Body Stereotypes: Cancelled!

Hey everyoneeeee!

How has everyone been doing? I hope your week isn’t nearly as stressful as mine.

Todayyyy, as the topic says, we are discussing Body Stereotypes! This topic was actually suggested by one of you😌. Thank you very much. If you have more ideas you want to suggest, something you think I should do then please contact me.

Moving on, let’s introduce our blog guests

Introducing the blog guests

1. What comes to mind when you think of body stereotypes?

Moji: I think body stereotype is a construct, defined by a person’s perceptions of and attitudes about their body.

Praise: How i feel about my body

Agnija: I always think of the most common stereotype globally that all women should be really thin with a small waist while men the sporty ones with muscles. Personally, I see so much wrong with it because people come in all shapes and fitting so that “model look” does not mean being not beautiful or unhealthy. In my opinion, the health is most important factor that should be considered not what one should look like according to these body stereotypes.

2. Do you believe that stereotypes are often created as a result of the media?

Moji: Yes, I do. I feel Media as entertainment has a subtle influence on society’s way of thinking. … By portraying stereotypes that ultimately form society’s perception of how a person’s body should be.

Praise: Most times, yes.

Agnija: Yes, I think the media industry have created many of these stereotypes since there is a clear pattern in how someone should look in movies. For example, you rarely see someone who doesn’t fit that stereotype of all fit and thin and it is upsetting because many people are gorgeous even if they don’t fit that stereotype. That under representation is something that fuels these stereotypes because people often don’t see any alternative.

3. Can you describe a time you have felt self-conscious due to portrayals of body image in the media?

Moji: All my teenage years, I have always been self conscious about my body, people would tell me not to wear certain clothes because a person of my size shouldn’t be wearing it.

Praise: I won’t say it was s.media but a guy, he made me self conscious due to the fact that he wanted me to attain the hour glass figure but I don’t have time please, plus you can’t shapen me into who you want, I am not some toy, guy.

Agnija: There are just too many of times like that. I personally don’t fit that stereotype therefore whenever I wear something like a skirt or a dress I feel really uncomfortable and self conscious because I know that I don’t look how I should look to be able to wear these clothes therefore I just avoid doing that.

4. Did you feel like you needed to change yourself as a result of that or maybe because of what someone has said?

Moji: Yes, i did, and it made me more confident. I realized that I honestly didn’t need to change myself to fit in society’s beauty standard. I was a hot girl then and I still am a hot girl now, regardless of what anyone has to say.

Praise: At a point, i felt that way but i was over it in due time…when i realised who i am.

Agnija: Yes, in fact I had been bullied because of my appearance. People would keep saying that I am too fat and should lose weight therefore I had made soo many attempts to do that and some of these were really unhealthy ways to do so. Although now I am better with self image but I still feel the need to change myself and be more similar to the image portrayed.

5. Do you think men are equally objectified in the media like women?

Moji: Yes, they are. An average guy would get shamed for not having beards or abs or for being too skinny or too short or overweight.

Praise: To an extent but it isn’t as rampant as that of the women.

Agnija: Yes definitely, both men and women are being objectified in the media. I have a friend who is quite slender and therefore he feels the need to change himself to fit that standard. I think the difference about that is how people perceive it in society because if men don’t fit that stereotype they are much less likely to be told that they need to change than woman because many societies believe that women are the ones who should always look like that therefore they are more severely judged than men.

6. What are your thoughts on stereotypes as a whole? And do you believe everyone is a victim of stereotypes?

Moji: I feel everyone should learn to be comfortable in their skin and not be shamed for it. I also feel everyone is a victim because you can’t exactly fit into everyone’s beauty standard.

Praise: Most times people fall into being victims because the people out there be judging who you are, how you look, how your physical body changes, your stature, weight and even height.

Agnija: In my opinion, stereotypes are something that stop people from getting to know each other better in the first place because many people create wrong judgements and assumptions before even knowing someone’s name. I think stereotypes are the most useless thing that humans have come up with, many of them are just ridiculous. I believe that every single person in the world can be a victim of stereotypes simply because there are stereotypes for literally everything; ethnicity, religion, gender, nationality, skin colour, body shape etc. Therefore there are many stereotypes that can be applied to every single person. In my opinion, many societies would become much nicer if people learn to look past stereotypes and judge people based on their actions and words. In that way, people won’t attach wrong labels to people.

