It's more than deep _Body shaming is violent.

Body shaming is making a person feel small or wrong because of how their body looks, be it there size, shape, skin tone, height, scars, weight, and even things they can't change. Most times it's not loud comments like "you're too fat" or "you're too skinny". It could come up as "you're pretty,but you could do with a little less weight". They come in form of jokes that are "just playing" but still hurts. In my opinion body shaming is just a way of putting someone down and making them feel small without thinking of the effects it would have on them inside just because you feel you're "just joking". Body shaming is not something that is done or can be done just physically ,these days it comes more through the internet space, where you find really crude marks in a person's comment section but they show me them to the call which in my opinion is a really disgusting act. Even if it is said in a joking manner ,remarks about what a person eats or how much food a person consumes still constitutes body shaming.

The social media space is a very huge determinant in how body shaming shows up and spreads today. There is the constant display of perfect bodies on social media, the media is filled with so many altered and edited pics and so many beauty trends that promote unrealistic body standards. People tend to see these images and start comparing their real unedited bodies to a well curated illusion. This is really sad because the media space becomes really harmful to the people who cannot meet up to the beauty standard of the world.

Another way the media space can be harmful is through the comment sections. Comment sections can be really brutal, the media space gives people the confidence to judge other people's bodies openly without remorse often disguised as "jokes", "advice" and "concern". Statements about a person's weight, height, body shape or even scars have become normalized knowing fully well they can deeply hurt the person on the receiving end.

Social media doesn't just encourage people to shame others, it can also make individuals start overthinking and shaming themselves. Overtime they begin to shame themselves feeling inadequate or unattractive depending on how closely they match the online beauty ideals. In as much as social media is a tool for body shaming I feel it can also be used positively to encourage self-acceptance and uplift diverse bodies.

Body shaming is caused by so many things one of them being lack of awareness(ignorance) and empathy. Some people don't really care about the emotional damage their words could cause to the person on the receiving end. The tends to ignorantly repeat heartful comments they grew up here in without realizing the impact it has on the receiver.

Body shaming often times starts from home- friends, family and close relatives. Most of the times family tendsto throw comments about your body without meaning any harm but then again this comments tend to get to the mind of the receiver often times shaping how they view themselves and other people.

Many a times victims of body shaming often get affected terribly. It could drop the self-esteem and worth of the victim because over time they start letting these comments get to them, eating them up from the inside which eventually will kill their self-esteem and then they start seeing themselves as what they are not. It could also lead to mental health issues like anxiety, depression and stress triggering them into overthinking their appearance in every given situation. They turn to also develop disorders such as eating disorders and BDD(Body Dysmorphic Disorder). In situations like these they engage in very extreme dieting or over exercising in an attempt to "fix" their bodies.

In as much as this thing called body shaming has become normalized in our society today, there are proper ways to handle it. First of one of the most effective ways is for the victim to recognize the whatever is being said is not the truth. Recognize the fact that for the shaming comments about you is only a reflection of the speakers mindset and not your actual worth, your body is NOT a problem to be solved. Also as a victim of body shaming you have to learn to shut down comment about your body. Always calmly but firmly shut down any body shaming comments, let the speaker know you are not comfortable with it. A very big hindrance to progress when it comes to being body shamed is "internalizing" the shame. When negative thoughts like "something is wrong with me" creeps up replace it with "nothing is wrong and my body is allowed to exist as it is".

Handling body shaming positively doesn't mean pretending that it doesn't exist or it doesn't hurt. It is simply choosing yourself and your mental health over shame and other people's opinions.

In conclusion but the shaming is much more than harmless jokes it's a really harmful social issue that affects the self-esteem and mental health of an individual. The world is ruled by unrealistic beauty standards Media influence and constant comparisons living many individuals feeling inadequate simply for existing. Defects often long lasting and really harmful on the individual.

However, despite all of these I believe body shaming can be challenged and removed by promoting empathy setting boundaries and helping others embrace their bodies freely without side comments.

These are many others would go a very long way in eradicating body shaming from our society. Helping individuals to live more freely and happily in the comfort of their bodies.