Stop the Shaming

Stop the Shaming

Do you ever look in the mirror and want to change certain parts of your body?

-       Yeah, me too. Being a woman, I do this all the time. Not just every day, but maybe even a few times in a day.

But why?

           

            Looking at the controversy over Lady Gaga’s body after her Super Bowl performance, I believe says it all. If you are a fan of Gaga or not, I think most would agree that her performance was very talented and entertaining. You can watch it hear, if you have not already seen it here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txXwg712zw4 . After this performance, people starting ‘fat shaming,’ Gaga. This was confusing to me for a number of different reasons:

1. Gaga, is not over weight at all, and does not look close to it, so what are people looking at?

2. Oh, her belly? I would not call that fat, I would simply call that skin.

3. How do people find enjoyment out of calling others down?

4.  Is that the only thing people could find to call her down about, because they did not have anything bad to say about her performance?

5. Why does it seem that it is mainly females that are called down for their bodies, and usually not males?

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/lady-gaga-super-bowl-abs

Gaga handled the people who were ‘fat shaming’ her in a well-mannered way. You can see it here on CNN’s website: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/08/entertainment/lady-gaga-body-shamed/ . What I have to say about it is, #pathetic.

           

          I am almost in my twenties and I am a woman, I have experienced people calling me down about my body, and to my face. For women, there is so many expectations, too many expectations. I am called down because I am a “stick” and I have “no butt.” These are not only said to my face, also probably behind my back, but said in front of others… #confidence booster #not. Who mostly makes these comments? It is men, they, along with the media put on these high expectations for women to be a size two with big breasts and butt, and if you do not meet these expectations, your body is ridiculed.

            

         Do not get me wrong, I do like looking good, with my make-up and hair done, but even when I am all done up, I still can look in the mirror and want to change things about my body. I know not every woman is like this, and maybe I do lack confidence, but when people shame others like the Lady Gaga situation, it can make women think twice about their appearance. The ideal body is almost impossible to achieve without undergoing plastic surgery or starving themselves. Our society has put these expectations on women without putting many on males. Perfection, in societies eyes, can never be reached for a woman.

            

         I am sure there are women who have gone up to males put them down on their body, but it does not happen as much with men constantly looking and critiquing women’s bodies. Personally for me, I have not gone up to a man and said, “you have a beer belly” and not saying I should, because two wrongs do not make a right, but women should be able to love their bodies, without men putting them down. Also, not all the comments are made by men, women will put other women down about their bodies as well. This is how or society has socialized us to be, due to the high expectations that there are and that we learn throughout our lives. Women should not have to look in the mirror ever, and feel as they need to change something about their image. On the CNN page that was already mentioned Gaga notes in one of her tweets; we need to love our bodies, and we need to be ourselves (CNN, 2017). Rather than wishing our bodies to be something that they are not, we need to embrace them! #bestrong #beyourself

Sydney Andrusiak

 References

Mackenzie, M. (2017, February). 7 Photos Of Lady Gaga’s Crazy-Fit Stomach At The Super Bowl. Women’sHealth. Picture retrieved from: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/lady-gaga-super-bowl-abs

NFL. (2017, February). Lady Gaga’s FULL Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl LI Halftime Show NFL. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txXwg712zw4

Respers, L. (2017, February). Lady Gaga responds to Super Bowl body shaming. CNN entertainment. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/08/entertainment/lady-gaga-body-shamed/