Manufacturing Insecurities: The Politics of Body Shaming | | the Personal Lens скачать в хорошем качестве

Manufacturing Insecurities: The Politics of Body Shaming | | the Personal Lens

Body shaming is often dismissed as a “personal issue.” A comment. A joke. A concern disguised as care. This episode refuses that framing. In this episode of The Personal Lens, we examine body shaming not as a personal struggle, but as a tool of control—one that disciplines bodies through shame, comparison, and constant surveillance. From childhood comments and family “concerns” to caste-coded beauty standards, gendered expectations, media images, and billion-dollar beauty industries, this episode traces how we learn to look at our bodies with suspicion instead of care. Why are some bodies constantly corrected, while others move through the world unquestioned? Who decides what is acceptable, desirable, or respectable? And who benefits when we turn that judgement inward? This episode explores how: Shame is taught early—and internalised deeply Beauty norms are shaped by patriarchy, caste, colonialism, and capitalism Media and algorithms train us to self-police Women pay a beauty tax, men a masculinity tax, and queer and trans bodies face relentless scrutiny Insecurity keeps us obedient, distracted, and easy to govern This is not a conversation about perfection or positivity. It is about reclaiming bodily autonomy in a world invested in our self-doubt. If you’ve ever felt watched, corrected, or measured in your own body—this episode will feel uncomfortably familiar. Because body shaming was never accidental. And refusing it is not vanity. It is resistance. REFERENCES Cash, T. F., & Smolak, L. (Eds.). (2011). Body image: A handbook of science, practice, and prevention (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept. Gender & Society, 19(6), 829–859. Frith, K., Shaw, P., & Cheng, H. (2005). The construction of beauty: A cross‐cultural analysis of women's magazine advertisements. Sex Roles, 53(11–12), 693–701. Groesz, L. M., Levine, M. P., & Murnen, S. K. (2002). The effect of experimental presentation of thin media images on body satisfaction: A meta‐analytic review. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 31(1), 1–16. Puhl, R., & Heuer, C. (2009). The stigma of obesity: A review and update. Obesity, 17(5), 941–964. Chatterjee, S., & Garg, S. R. (Eds.). (2024). Female body image and beauty politics in contemporary Indian literature and culture. Temple University Press. Kumaran, R. (2024). Media, family and colourism: A sociological exploration of body shaming among young women in rural Tamil Nadu. Journal of Social Review and Development, 3(2), 31–35. Chirayath, G., & Premamalini, K. (2024). The impact of body shaming and its effect on mental well-being in youth. ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 5(6), 3617–3623. https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5... Verma, V., & Juneja, A. (2025). Family dynamics’ role in body shaming and body image development in young adults. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 13(2), 1952–1967. Khosla, S. (2024). Exploring the influence of social media on body image: A study on adolescent girls. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 12(1), 1112–1124. Abdoli, M., Rosato, M. S., & Cotrufo, P. (2024). Cultural differences in body image: A systematic review. Societies, 13(6), 305. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13060305 Wolf, N. (1990). The beauty myth: How images of beauty are used against women. Chatto & Windus. Alluhidan, A., Park, J. K., Akter, M., Rodgers, R., & Wisniewski, P. J. (2025). Unfiltered: How teens engage in body image and shaming discussions via Instagram direct messages. AlDahoul, N., Ibrahim, H., Park, M., Rahwan, T., & Zaki, Y. (2024). Inclusive content reduces racial and gender biases, yet non-inclusive content dominates popular culture. #feministpodcast #indiansociety #podcast #facts