BODY POSITIVE: Being small is a struggle too
BODY POSITIVE is a monthly column by Cheryl Tay, who wishes to reach out to others who are struggling with body image issues and help them overcome it. She also recently started Rock The Naked Truth, a body image movement that encourages people to find confidence through fitness and share their stories at www.RockTheNakedTruth.com/share. The views expressed here are her own.
Some people struggle to become thin and resort to doing drastic things to lose weight.
However, there is the other end of the spectrum where small and petite girls also receive a fair share of criticism.
These naturally skinny girls sometimes even face resentment from those trying to lose weight, but they have their own insecurities too.
Berenice Seow (above left), who stands at 1.74 metres tall and 50kg, was not bothered about how she looked until she became a teenager.
Her friends started to say things such as, “You look like a stick” or “You look like a bamboo; why don’t you hang yourself out of the window to hang your clothes?”
The 26-year-old marketing executive took these comments to heart and in 2011 she even made a New Year’s resolution to gain weight.
“I held the mindset that if I kept eating I’d grow bigger but that didn’t work. Becoming bigger is a real struggle too; I ate a lot of McDonald’s but I still couldn’t grow,” Seow shared.
Last year, Seow tried yoga with her best friend and realised she should be focusing on exercise, which would make her stronger and healthier. Seow also started going to the gym.
“I decided to focus on exercising regularly and eating proper food instead of piling on the junk food, which would cause health problems. Last year, I also finally learnt not to get frustrated with my body as I saw how I could perform daily tasks easily, such as changing the water tank in my office,” she added.
Similarly, Megan Yit was also teased for being small.
For her height of 1.50 metres, the 20-year-old student was called “short, stubby and fat” by a senior in secondary school, especially when everyone else around her were experiencing growth spurts as they hit puberty.
“From that point onwards, I never dared to look myself in the mirror and I became very sensitive to every other remark that came after. I know I was chubbier than others but that girl pointing it out made me feel so self-conscious and I would compare myself to other girls and feel bad about it all the time,” Yit said.
Knowing that she could not do anything about her height, Yit picked up street dance in junior college and diverted her attention there.
She started to shed some weight and received compliments, which helped to boost her self-confidence.
After completing her ‘A’ levels, Yit met her boyfriend, who encouraged her to go to the gym with him.
“This was where I began to feel more confident about myself. I still have the same body and there wasn’t much difference in the weight, but I look healthier and better.
“I now dare to look myself in the mirror and I stopped feeling bad about myself. It’s ok to be petite and I won’t spend my lifetime wishing I was bigger.
“It is not just the big people who have body image issues – we do too. But ultimately we all have bodies of different shapes and sizes, so we should just learn to embrace ourselves,” Yit said.
