Calenda and male body shaming, the psychologist: “It’s bullying anyway”

It is a photo that has been on social media for some time that a Cinquestelle city councilor, Carlo Maria Chiossi, he used to attack Carlo Calenda. In the photo there is not the leader of Action, a candidate for mayor of Rome, but a chubby child who is referred to as a young Calenda. The image is a form of body shaming, mocking someone for their physical appearance.

Calenda immediately replied: “I’m happy to joke on my belly. But using a child in this way is unscrupulous and moral scum. ‘

The city councilor removed the image and apologized. “It was not my intention to offend anyone, nor to affect the physical aspect of those who are overweight since I am too.”

Dear Spokesperson of the @Mov5Stelle Rome. I don’t know who this child is that you use to make fun of me. On my tummy I gladly joke. But babies used for body shaming is beyond any aberration I’ve ever seen here. In the end you are fascistelli. We will send you home. https://t.co/mfhMc01fp3

– Carlo Calenda (@CarloCalenda) April 10, 2021

From whatever point of view you look at it, however, it is body shaming, which also exists in the male, not only towards the body of women. Giuseppe Iannone, psychologist and psychotherapist, explains that the attack on physical appearance is common although with differences. «In men there is the vigorexia, the fear of not being muscular enough. A puny guy can be the subject of body shaming as he is thin, which is very rare for women. This is dangerous because the person can resort to unorthodox methods to stimulate muscle growth, but also avoid going to the gym or taking a shower in the locker room to avoid showing up ».

On the other hand, a little boy is mocked for abdominal fat. “In this case the adult has more means to answer, he can joke about it”, explains Dr. Iannone, “remains the fact that it is body shaming and it is a form of bullying».

Being particularly sensitive to criticism can exacerbate the aggressor’s behavior. «If you smile at your physical defects, the executioner he no longer feels pleasure in making fun of someone, if the victim suffers from it it can be a reinforcer »he adds.

The harassment remains, whatever the reaction. The complaint is necessary. At school, as at home, when it comes to children, the facts must be known. “The ideal would be see everyone involved meet. Parents, teachers, coaches they have the task of informing, raising awareness and managing cases to make people understand that diversity is beautiful and that we are complementary ”.

The problem remains for adults too, not just women. “For men there is the fat-thin opposition, but also there stature, the appearance of the hair. And again the hair on the body for which we go from being “like a wolf” to being “like women”. There are the protruding ears, the pronounced nose, the shape of the mouth. Body shaming lends itself to any defect, even minimal, which is then exasperated. The pernicious mechanism is this. It can lead to social anxiety disorder, avoidance of others, but also to the use of cosmetic surgery to correct what is considered a defect, without it being such “.