7. How do you feel we can combat body stereotypes in our society and maybe even the world at large?

Moji: We just need to let people be, stop talking anyone down just because their body type or the way they look doesn’t suit you. The media; TV’s, magazines, billboard’s should also portray people of different body types for people to see that you don’t have to starve or develop eating disorders just to fit into a particular body type.

Praise: I think by respecting people’s privacy; by not asking stupid questions or making remarks about ones shape.

Agnija: I feel like first step would be to acknowledge that every person is build differently and therefore one size won’t fit every one. It should be made clear to people that the most important thing about someone’s body is that it is healthy and that the person is happy about it not what others think.

8. What is the most embarrassing experience you’ve had as related to the topic?

Moji: I’ve had so many embarrassing moments, okay, there was a time I wore a gown, and this older lady outrightly told me in the public that “you’re a fat girl, you’re not supposed to wear clothes like this, look at your hand” omo I was so embarrassed.

Praise: My height, one guy was like this girl short ooo, i was embarrased!

Agnija: It was a few years ago, in my old school there was a party and everyone wore nice outfits with a fancy masks because of the theme. I was also wearing a really nice blue dress and the same colour mask with a feather so it all looked nice in my opinion but when I arrived, my classmates just started talking that that dress was too tight for me to wear and that it was a nice attempt but I will never look good in something like that unless I lose weight and at the moment I felt really embarrassed of myself and the way I looked.

9. How best were you able to overcome or block off people’s opinions or thoughts on your body?

Moji: I just learnt to ignore, people say trash all the time, so I regard anyone’s shitty comment as trash.

Praise: To protect my mental space, i approach people that says such and tell them how discomforting it is.

Agnija: I guess over the years of people commenting me on my appearance I’ve heard all possible insults so I just got used to that because it isn’t new so it became easier to ignore it, but I am not completely successful at that since I still struggle with the perception of my appearance and body therefore there is still a very long way for me to go before I can say that I overcame what they said and say to me.

To end on a sexy note,

10. What are three things you like about the way you look?

Moji: Okay, first of all… I’m a spec! I like my body’s shape, I like my thighs, I like my little pink lips too.

Praise: I love my big breast
I love my round face
I love my petite short stature.

Agnija: I can think only of one thing that I’ve always liked and it is my eyes.

I think in the world we’re in right now, everyday we’re sort of reminded of our flaws so everyone needs to have that mental reminder that stereotypes do nothing but harm. I truly believe so because even if it’s a “good stereotype”, at the end of the day, everyone is different and there should be nothing like stereotype.

At the end of the day, the only way to overcome feeling insecure is by gradually loving yourself. Loving yourself isn’t something that happens in one moment or in one click.

I don’t think anyone can love themselves FULLY because we’re all humans and humans are generally always trying to find faults; faults in ourselves, fault in our neighbors and friends.

When it comes to loving myself, I live by the words of my life President

Today I am who I am with all my faults and my mistakes. Tomorrow I might be a tiny bit wiser and that would be me too. These faults and mistakes are what I am, making up the brightest stars in the constellation of my life. I have come to love myself for who I am, for who I was and for who I hope to become.

Kim Namjoon

I try to reflect on these words everytime I feel myself starting to hate on something concerning me, or feeling insecure or when I unnecessarily beat myself up over nothing or something I did.

To be honest, the whole entire speech is an awakening for me so ARMY or not, I think everyone deserves to hear it. Here’s the video

That’s it for today’s post! If you’d like to knows our guests more, two of them actually have small businesses I think you should check out, their social media handles will be right below this! Love y’all, byeeee✨

Moji: Instagram @moji.ola_
Twitter @mjboss11
Snapchat @moo_ji20

Praise: Instagram: theanikeadejuwon/anike_naturals
Twitter:AnikeAdejuwon

Agnija: Instagram: agnija_pat

• WordPress