2018 Jan 19
In this day and age, we have reached the point where injustice will not be kept quiet- and this has never been more prominent with discrimination and body shaming.
Social media has opened up a portal where people can voice their minds and learn to gain enough courage to stand their ground. Sadly, Sri Lanka, despite being traditionally known for its welcoming culture, has proved that it can be no better than the rest of the world when it comes to such discrimination amongst its own community.
In a blatant body shaming gym ad, a company diverted our attentions from a sexist ban against women purchasing alcohol to the equally appalling issue of body shaming. It has become no secret that the world has become hypersensitive to such matters and this has kept people on their toes when embracing diversity in all shapes, sizes and colours in marketing manners. But we are yet to find it being truly implemented here.
In brutal honesty, advertisements and marketing tactics that ignore such diversity do influence the people in poor ways. While also feeding the notion to the community that this is the ideal human being to look for, a young girl growing up will often try to fit into this mould that society is shaping for her. Essentially, these are the messages that are passed across when brands use body shaming tactics to win the people over – “if she is plus size she MUST lose weight to be pretty and happily find a good job and a good man”, “the girl that is fair and lovely, will definitely get the boy’s attention”. Even advertisements that do not focus on beauty sadly lack in diversity and, believe it or not, subconsciously add to insecurities on this matter.
At the risk of her own mental health, a woman is supposed to give up her own idea of the ideal body and state of mind purely to cater to the image that is put forward by society. The fact of the matter is that the world is changing, you no longer get to tell a person what body type is the best and most beautiful version of themselves. A woman- and any human being- is not valued based on his/her physical attributes but rather intelligence, morals and good will, and marketing actually holds high influence both subconsciously and consciously when it comes to the views of the people on these matters. It is definitely past time to embrace the beauty of diversity and learn to play to its strengths. In terms of marketing strategies, why send a poor message that only feeds insecurities, appalling ideals and bullying when you can cater to and please a much greater audience?
Such advertisements have also shed light on another aspect of gender discrimination. Views brought forward by the male audiences indicate there would be virtually no uproar and justice over a body shaming ad for men. And yes – the situation is bad for men too. The boy too thin is told to put on weight and hit the gym. The boy more plus sized is asked to put down weight – and once again hit the gym. For otherwise how can he get or even be deserving of a girl and eventually settle down, right?
Wrong.
Just as women are body shamed, men are insulted for not being the owners of muscled, 6-pack showcasing bodies. A man is not defined by his physical attributes any more than a woman is- or at least, he shouldn’t be. And that’s where our appeal lies- at the end of the day, all we want is for this blatant body shaming to stop- across all genders.
Diversity is something to be embraced. While all of us essentially being human beings at purely fundamental levels, diversity shapes the mould of our uniqueness. And do you want to know what’s really beautiful? Being happy- a widespread smile across your face and being comfortable with your own body, not having to bow down to someone else’s standards of beauty but being truly happy and comfortable with your race, your ethnicity, your body type and everything ever so uniquely you.
Beauty and your chances of succeeding in life don’t and shouldn’t depend on the number of a scale. The messages you spread are more powerful than you think so be careful with what opinions and ideas you choose to share. Learn to cater to a bigger, more diverse audience – and embrace a human’s basic rights.
