Topic > Fat Shaming and its psychological impact

Someone great has underlined it firmly; beauty has no dimensions. Though the days of superstition are gone. But the shadow of prejudice is darker than ever, with this unfaithful act of prejudice and discrimination people with high fat content have faced a lot of criticism and disgrace in the society. After all, fat shaming is a product of our cultural beliefs and understanding of fat and obesity. People with troubled or obese physical appearance are fat-shamed and this has deeper negative psychological effects on the minds of those people suffering from obesity. It can also put low self-esteem in the individual with obesity. (Gunner, 2019) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In the society where people think that thinness is a privilege, they perceived fat as a stain. There are many people around the world who enjoy subtle privileges. Most of them don't even realize their privileges. Thin privilege is about the fact that a group of people in society who are thin get all the advantages and privileges in terms of rights, speech and opportunities while other groups of people who are fat do not. We should know that subtle privileges exist in society because of the fat oppression that exists as it is deeply ingrained in our culture. We have grown up in a society where there is a dense cultural idea that dominates our intellectual thinking that there is something wrong with fat people. People consider people with heavy body fat to be defective. This idea is so strong that it is rooted in our thoughts and minds. People are absorbed in the oppressive ideas conveyed by our society. Such ideas are ingrained in people's psyches. Because such ideas are firmly rooted in our culture, many people act and believe that such an oppressive idea is a fact of life. The concept of thinness privilege has given rise to cruel and defamatory criticism of people with a higher fat density. Society has labeled fat people as lazy, undisciplined and, above all, as people who are at risk of dying young from various diseases. They are even labeled as criminals. It is said that fat people are more interested in criminal activities. We should be more rational and logical before we believe in such theory and start blaming fat people. This concept does not provide us with a logical relationship between fatness and crime. There are many thin people who are more involved in criminal activity than fat people, so this concept doesn't do fat people any favors. Most people think thin is better, and people with higher fat levels develop a sense of shame. The oppression of fat in our society is very painful and disheartening. And there are privileges that come to people from the virtue of being thin and good-looking (Gunner, 2019) If we examine the content of fat shaming through the concept of effort theory. People suffering from obesity are most of the time shamed by society, which will have a long-term negative psychological effect on individuals. As the level of stress they have to endure increases due to fat shaming, they are likely to commit suicide and at the same time commit crimes such as murder. As long as it becomes very difficult for the individual to live in a fat body, he has to live with the fear of gaining weight. Such fear and anxiety have brought an eating disorder among people. People with high fat density facemany problems such as difficulties in accompanying food, self-esteem and accepting body image (Gunner, 2019). In many parts of the country, fat shaming is adopted as a strategy to motivate people to lose weight. Where people criticize and discriminate against overweight individuals based on their eating habits and weight. Unfortunately, the result showed more negative psychological effects than the positive result. Fat shaming and weight discrimination are seen as a cause of stress and allow overweight people to eat more calories, shown by the European Research Agency. Fat shaming is an act of bullying, it has many effects on the individual, which is very serious. Depression is one of the main psychological effects of fat shaming. Most obese people are victims of weight-related discrimination. Some of them are publicly discriminated against, which will harm individuals in many aspects. They are at greater risk of developing mental stress and even committing suicide. Eating disorders are also closely linked to weight discrimination. As we all know, fat shaming is not a solution to the problem, in fact it aggravates it. People start eating more calories when in reality they are fat ashamed. Society considers obese people useless and tries to defame them. They are hardly accepted by the society as productive citizens of the country. When more and more criticism is added to the problem of the individual's burden. It works like a drug, it will destroy the individual's self-esteem. It destroys the individual's confidence in himself, the courage to do better and overcome fear is destroyed. It affects the person's effectiveness and efficient way of doing the job. The level of productivity decreases in terms of work and management. Most importantly, due to the higher level of mental stress, weight gain and increased cortisol level can put people's lives at risk. As they are more vulnerable to many ailments and chronic diseases. Studies have shown that people discriminated against based on weight are more likely to become depressed. This basically means that depression is more common among people who suffer from obesity. It has been that depression is a major contributor to the suicide rate. It is clear to us that fat shaming can harm people not only psychologically but also physically (Miller, 2020). The stigma associated with being overweight itself is more dangerous and harmful to the person than the problem of being overweight. Report provided by psychological research shows that people treated with less respect, who are fat shamed, are 60% more likely to die or commit suicide within seventeen years. We can conclude that this could be due to the physical and mental stress caused by fat shaming. (Gunner, 2019) Fat shaming is a very dangerous thing. Continuous disrespect towards the individual with a fat appearance can put the particular person under stress and can sometimes lead to suicide. But we should also examine the positive aspect of fat shaming in society through a functionalist perspective. Because they are greatly shamed by society, they try to fill their hearts with courage along the path of change. It works as a positive pill to increase their determination to change their eating habits and regular diets. The power of positivity works very well for some people. There are hundreds of people who have adopted weight loss surgery in the United States. Hearing their story provides a clear picture of how society has neglected them. It also gives us a clear picture of how they have suffered from being fat and how it affects them#1