Why Skinny Shaming is Worse Than Fat Shaming

Growing up, I was super skinny, and in the Bengali culture, being skinny made you a target for criticism.

I would always hear comments from uncles and aunties.

I was called “the stick” so many times, while my brother, who was fat, was left alone.

In our culture, being fat is seen as a sign of being well-fed and healthy, so no one ever teased him.

But for me, it was relentless.

And it didn’t stop in childhood.

As I grew up, skinny shaming continued to follow me.

When I was younger, I was very thin, but over time, I gained a lot of muscle.

And as soon as I gained weight, I noticed an immediate difference in how I was treated.

People respected me more.

Among men, if you’re bigger, you automatically gain respect.

But when I was skinny, people would just make fun of me.

At one point, I decided that being big wasn’t for me.

I worked hard to slim down, and as soon as people saw the new me, they were shocked.

Instead of celebrating my achievement, they started criticizing me. “Armani, what happened? Why are you so skinny?”