Body Shaming
BODY SHAMING IN MALES AND FEMALES
Body shaming is thought to start when people fail to conform to the ideal body image and are
made aware of their failure. It is a behaviour that both men and women engage in verbally or
nonverbally that has the potential to have a negative impact on how they feel about their
bodies. The so-called "ideal body image" exemplifies aesthetic standards for the overall
external appearance, not only body size and shape.
In this essay, a case study is presented to highlight two genders' distinct body shaming
behaviours. It has been observed that body shaming causes self-objectification in females. If
victims don't suit any particular beauty ideal, they are accused of not being a good enough
woman.
Body shaming is directly linked to masculinity for males, and "Sissy shaming," which is an act of
prejudice against males' displays of femininity, is its primary manifestation (Gai, 2019). After
examining and evaluating the cases, we draw the conclusion that body shaming is a patriarchal
practise based on gender stereotypes. Therefore, body shaming toward everyone, regardless of
gender, is an expression of contempt for femininity, which is what is known as sexism.
According to Englis et al., a beauty ideal combines a multitude of goods, services, and activities
with physical characteristics to create an all-encompassing "look" that might be described as a
kind of cultural shorthand. Included are things like clothing, make-up, hairstyles, pastimes, and
plastic surgery.
Body Shaming
Body shaming for guys tends to place more emphasis on the temperament displayed or the
external attachments, such as clothing or makeup, than on the actual characteristics of a body.
Males are unlikely to experience body shaming as long as they don't express femininity through
looks, regardless of how attractive their features or bodies may be.
However, even having a muscular body won't be able to protect them from body shaming if
they portray femininity in their appearance. For men, body shaming has its roots in femininity.
Sissy is a term used to describe males. The category of "male gay societal stigmatization." a
point brought forward by Chizuko Ueno.
On the other hand, body shaming for women focuses more on the physical characteristics of
the body itself, which are more difficult to change. Female beauty standards tend to be more
stringent, pervasive, and even unrealistic. (Ueno, 2015) Females are divided into a variety of
sexual parts by the beauty standards; they must not only appear fair, young, and skinny, but
also ensure that every portion of their body satisfies the necessary criteria.
Despite being largely outside of their control, the standards of beauty demand all of their
efforts. Sexual objectification of women is the root cause of body shaming of women. It goes
without saying that seeing women as "sexual objects" is a particular example of sexist conduct.
Therefore, having a look at Yamy's example, we can see why calling Her "too ugly to be put up
with" statement implies that she is not yet ready to be a sexual object under the male gaze and
that she will remain an Other until she undergoes plastic surgery in order to adhere to the
beauty standards created to uphold the inferior status of women in society.
Body Shaming
References
Englis, B. G., Solomon, M. R., Ashmore, R. D. Beauty Before the Eyes of the
Body Shaming
Beholders: The Cultural Encoding of Beauty Types in Magazine Advertising and Music Television.
Journal of Advertising, volume. 23, issue. 2, pp. 49-64, 1994.
Gai, Q. Gender temperament and aesthetic generation gap: To observe “male
anxiety” from the perspective of “Sissy shaming”. Academic Research, period. 07, pp. 151-155,
2019
Ueno, C., Misogyny, 1st ed. Shanghai Sanlian Bookstore, 2015, pp. 15-27.
