It’s becoming the talk of our time, and now even Vin Diesel is weighing in on the act. Body image, fat shaming, call it what you will, it’s got people torn, confused and shouting at strangers online VIA CAPS LOCK!!!!
We ourselves had our wrists slapped last year by some social justice warriors when we posted this article on obesity. Our premise, that obesity is something for which the individual must take responsibility, was seen as fat shaming. We did in balance mention all the reasons why the odds are stacked against you in modern life, and how obesity is an easy trap to fall into, however, there’s no getting away from personal responsibility.
Never the less, it would seem that body image runs deep into the psyche of people, bringing into question who we are and how we view the world.
As Vin says, “I feel sorry for people who have to cut other people down to feel better about themselves.”
Cheryl (Cole) Fenandez-Versini (is she collecting names) is among those looking to change the law and make body shaming illegal on the justification that words can harm.
Vin Diesel supports this, saying, "You do that enough to people and they become withdrawn... because they don't know who is trying to exploit them or bring them down.”
Ok, ok, enough of what celebrities are saying. It’s always hard to feel sorry for millionaires but they too have feelings and are human beings. Watching those celebrities and idolising them, countless numbers of ‘regular’ folk have lost themselves to the darkness of depression and even taken their own lives because of the way they feel about their body.
The future looks even darker as various polls show that most teens are unhappy with their bodies, up to 90% if some polls are to be believed. It’s not something we can continue ignoring, it is an important issue.
It’s not just celebrities that are under scrutiny, of course if you’re a blogger and you just happen to be walking past a certain bill board ad, then lord help you. Yes, there are those days when we wear less… at the pool, on holiday, at the beach, on the dance floor. Is it wrong to want your body to look, feel and perform more optimally? We don’t think so.
If we post a picture of a well fuelled, well chiselled Team Monkey athlete, are we inspiring people to improve their own situation or fat shaming and making people feel inferior? Well, that depends on the person. As Ricky Gervais says, “Offence can’t be given, only taken.” Sorry, promise, no more celebrities will be quoted in this article.
The meat wagon you drive yourself around in. It’s like a car you see… fuel it correctly, maintain it properly and drive it often, you’ll find it looks good, you feel good and everything tends to take care of itself.
No matter what it visually looks like, you can choose to love it or hate. If you choose to love it, you might just find you start treating it with love… giving it food that nourishes, repairs and energises it. Moving it and expressing it in a way that allows it to grow, strengthen and become more robust. And then, as if by magic, you might even start liking the way it looks… but please, Instagram is at bursting point, go easy on the selfies.
We are of course living in a free will zone, people will do their will and as long as they do no harm to others then why even bring up body shape/size.
To a certain extent yes, but in this country we have something called the NHS, that we all pay into. Although it gets trashed a lot, it’s great, and people from countries that don’t have it, envy us for having it.
Every year obesity is estimated to cost the NHS £15.8 billion, enough to provide another 638,000 nurses. Can you imagine if people took some personal responsibility on - ate well, moved well, lived well etc?
Two important distinctions;
Not having abs and being a bit padded or curvy is different from being obese - as in the case of Vin Diesel - who is simply a 48 year old man with lower growth hormone and testosterone than his younger years and a bit of a gut. He probably can’t be arsed lifting everyday and while we don’t condone the cigarette hanging out of his mouth he probably has private health care. You can be healthy without spending three hours a day in the gym. If you enjoy spending half your life in the gym then carry on, it can be lots of fun.
What’s your intention - do you simply want to ridicule, criticise and ‘shame’ the person into taking action about their health? Or do you want to help, inspire and motivate them? People will move at their own pace, in their own time and rather than chastising, simply set an example.
Better to light a candle than curse the darkness and there are many out there doing just that, including Team Monkey’s Lu Coghlan, who’s constantly pushing recipe ideas and food options that will help energise and nourish the body.
https://www.facebook.com/LulusHealthyKitchen?fref=ts
Vin Diesel, we’ve got your back on this one. Lashing out online at the shape of someone’s figure hurts you, hurts them and achieves nothing. Lashing out at anyone about anything for that matter achieves nothing. Love the skin you’re in and live your life like you do! As for making body shaming illegal - do we want the law to keep telling us what to do, or are we ready to take some personal responsibility?