Masaba Gupta Shut Down Body Shamers With This Interview

Masaba Gupta Shut Down Body Shamers With This Interview

Holidays equal celebrations. Celebrations equal people. People equal comments. Comments about your looks. The parties and get-togethers can be trying as you deal with those who knowingly or unknowingly attack you for the way you look.

Remember, the one well-meaning aunty trying to eyeball you for reaching for dessert when you are carrying a little weight around your hips?  Or, a frenemy offering to cover our zits with makeup? And the whole world commenting on our “tan” or worse “dark” skin?

One would think successful women, especially celebrities, have it better. But, as fashion designer Masaba Gupta revealed in a recent interview on Kareena Kapoor Khan’s show, What Women Want,  body shaming never really leaves you. Matter of fact, this woman has seen the worst of it. She has been at the receiving end of nasty comments for her skin colour since she was a kid and what makes it worse is the comparison of her appearance to that of apes because of her black roots.

Not only has she had to battle dark skin, but also acne. On the show, Masaba spoke about being overweight, dark and having the worst acne breakout ever at one point. Her Instagram feed is her way of telling young girls who write to her that it does get better.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqFjWBdHVOS/

During her interview, she appeared unfazed as she shared her experience. She’s unapologetic on her social media, she’s not going to let body shamers get to her. She was totally honest that her level of confidence is not a given and is an everyday struggle for her. Her tip or confidence mantra? It is to tell yourself that you are confident every day, and one day it will happen.

Masaba is also one of the best people to talk about how to deal with body shamers. Her advice is that one should explain things to people and not deal with it from a place of anger. She says, and we agree, that a lot of people do it because they don’t know better.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnx3aRkFq2S/

Masaba’s posts on Instagram are inspiring to many who are slowly embracing the body positive movement on social media. Whether you are overweight or skinny, acne-prone or not, pale or dark, tall or short, the one good thing emerging on social media is support and acceptance for people of all shapes and sizes and skin colours.

From hashtags like #perfectlyme for women who are okay with their shape and size, to the acne positive movement that started in 2018, there is an effort all over the world to help us realise we are fine the way we are.

So, as we round up 2018 and look forward to 2019, let us do in person what we would do on Instagram and treat body shamers to the joy of body positivity. How you ask? Just do what one of our co-workers did at a recent visit to her skin specialist. Now, beauty salons, parlours and skin clinics are places where body shaming is almost a given as your skin and hair is picked apart by experts. So, when the doctor asked whether she had considered any cosmetic treatment, pat came the reply, “Don’t you think my skin is awesome for a 41-year-old?” The doctor was speechless and just bobbed her head as our friend sailed past.

Hope you are just as successful in taking the sting out of barbed comments and here’s to a Happy New You in 2019! Do share your body positivity story below.

Swapna Chidambaram

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