Body Shaming Quotes

What is body shaming?

Body shaming is the act of making someone feel bad about their body or any physical appearance.

It can be done through words or actions, and it can be directed at anyone, regardless of their size, shape, or weight.

Body shaming is a form of discrimination that can have serious consequences for the victim’s mental and physical health.

There are many different ways that people can be body shamed. Some common examples include:

making fun of someone’s weight, body shape or height
commenting on someone’s eating habits
criticising someone’s appearance
comparing someone to others
making assumptions about someone’s health based on their appearance
commenting if someone has lost or gained weight

Body shaming can have a lasting impact on someone’s self-esteem and self-confidence. It can also lead to depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.

If you witness someone being body shamed, it’s important to speak up. Showing them that they’re not alone can make a world of difference.

No one deserves to be made to feel bad about their body, and we all have the right to feel comfortable and confident in our own skin.

The following quotes all discuss body shaming, the commenting and opinions on appearance that need to stop.

“If I feel good about my parenting, I have no interest in judging other people’s choices. If I feel good about my body, I don’t go around making fun of other people’s weight or appearance. We’re hard on each other because we’re using each other as a launching pad out of our own perceived deficiency.” Brene Brown

“Dear Girls Across the Globe, let’s stop body-shaming each other with hurtful comments about how another girl looks or doesn’t look. We are all beautiful in our own unique way; so let’s speak about each other with the dignity that we would want others to have when they speak about us.” Miya Yamanouchi

“At the end of the day, dipping into the attack well of body-shaming, racism, misogyny, and ableism is just lazy. When people resort to these kinds of tactics, I simply think that they have lost the ability to debate the merits and content of a position. Instead, they want to play to the bot-fueled, troll-fed, worst of who humans can be.” Bruce Reyes-Chow

“What people don’t understand is that calling someone too skinny is the same as calling someone too fat; it’s not a nice feeling.” Kendall Jenner

“When you’re different, sometimes you don’t see the millions of people who accept you for what you are. All you notice is the person who doesn’t.” Jodi Picoult

“The best gift you are ever going to give someone — the permission to feel safe in their own skin.” Hannah Brencher

“Your self-esteem won’t come from body parts. You need to step away from the mirror every once in a while, and look for another reflection, like the one in the eyes of the people who love you and admire you.” Stacy London

“I think men are allowed to be fat and bald and ugly and women aren’t. And it’s just not – there is no equality there.” Connie Chung

“I was born fat and have always been, which was just fine and even healthy and cute until I turned ten or so. Puberty hit like a hurricane and brought a new set of rules. All of a sudden it was my fault I was chubby.” Beth Ditto

“That’s what he was saying, the civil rights movement – judge me for my character, not how black my skin is, not how yellow my skin is, how short I am, how tall or fat or thin; It’s by my character.” Pam Grier

Body Shame Quotes

“It’s refreshing to have some time off from wondering whether I look fat.” Pamela Druckerman

“I think compassion is the only way to approach any subject, especially if it’s to do with physical appearance. I don’t think it’s really about tearing something apart.” Jameela Jamil

“You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.” Amy Bloom

“Being sexy is all about attitude, not body type. It’s a state of mind.” Amisha Patel

“Don’t get caught up in the ‘look’ thing. Sometimes, we as men and women, the first thing that attracts us to someone is their physical appearance, and that’s not always a good thing because what’s good on the outside is not always good on the inside.” Keith Sweat

“The appearance doesn’t matter as much as the content.” Katherine Harris

“When I was in my early 30s and appeared on CNN, Oprah, 20/20 and Entertainment Tonight, my loved ones didn’t say, “Good job!” My loved ones said, “The camera adds more than 20 pounds.” One detail-oriented aunt said “Not for nothing, but don’t wear red. You look like an ad for Red Lobster.” Gina Barreca

“Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.” Charles R. Swindoll

“We need feminism because degrading phrases like “walk of shame” are commonplace in our social vocabulary, yet these are only applied to women; whereas men in the same situation are praised by their peers and seen as nothing more than ” a guy who got lucky”, by the rest of society.” Miya Yamanouchi

“Maybe one of the most heartening findings from the psychology of pleasure is there’s more to looking good than your physical appearance. If you like somebody, they look better to you. This is why spouses in happy marriages tend to think that their husband or wife looks much better than anyone else thinks that they do.” Paul Bloom

Stop Body Shaming Quotes

“It’s my life and my body and only I have the right to decide what I’m gonna do with it.” Zareen Khan

“I am constantly struggling to show people that there is more to me than my appearance. You do have to try and overcome those hurdles. Female actresses need to be given the chance to be more than how they look.” Amber Heard

“I don’t really care what I look like that much, and I think women out there should just be happy with the way they look. They shouldn’t really try to conform to any kind of stereotype. Just be happy and hopefully healthy.” Rebel Wilson

“Beware, so long as you live, of judging men by their outward appearance.” Jean de La Fontaine

“Because one believes in oneself, one doesn’t try to convince others. Because one is content with oneself, one doesn’t need others’ approval. Because one accepts oneself, the whole world accepts him or her.” Lao Tzu

“We should look to the mind, and not to the outward appearance.” Aesop

“I’ve had people hate me for my appearance. I think it gets me a certain level of empathy with the audience. If I was white and handsome and privileged, I probably couldn’t talk about what I talk about because people wouldn’t believe that I have empathy or I could be evenhanded and objective. It’s strange.” Ralphie May

“Since I don’t look like every other girl, it takes a while to be okay with that. To be different. But different is good.” Serena Williams

“To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven. Don’t wait until you die. If you wait, you die now. If you love, you live now.” Alan Cohen

What to say to someone who is body shaming?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as it will depend on the situation and the relationship between you and the person who is body shaming.

However, some things that you could say include:

That’s not an appropriate thing to say,
That’s not your business,
That’s hurtful and I don’t appreciate it,
Please stop body shaming me,
You need to know that your comments are offensive and hurtful,
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I don’t comment on your appearance, and I would appreciate if you don’t on mine either,
I deserve to be treated with respect.

If you’re not sure what to say, you can always reach out to a friend or family member for support.

How do you stop body shaming?

The best way to stop body shaming is to stand up for yourself and speak out against it.

Call the person out on it, and explain how their words or actions are hurtful.

For more quotes and words about more body positivity instead, be sure to check out:

Body Shaming Quotes – Calling Out Inappropriate Comments

What is body shaming?