What Body Shamers Say Vs. What Their Words Actually Mean
Hint: You're not the actual problem. Not at all.
What they say:

What they mean:

This chatterbox is just as clueless about your health and metabolism as they are about what a single sandwich could possibly do to a person's body composition. Next!
What they say:

What they mean:

This walking thesaurus has found an adjective to describe her body that just seems *right*. That's awesome! Unfortunately, she's been conditioned to think that embracing her own body means disparaging the bodies of others. The truth is, people who are truly confident in themselves aren't looking for competition.
What they say:

What they mean:

Or in other words, "It makes more sense to me to rudely question you, a human with naturally occurring hair, than it does to question an industry that makes money off causing humans to feel shame about their naturally occurring hair." Riiiight.
What they say:

What they mean:

Actually, friend, dramatically covering your eyes and screaming about whatever you don't like is exactly how children act.
What they say:

What they mean:

"You know, like how I haven’t climbed Mount Everest so I don’t believe it exists. And besides, neat labels are more important than treating people with respect." Ahem.
What they say...

What they mean:

Nope. Shut it down.
What they say:

What they mean:

AKA "I've always been taught that happiness is intertwined with being below a certain size. I don’t understand how you can not be thin and still be happy, and since what I don’t understand scares me, I’d prefer you stop."
This is called "body currency." Read about it here and things may start making a lot more sense to you, whichever side of the shaming you're on.
What they say:

What they mean:

One cool thing about all living in separate bodies is that we don't all have to look or act the same way! Mind. Blown.
What they say:

What they mean:

Says a whole lot more about the shamer than anyone else, doesn't it?
What they say:

What they say:

What they mean:

Keep a copy of the US Constitution handy for this shamer; he tends to think calling him out on his nonsense is "censorship" or "denying [his] First Amendment rights."
What they say:

What they need to hear:

Body Positivity Week is a week of content devoted to exploring and celebrating our complicated relationships with our bodies. Check out more great Body Positivity Week content here.
