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Kill the Shame: Women Digital Artists Talk About Body Positivity

Meet three women illustrators who are leading India’s body positivity movement on Instagram.

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Women
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Video Editor: Deepthi Ramdas
Shot by: Abhishek Ranjan, Hiba Beg, Arpita Raj

“I grew up believing fat is bad.”

“I kind of felt bad being skinny.”

“I would give myself hell for putting on weight.”

These are the words of women illustrators and digital artists who are leading the body positivity movement in India. Waging a war against the society’s idea of an ideal body, these artists are using their work to celebrate different shapes, sizes and colours. But each of them have a story behind their passion – one that begins with how they body-shamed themselves for a long time.

Meet Mounica Tata, a Bengaluru-based comics maker and storyteller, who has over 100,000 followers as @DoodleODrama on Instagram. While she says she draws about “anything under the sun,” a recurring theme in her work is to ‘normalise’ the word ‘fat.’

“It obviously took me a lot of time to understand this and come to terms with the word ‘fat’ and accept it. Honestly, I don’t feel bad if people call me fat. I identify as a fat person. That is one thing I do through my work, which normalises the word ‘fat’. It is just another word.”
Mounica Tata

Speaking to The Quint, Tata said that her journey towards body positivity started when she moved to Bengaluru to pursue her masters.

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“I realised that that’s not the first thing people notice about me. If I start noticing that, people would stop noticing me as a silhouette which is a fat silhouette.” 
Mounica Tata

For Delhi-based illustrator and visual artist Damini Gupta, body positivity also means unlearning and “getting out” of the space which forced her into a bad relationship with food.

“I had my own trials and tribulations with my body. I have had a very bad relationship with my body, growing up. If I put on weight, I would really give myself hell for it. And as a result, I had a very bad relationship with food as well for a long time. So I think, I am also in the process. of unlearning that and getting out of that space of mine, even now.”
Damini Gupta

Damini’s Instagram page @haraminni has over 7,000 followers where she hopes to inspire people to create their own mold instead of trying to fit a ready-made one.

“I feel I have a certain duty because illustration takes such a large space in visual representation today, to represent many different kinds of bodies and shapes and as many kinds of bodies as possible.”
Damini Gupta
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Story-telling Through Art

Mumbai-based Indu Harikumar aka @individuality tells stories about body positivity – not just her’s but also those of her followers.

“A struggle we go through with our bodies also is very shame-inducing, it makes us feel like we are alone. A lot of my work has come through stories that have come to me, which I felt we should be talking about because I have been worrying about this. This is something that has given me an emotional vocabulary.”
Indu Harikumar
View this post on Instagram

#NotesToMyLovers "Dear Lover, Is it that my breasts are small, and body too thin for you? Is sex a chore for you? Why do you forget to connect? Why can’t sex be less mechanical, and more soulful? I hate that you make me hate my body." ---------- #NotesToMyLovers is my new crowdsourced art project. Here are some ideas on what you could send 1. You could send a kind note, a ditty, a compliment, you could give instructions to your lover, you could get that thing off your chest and write the one you haven't been able to express, or that thing you have told them multiple times but they haven't paid heed to. You could even write about what you want to do (to them) sexually. I am sure you get the drift. 2. If you don't have a lover, or never had a lover, that's okay! Write a note to your imaginary lover. 3. Before you ask me, your partner is your lover. You could write to an ex lover. 4. You could write to multiple lovers. 5. Please keep the identity of the person you write about a secret. 6. Send your stories to: bodyofstories17@gmail.com. Let's learn from each other and create a broader language of love, respect and boundaries. <3 <3 <3 #illustrator #sexuality #art #artist #artistsoninstagram @procreate #bodyimage

A post shared by Indu Harikumar (@induviduality) on

For her projects ‘#Identitty’ and ‘#BodyOfStories’, Harikumar used Instagram as a medium to reach out to people who want their story to be heard.

