At this point, it should be common knowledge that body shaming is not okay in any way, shape or form. Not only is it extremely detrimental to your mental health, it can also trigger cycles of restricting and binge. While most body shaming is overt, some are disguised as cries of concern for your well-being, often from family and people you look up to. Backhanded comments under the veil of worry is disturbing in a whole new way.
Redditors reveal some of the harshest comments they’ve received from their friends and family:
1. “I can’t go to a single Indian event without some Aunty eye-balling my plate”
“When I was younger, I was told boys would never want to marry me because of my weight. Now, I’m married with kids and…. apparently my weight is still an issue. I can’t go to a single Indian event without some Aunty eye-balling my plate. And if I refrain from eating, they try to force feed me.” – u/Elaasi
2. “You’ll never get a boyfriend with that kind of body”
“I come from a culture where looks matter a LOT so I’ve been body-shamed throughout various points in my life, mostly when I’m fatter than the average size. I’d get comments like “you’ll never get a boyfriend with that kind of body” and people just expressing concerns over my weight even though I really wasn’t all that big.” – u/mozzarellapizza
3. “My grandma asked if there was something else I could be doing other than eating all the time”
“When I was 12 I had to deal with a trauma and also my grandpa who was like my father was in the ICU for all of summer. So I packed every day I went to the hospital a little snack bag so I wouldn’t have to worry about food or bothering anyone for money. It consisted of 1 of those light packs of Oreos from back in the day, a light yogurt drink, carrot sticks, and 4 tiny cubes of cheese. As I’m sitting in the waiting room one day finally allowing myself to eat my “lunch.” My grandma asked if there was something else I could be doing other than eating all the time.” – Anonymous
4. “A lot of my teachers/relatives/etc. thought that my large boobs were a sign of sexual promiscuity”
“I started growing gigantic boobs when I was 11, and other kids were predictably brutal. What really hurt, though, were the reactions from adult women… a lot of my teachers/relatives/etc. thought that my large boobs were a sign of sexual promiscuity, or that I was intentionally wearing padded bras to attract men (even though I wore oversized men’s clothing and 2-3 sports bras to avoid being sexualized). I was always getting in trouble for “dressing provocatively” because it was so hard to find clothes that didn’t expose any cleavage. It left me with a lot of disgust towards my body and towards sexualization in general.” – u/shinkouhyou
5. “They all told me I was so strong for dieting”
“When I was 14 I was throwing up every single day. I was miserable and sick but I lost a lot of weight and had lots of friends. They all told me I was so strong for dieting.” – Anonymous
6. “If I wore shorts or a skirt or a tight fitting item, my aunt would complain about it for hours about how “people look at me.””
“My cousin was very skinny and I have always been a curvy girl. She would wear the shortest shorts and skirts ever and no one would care but if I wore shorts or a skirt or a tight fitting item, my aunt would complain about it for hours about how “people look at me.”” – u/Honeybunches94 ·
7. “When I started taking care of myself and lost close to 60 lbs that’s when I started getting body shamed.”
“When I was chubbier after marriage no one said anything to me. When I started taking care of myself and lost close to 60 lbs that’s when I started getting body shamed. People started saying you’re too thin, are you eating? Are you okay? Don’t lose too much weight cuz you’re disappearing. Mind you I’m 5’3 and 119 lbs I’m perfectly healthy. I work out 3x a week and do kickboxing so I’ve gained muscle. I feel healthy and happy but having people shame me for being too thin and keep repeating “do you even eat?”” – u/walkthewalk2400 ·
8. “People would always tell me how skinny I was and that I needed to eat more because I didn’t have an ass or boobs.”
“People would always tell me how skinny I was and that I needed to eat more because I didn’t have an ass or boobs. It hurt my feelings. I’ve always been small framed. I’m 5’1 and now I weigh 145lbs and wear a size 8. Back then I weighed 100 lbs and wore a size 0. And I’ve always been really pale. Someone always had to make a comment about that.” – u/whtevr22883
9. “You’d be so much prettier if you lost weight!”
“When I was a fat chubby kid, it was always “You’d be so much prettier if you lost weight!”. I was also the fatter sister in the family and always referred to as such. I then did lost a ton of weight in a massively unhealthy way from ages 19-23. Now that I have recovered from that dark episode of my life and have been weight-training/bodybuilding consistently for the last ~6 years its all “Don’t eat so much, don’t get so big, why do you want to be muscular, its not feminine, you should be slimmer.”” – u/diglettydoo
10. It was always comments like “you didn’t eat enough,” “why aren’t you eating?”
“I’ve always been thin and a lot of my extended family is average or a little overweight. It was always comments like “you didn’t eat enough,” “why aren’t you eating?” “are you on a diet?” “you’re so skinny, you don’t need to diet,” “are you sure you’re not still hungry?” etc.” – Anonymous
These traumatic comments prove that there is no winning in this battle against body shaming.