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ENGLISH<br />
COMMUNITY<br />
BODY SHAMING<br />
NO FATS, NO FEMS!<br />
Body shaming, i.e. discriminating against a person based on their external characteristics,<br />
is a problematic and frequent phenomenon and is now affecting more and more<br />
men – especially in the gay community. What does it do to you, what is behind it and<br />
why is the ideal body the measure of all things? We spoke to someone affected and<br />
also to an expert about how this phenomenon can plunge people into deep crises.<br />
“You are so fat. It’s so gross. I wouldn’t even<br />
touch you with rubber gloves!” Those are the<br />
less harmful sentences that René found on<br />
his social media profiles last year. “At least<br />
full sentences,” he laughs, although he admits<br />
that he sometimes feels like crying. René is 27<br />
and an impressive figure, who weighs 125 kilos<br />
at 1.90 meters. It is clear to him that this does<br />
not correspond to current ideals of beauty. But<br />
he is open about it: “I will never be a slim man<br />
and that doesn’t bother me either.” Others,<br />
however, seem to be bothered by it. Because<br />
of his appearance, he is repeatedly rejected,<br />
especially on dating apps. “If I’m too strong for<br />
you, you’re too weak for me,” he says confidently,<br />
but admits that he deleted a photo in swimming<br />
trunks from his profile last year. At some point<br />
the often “funny” posts became too much for<br />
him and the comments even made him weary.<br />
His profile text reads: “I’m a bear – take me for<br />
who I am!”. And after all, many do. “I also get<br />
great messages from people who think I’m<br />
good – that makes me happy. I try to ignore the<br />
others.” In any case, René doesn’t want to lose<br />
weight or delete his profile.<br />
”LEAVE PEOPLE AS THEY ARE –<br />
OR LEAVE THEM ALONE!“<br />
René is a typical victim of body shaming, especially<br />
in the gay scene. For many, body shaming<br />
means degrading not just their body, but their<br />
whole person, their way of life. And this degradation<br />
can have enormous consequences: isolation<br />
and depression up to self-harm, even suicide.<br />
In order to reverse this trend and reduce body<br />
shaming, not only common sense, but also legislature<br />
is required. One wishes everyone would<br />
take René’s sentence to heart: “Leave people as<br />
they are – or leave them alone!”<br />
(bm,ts,mb)<br />
WHEN IDEAL IMAGES BECOME<br />
VISIONS OF HORROR<br />
Beautiful people, beautiful<br />
landscapes, beautiful<br />
bodies – if you ever<br />
have a peruse through<br />
Instagram, all these<br />
things seem normal,<br />
rather than special. But<br />
in reality, most people<br />
can not fulfill this ideal.<br />
Yet many are then badly<br />
bullied and discriminated<br />
against because of this. We spoke to Nico<br />
Erhardt, a consultant at the Münchener Aids-<br />
Hilfe, about the phenomenon of body shaming<br />
and the consequences for those affected.<br />
Photo: Bernd Müller<br />
Nico, how would you describe the term body<br />
shaming?<br />
Body shaming is a form of discrimination based<br />
on appearance. It is primarily about body fullness,<br />
i.e. whether someone appears too fat or<br />
too thin. But it can also affect all other external<br />
characteristics of a person, from size to hairstyle<br />
to criticism of individual parts of the body.<br />
34 <strong>CHECK</strong> <strong>NRW</strong> <strong>#2</strong>