“What are the different ways to have a body? That is a question I put out when I heard from different people and you know, there were lots of things I learnt. Instagram has basically become a space where you could have these smaller conversations on DMs.”
Indu Harikumar
View this post on Instagram

#MyAbortionStory "The emotion associated with my experience is that of frustration. It has nothing to do with doctors, abortion or post-abortion care. I am not denying any of those painful experiences. But even today, I remember being frustrated the entire period. Yes, the emotion I am associating with the entire abortion experience is that of frustration. My periods were 10 days late and I contacted my friend who was studying MD and he gave me two options: either follow his instructions or go to a gynaecologist. I was living in  a village in Central India then and going to a gynaecologist in a town was out of question. I did not want to be interrogated so I went ahead with an option that was convenient for me, my non-judgmental friend. The only person who gave me a judgmental stare was the pharmacist. I was aware about the process so I was mentally prepared for the pain. And  I acknowledge my privilege that I had access to friends who were there to support. This is not what I wanted to share. When I think of the abortion, the conversation with my partner is more frustrating than the process of abortion. I still clearly remember, when I told him that I’m pregnant and I am going ahead with an abortion, he was shocked. His only reaction was how can do it? I was like, it is my choice and I have every right to take that decision. But I wanted him to support me in the process. And I know that he believed that it is not right. Because I wanted him to support me, I patiently tried to explain to him elementary biology, reproduction, what happens in abortion, etc.  After all this, he kept bringing up the same point again and again, that is he was not okay with abortion. I was tired and angry with him for not being supportive. By the end, I lashed out on him, asking him if he was ready for child? Secondly, if he is ready for responsibility? And thirdly, if he thought I had a choice to make this decision? He said no for the first two. He took some time to think over the third question and said it was my choice (glad he did otherwise I would have broken up with him). (1/2)

A post shared by Indu Harikumar (@induviduality) on

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Do Women Struggle More With Body Image?

While most of these conversations about body positivity on their pages happen with women followers, it only ‘very, very, very rare’ for a male follower to come forward with similar thoughts – the artists agree.

View this post on Instagram

SWIPE 👈🏽 . #wokeuplikethis #nofilter Everyday she wakes up to her mirror serving her a warped sense of self. With a side of confusion and disappointment. Because surely, she’s not supposed to look this way. Stupid ugly face. . She looks nothing like the women spread over the glossy sheets and full HD screens. She looks nothing like the woman she is expected to be. . Frustrated, she taps and knocks on the mirror. Swipes furiously; Paris, Lagos, Crema, Slumber, Aden, Rise, Ludwig, contrast, brightness, hue, color, saturation... desperation. Nothing is working. Nothing ever works. Gah! Stupid ugly body. . It is not only a gross misrepresentation but also missed-representation. Because where are all the bumps and spots and creases and lines and cellulite? Where are the greys and the reds and the dark circles? The wobbly breasts, the uneven teeth, the folds and scars and stretch marks? Sigh. Stupid ugly me. . #selfesteem #selfworth #beauty #bodypositivity #representation #allbodiesmatter #howdoyouseeyourself #whatdoyousee #illustration

A post shared by Mounica Tata (@doodleodrama) on

Which brings us to the question – is body positivity perceived as a ‘women’s issue’? Do women struggle a lot more with body image than men?

“When I talk about body positivity on my channel, I have a lot of women who come forward and share their stories but it is very, very, very rare for a man to come forward and share his story and his or their experiences about body positivity because it circles back to patriarchy.”
Mounica Tata
“I wouldn’t say that it is just a women’s issue because I hear from a lot of men too, saying that ‘what makes you think we don’t have problems?’ And I completely agree that there is this pressure of being a certain way. But I think the pressure on women is way higher.”
Indu Harikumar

However, as Gupta points out – what’s body positivity if it is not “inclusive”?

“I think it is important to bring all sorts of people into the fold, otherwise body positivity is nothing if it is not inclusive. Is important to bring men into the conversation. It is also important to bring trans people in the conversation or whoever can be helped by the movement.”
Damini Gupta

(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.)

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Topics:  Body Image   Body Positivity 

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