HOT ISSHU #2 - BoDY PoSITIVITY IsSHUE
“Apa kabar??? Wah makin gemukan yaaa”, “Wah gemukkan, bahagia dong di kantor baru?”, “Kok makan lo banyak banget sih, enggak takut gendut?” Are you aware that the remarks that you think are just for fun and jokes, can leave various kinds of effects on the individual who receives those words? Worse, it can become a burden on the mind that has a long-term psychological impact.
Based on online research, a study described in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine (2015), shows that some of the effects of body shaming are changes in attitudes, such as irritability, silence, loss of appetite, to depression. The behavior form of body shaming are varied, it is now more than just body shape, there is also body shaming that fulminate other aspects such as skin color and disability.
Just recently we did a poll on our Instagram account just to check on how people think of themselves, how they perceive their body on the society standards and what they think about body positivity mindset. So here are the answers:
"Do we have body Isshues?"
👍🏽 - 91% VS 👎🏻 - 9%
”How often you look in the mirror?”
Not much 🤷🏻 - 59% VS Way too much🤳🏻 - 41%
“Which one you prefer?”
Thin💃🏻 - 64% VS Thick🍑 - 36%
“Do you feel comfortable with the shape of your body?”
Nahhh, I love my body😜 - 33% VS Look away🥶 - 67%
“If you could modify your body shape, would you?”
God made me perfect🙏🏻 - 38% VS Maybe a little💸 - 62%
“Does other people perception towards your body makes you feel insecure?”
Nope🙅🏽 - 27% VS Kinda🤦🏼 - 73%
“Have you ever felt the pressure to fit into a certain “ideal” look?”
Every single day😭 - 70% VS I don’t f-ing care🥱 - 30%
“If you ever saw a body shaming incident firsthand, what would you do?”
Educate the culprit 👨🏻🏫 - 60% VS Continue scrolling on your phone📱- 40%
“Do you think it’s important to embrace yourself?”
Absolutely👍🏽 - 73% vs Totally👌🏼 - 27%
The number above is based on more or less 50 people whom participated in our poll. It's quite easy to say that most of us somehow feel our body is not good enough, not thin enough, not flawless enough and some of us feel the need to do make some changes on it. The changes is not necessarily plastic surgery it can be the idea of doing a good diet or going to the gym more often or just a regular home workout. But from this poll we can conclude that even people are still having their on insecurities about their body shape, they already know on how important to embrace themselves and how it might affecting others whom are bullied or shamed because of their size.
Therefore, in this issue of #HOTISSHU, we want to help spread a positive message and raise awareness in society about the negative effects of body shaming. In line with what has been done by several parties before us in Indonesia, such as what has been done by Body Positivity Indonesia which is a forum for counselling for the public. There is also a film full of moral messages entitled Imperfect (2019) which is based on the book, Imperfect: A Journey to Self-Acceptance.
To conclude, the journey to reach a positive body image state-of-mind can still be achieved. Although it is not easy, isn't it better to take small steps to achieve it. From some of our findings, the act of body shaming can be eliminated through stages, one of which starts with acceptance, accepting and being grateful for the condition of everyone’s body. Believe in inclusivity, by respecting other people's body shapes without categorizing what a person's body shape should look like. Then practice the mindset that your life, your body is your choice.
Hoping each day is a better day for everyone. Don't forget to embrace yourself. ✨
XX
-ISSHU-