ people was startling.
What’s sad is people not only think this way but unabashedly talk about it too. I was just told to lose weight in order to look beautiful and all I could think about was to reach out to as many girls as I could and tell them that this is a lie. Your height or your weight does not entitle you to a label, the length of your clothes does not decide your character, the hair on your body does not define masculinity or femininity, and the cellulite on your body does not define your beauty.
To every person reading this – you’re beautiful just the way you are, scrap off the labels people try to put on you. I hope this article helps anyone who feels that they’re not enough.