KUALA LUMPUR: A victim of body shaming during her teenage years, actress Ain Edruce says many youths have reached out to her for advice to deal with the situation.
And since she could not reply to every message received via social media, she figured that it would be be better for her to be part of a panel that discusses issues surrounding body shaming, which is an action or practice of humiliating someone by mocking or making critical comments about his or her body shape and size.
“Some of my Instagram followers who happen to be victims of body shaming have asked me for tips and advice. But as I could not respond to all, I thought it would be good to share my experiences at public events or programmes held to help those facing the problem,” said the 27-year-old lanky artiste in a news report today.
While most body shaming cases are those hurled against plus size people, Ain said she became the subject of criticism for being the opposite.
“They taunted me, calling me names like Olive Oyl, the tall and thin cartoon character in Popeye,” she recounted.
She also reminded “victims” to remain positive and not get overly emotional over derogatory remarks.
“Turn it into a challenge if you will, a push to better yourself. I always like to look at situation like this in a positive way.
“Don’t beat yourself too much when faced with insults, it only brings further harm to yourself,” she said.