It's a weighty issue
My school life was blighted by bullying, mostly about my weight. It was incessant. Comments about how fat I was (and I wasn't really), cruel nicknames, a bra put in my locker 'so my t*ts didn't give me black eyes' etc.
The impact has been immense and long lasting. I have no photos of me from that time or for years after because I was too embarrassed about how I looked. The picture on the left is one of the few I have of me before 2018. I always wore baggy clothes and could never relax about how they were fitting. I developed bad eating habits / food relationships. I still struggle with body image but I have worked hard at it and am in a much much better place.
Unfortunately we now live in a world where the bullying has a 24 hour presence, social media and the like. Comments that are judgemental at best and cruel at worst. Just see the recent furore over Olly Murs' pictures of his body transformation
This is something widely recognised as a huge problem for girls and women. It is a leading contributor to eating disorders and other mental health issue.
AND it is also a huge issue for our young men and boys. Social media influences play a huge part in their lives and a lot of this content is based on how men should look and how ripped they should be - unrealistic for most who consume the content.
It is for reasons like this that I am take on my walk hashtagwewilltalk500miles We must talk about these issues, we must combat these unhealthy influences and we must stop this constant bullying.
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