In late November, the Obiter Dicta ran a seemingly light and playful article on how Osgoode students could hide any extra pounds gained in the winter months. The article detailed how bold colours, structured tops, and “make up enhancers” could create a slimmer look. While these recommendations may aim to help individuals gain greater self-esteem in their appearance, they also have the effect of reinforcing a broader culture of body shaming, particularly when it comes to women.
Whether the author intends it or not, the unspoken and implicit message is that weight gain is bad, unattractive, and should be hidden. Our society is saturated with these messages which dictate and define what is “healthy” and what bodies should look like.
We see this perspective supported when the author states that these fashion solutions “of course” are not a “permanent solution” to “the winter frump that involves no gyming”. The message is not only that individuals with larger bodies are necessarily unhealthy and that they do not exercise, but also that people with larger bodies want to lose weight. Both of these presumptions are untrue. Comments like these are problematic because they fail to acknowledge the diversity of bodies in our societies, and make some feel as if they should be ashamed of their bodies.
From a young age women are regularly bombarded with similar messages around how their bodies should look and be presented in public. The law profession is no exception. It is not unheard of to see articles on skirt style, whether pant suits are appropriate, and the “correct” heel height for an interview. Of course, there are a variety of ways that we each choose to navigate societal expectations around appropriate dress. As we enter the legal profession, we may make individual decisions around the extent to which we want to conform to dominant ideas of professional attire and we may sometimes choose to adhere to various social norms. But this sort of personal choice is different from instructing others to do so, in a way that reinforces and supports problematic expectations regarding how women present their bodies.
A society where everyone has confidence in, and feels good about, their bodies is a desirable goal. A goal, I’m sure, the author of the article and I likely share. However, the way to achieve this goal is not by shaming women, explicitly or implicitly, who have “extra” weight. We need to combat and challenge the norm that larger bodies are undesirable, and that being thin is an ideal for which we ought to strive. We need to celebrate the diversity and beauty of the different bodies and people that make up our society.