What is the one thing that comes once every year? 1 January. But what's the one thing that happens all year round, at home (sometimes at work too), on social media and practically everywhere? Body-shaming. Shopping is the worst. I was recently told at a leading brand store that they didn't keep my size, even though I had just stepped in and had barely started browsing.
These are daily occurrences for women who don't fit into the other person's view of beauty; short hair is masculine, having a scar or stretch marks means you better use thousand oils and lotions that are meant to fade them, and god forbid if you order anything but a salad at work.
It is times like these when strong women, with a following of thousands, take to social media and speak their minds that give us a little hope. Of Dil Dosti Dance and Dance India Dance fame, Shakti Mohan recently took to social media to spread the message of accepting yourself for who you and how you are. Sharing her own experiences, she spoke about being comfortable in one’s skin, and not trying to 'fit into a category'.
I have been told I sit like a man, I walk like a man, your body looks masculine and voice is heavy not female like. I have been told to be more feminine by well meaning people. I wasted many years trying to be who I am not in my effort to fit in. I don’t know why the world is after making you fit in to a category. Be You and stop fulfilling people’s expectations of you to look busty, assy, fair, thin, shy, masked with make up. You can either live for yourself or for the world. Use your power to choose.Shakti Mohan, Artiste
Just looking at the fan comments on her Instagram, we see how she is inspiring hundreds to embrace themselves and accept whatever flaws society has indoctrinated them into believing they have. Take a bow, Shakti.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)