When we’re born, we’re a blank slate. Then we get written on, like a computer program. Our insecurities and biases are hard coded into our CPU. For instance, we are taught about how we should perceive our bodies.
Chances are that a lot of the issues that we struggle with, a lot of the lingering leechy thoughts that engulf our minds in the dark hour of the night, were seeded during childhood. Some of us were told that we are chubby, some of us were told that we’re too dark-skinned to be beautiful. Some of us were told that our walk is funny. It seems strange because we’re supposed to live out those experiences and move on to new ones. But they stuck to us, or rather, we stuck to them, drowning in our swamp, like an endless void.
When we started to talk about adolescence, we wanted to have a conversation about how we come to perceive our bodies, how our consciousness evolved to accommodate our bodies. It resonated with some people. We got a flurry of responses from people about how the scars embedded in them during childhood stuck to them.
The worst part is that these scars weren’t just embedded by peers, as horrifying as that is. They were cemented by teachers, school authorities, coaches and dance instructors, those who we look up to, and those who are supposed to protect us.
We’d like to share some of those responses with you.
Remember a boy telling me he could feel the ground shake when I ran. Never been able to run with confidence ever since. #DeTaali 1/2
— MS (@meenu_syriac) August 23, 2017
Even I went to an all girls school. One of the best ones in Mumbai and I experience a lot of fat shaming there. #DeTaali
— Amena (@Fashionopolis) August 23, 2017
Also was shamed for the way I danced because of my weight. I can’t let lose now even after a few drinks. #DeTaali
— MS (@meenu_syriac) August 23, 2017
In high school if you were found without your dupatta in between classes in a Uniform that was closed till neck ,teachers would reprimand https://t.co/VNryN3CE93
— Vidhi (@MissVidhi) August 23, 2017
Girls who developed early were told by teachers to wear loose fitting uniforms . Tall girls would slouch to fit in https://t.co/VNryN3CE93
— Vidhi (@MissVidhi) August 23, 2017
At the age of 7 I was categorically told by an adult that no man wants a fat wife & no one loves & respects fat girls. #DeTaali https://t.co/pCRLuri0n0
— Amena (@Fashionopolis) August 23, 2017
A1: Class 5 and the complaint was that my walk resembled a model as it was very close to catwalk #DeTaali
— Akshay Iyer (@daredevilakshay) August 23, 2017
my cousin all her life faced discrimination just bcoz of her skin color.It overpowered her talent and true beauty #DeTaali
— Shipra Trivedi (@trivediship) August 23, 2017
