VOX ATL has been visiting North Springs High School this semester and giving their teens an opportunity to share their thoughts on a number of topics and have them published. Among them has been body shaming. Check out what some of them had to say.

Body shaming is very toxic. People shame people on their bodies when in the end it doesn’t matter. You should be not ashamed to be in your body, but now it’s hard. -Madison Whitlatch
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People shame people on their bodies when in the end it doesn’t matter. You should be not ashamed to be in your body but now its hard. -Breaunne Malloy
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Body shaming is something common and hard to take as you grow up. Even though, guys and girls take it differently. Girls usually grow up and live getting compliments and people loving them, so when someone says the opposite, can make a lot of damage. Guys, we grow up with friends saying how ugly we are or judging us on a playful way, but we get used to the fact of our shit. It is harmful, and it is difficult to take, but it depends on how you take it. – Tamariana Bivins
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Body shaming is everywhere you go. It makes you feel a need to be a certain way. A certain way that isn’t you. Body shaming humiliates people and you can receive negative comments about your body size or shape. It shouldn’t be normalized. A certain body shouldn’t define a human’s personality, or the way you see them. Recovering from it isn’t easy. -Tala Hadid
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Body shaming is a very normalized thing people bring up to make you feel bad about yourself when your body shouldn’t define who you are and people shouldn’t be commenting on. It isn’t anyone’s place to be commenting on someone’s body in a negative matter when that’s something the person cant change. -Lauren Smith

Body shaming has a lasting impact on its victims. Every body is different, and each shape is its own unique form of beautiful. Unfortunately, aided by the rise of social media, people have created an image of the “ideal” body and often shame those who do not have it. This can cause those with different bodies to lose confidence in themselves and possibly develop eating disorders to “fix” themselves. This widespread issue can only be ended if society works harder to teach teenagers. -Sarah Meiselman

​Body shaming is when a person judges or pokes fun at another person for the way that they look. Most likely, when that person doesn’t fit the societal “body standard.” Whether that be that they are over/underweight, have scars, etc. The effects of body shaming are very prevalent in the new generation too. Kids now are mean and have no filters. They will say anything and comment on anyone, especially over social media because no one will find them. People are protected by their screens, and with this protection, feel as though they have the right to say anything just to hurt someone’s feelings. Personally, I believe that bodies and physical appearance are sacred. They should not be joked at, commented on, or talked about by others, ever. -Mairen Brown