Body-Shaming Has Become The Ugly New Trend And Not Just Women, Men Aren’t Spared As Well!

So,?Justin Bieber isn’t manly enough because he doesn’t have facial hair, and Jason Momoa has a “dad-bod.” Wait, “what happened to his abs?”

His size is too small; he doesn’t even have a moustache or a beard -he is so gay; he is so short – not my type; he is bald – he is an oldie; dude, you need to start gymming to build some muscles – you’re so thin -- This is how men are body-shamed on a daily basis. And you thought only women had it bad?

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Ask men about body-shaming, and at first thought, they also think it’s about women. Most of them would associate it with women. Men are body-shamed for their weight, penis-size, facial hair, height, baldness. These are the things what makes a man, what he is, is it? Otherwise, he becomes effeminate or gay?

Men are body-shamed too, and it’s high time we talk about it.

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What is body shaming?

Body shaming is the act of criticising someone on the basis of their appearance – which also means a person’s value gets reduced to their physical appearance. Is that all that matters?

For some people, poking fun at each others physical attributions is just fun.

More often than not, we body-shame our friends and we think it’s funny. Words matter. Somewhere, you’re reducing a person’s personality to his/her physical appearance and that is not funny.

For some people, it’s even identification.

Accused of his misogynistic views, in an interview Kabir Singh director Sandeep Reddy Vanga referred to renowned critic – Rajeev Masand – as fat. Trying to remember his name, he described him as "fat guy with salt n pepper hair". Again, someone was reduced to his physical attributes.

Jason Momoa was body-shamed too. Why? Because he doesn’t have abs now.

So, when a picture of Jason Momoa, standing beside a pool, from a vacation went viral, body-shaming comments were everywhere. “Someone needs to start lifting again,” wrote one user. “Been working on his Dad Belly,” added another fan.

This can lead to depression, suicide and steroid abuse.

Strict dieting can affect physical as well as mental health. Anxiety is a real issue. Most of the people who go through it do not admit it. They spend hours in gym just to be socially accepted. Protein shakes are hard to avoid. This also leads to men spending money on clothes that they don’t even like. Also, some of the people get uncomfortable in bed with their partners because they feel ashamed of their bodies.

But who body-shames men?

Women, who are simultaneously fighting the same problem are often the ones who body-shame men. Often, men shame each other too. Peer-pressure is real. Sometimes, it is said that women take their anger out (of being body-shamed) by belittling other men on their appearance. The vice-versa holds true as well.

Sometimes, it’s the family – mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings. They can also make you feel bad about the way you look.

Beauty-shaming is a thing too.

So, men wax their bodies too. They wear foundation and make-up too. His bronzed cheeks and glossed lips make him gay? Make-up is a choice and not a measure of masculinity.

Can a man go for facial without being judged? What’s wrong in taking care of one’s skin?

In England, in the 18th century, men with powdered faces were popular high-society men. So, make-up for men was accepted back then. Body-shaming came somewhere in the middle, and it is now said that 2019 is the year when make-up for men will become mainstream.

Beauty isn’t a matter of gender; it is a matter of style. Men can do whatever they want.

Not just Jason Momoa, several popular men have been body-shamed too.

Remember when Uday Chopra’s pictures after a long time went viral? Internet fat-shamed him!

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Fardeen Khan became a target of trolls too.

Talking about it to TOI, he had slammed body shaming culture. "I have been bashed unnecessarily. I think we need to get over these damn things. I really don't care about it. I am what I am and I can see myself in the mirror. Whatever is deserved is deserved and what's not is not. I just laugh it all off. I don't read much about myself these days," he said.

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Men in Hollywood aren’t spared too.

David Harbour, known for his role in Stranger Things, was told he was too fat to play the role of The Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. That’s how he lost that role.

“I was like, ‘Wait a minute, dude, pause for one second,'” he added. “‘You are telling me I’m too fat to play The Blob? That’s awesome, I have to get the f--- back to New York.’ That’s my audition — so I didn’t get The Blob," he told The Wrap in an interview.

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Ben Affleck was body-shamed by a magazine.

Ben Affleck took to social media to call out a magazine which had an article titled ‘The Great Sadness of Ben Affleck’. The article suggested that he was depressed after his new photos went viral in which he was also sporting a phoenix tattoo on his back.

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“New Yorker I’m doing just fine. Thick skin bolstered by garish tattoos,” Ben Affleck wrote on Twitter.

“His gut is pooching” and “a blue-gray towel is wrapped protectively around his midsection-recalling a shy teen at the local pool,” mentioned the article, clearly fat-shaming him.

Leonardo DiCaprio was also trolled for his missing six-pack abs in 2014.

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Vin Diesel was also shamed.

“I don’t care, really. I’m not trying to be in super shape all of the time. I’m trying to master my craft of making films,” he said in his response to the trolls on chat show Good Morning America.

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Richard Madden who is popular for playing Robb Stark said that he has been body-shamed on auditions too.

“I've done numerous jobs where you're told to lose weight and get to the gym," he said, recalling how people would pinch his "fat rolls" and put him in corset-like costumes. "I find myself with actor friends – after we've done a kind of barely eating, working-out-twice-a-day, no-carbing thing for these scenes – looking at each other going, 'We're just feeding this same that we're against,'"? he told British Vogue this year.

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“Do you know what I love about that guy? He’s an ugly motherf---er. He’s fat. And I love it” – that’s how Howard Stern complimented Oscar and Grammy winner Sam Smith.

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And the list goes on. Body-shaming isn’t just about women. Men get body-shamed too. It’s not a gender-special issue. It can lead to mental health problems like depression and anxiety. It can also cause physical health scares because of steroid abuse. Can we just accept people the way they are, can we?