Kareena Kapoor To Shweta Salve - These Celebs Are Today’s Body Positivity Icons

Oh, you are so moti, why don’t you start dieting? Why don’t you do something about your dark complexion? You are so thin, how will you get married?

These are not just questions posed by pesky aunties but youngsters do it too. Body shaming is a centuries-old phenomenon that refuses to go away since all of us fan the fire by trying to pull others down to fuel our insecurities. For celebrities, the problem becomes even bigger as they are under the pressure of ‘looking good’. But what does looking good even mean? Shouldn’t it mean being healthy and looking healthy? Thankfully some celebs like Kareena Kapoor, Shweta Salve and Bharti Singh continue to project a positive body image and we have much to learn from them.

Kareena Kapoor Khan

She may have succumbed once to the pressures of looking stick thin for a role but Kareena Kapoor Khan has shown us how she has embraced her body. She did not rush to lose her pregnancy weight and in fact flaunted it very nicely, setting an example for others. In a chat with designer Masaba Gupta for her show What Women Want, Kareena tackled the issue of body shaming. They discussed how Indians look down on dark-skinned people even though half the population is, well, dark skinned.

Shweta Salve

Being dark-skinned is a struggle and even more so if you are in the entertainment business but Shweta Salve continues to make it look sexy as ever. But as the actor took to Instagram to bid adieu to 2018, she raised the issue of body shaming and expressed how the scrutiny about our bodies, our habits, breastfeeding, career choices and lifestyle choices never ends. Check out her post:

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As we approach closer to bid 2018 adieu , my heart overflows with gratitude. I find myself amongst the company of strong women , who have made their visions n dreams come true. Women who work hard , who follow their hearts but take their brains with them. Women who know what they bring to the table and are not afraid to eat alone. BUT ..... As women the questions and scrutiny never ends. . Why are you so thin? (Must be bulimic ) Why are you so fat ? (lazy & obese) Why are you just a housewife ? (not talented , unintelligent) Why do you work so much ? ( Overachiever ) Wow so successful ? (Must have slept her way up) Why do you smoke or drink ? ( Characterless ) Why are you still single and not married ? (Slut) What Married but no kids ? (Barren) Oh a C section not a normal delivery ? (Weak) Formula !!! Not breastfed ? ( Let's not even go there ) Wow lost all that baby weight ? ( 💯% gone under the knife) . The list doesn't end ! . So here I want to say 🖕to the white noise and a big 🙏 to the women who Inspire me ...my fellow Goa Mommies , My Mum , I fondly remember my grandma (the strongest woman I've ever known) , My Daughter , My Mother in Law , My Many successful talented Girlfriends , My Househelp , I learn each day from them. Their incredible journeys are inspiring. . Women we need a certain amount of chaos within us to give birth to a dancing star ! . . . . . . #womenstandtogether #motherofdragons #mommiesandbabies #goamommies #beachbums #mommiesinbikinis #girlpower #goa #togetherwestandstrong #instapost #instagram #shotonpixel3 #teampixel #love #happiness #instapic #mombod #women

A post shared by ⓢⓗⓥⓔⓣⓐ ⓢⓐⓛⓥⓔ (@shveshve) onDec 26, 2018 at 7:25am PST

Sonakshi Sinha

Image Courtesy: @aslisona/Instagram

Has she aimed for a size-zero figure ever? Nope! Sonakshi Sinha may have lost around 90 kgs to enter Bollywood but the actor has never starved herself to look stick thin for any role. She embraces her body shape and doesn’t care two hoots about the social media trolls who body shame her and believes that physical appearance is an illusion. She consciously tries to project a body image that has a good effect on impressionable girls of young age. In fact, Sonakshi's fitness mantra is to eat well and have the stamina to work out properly to stay healthy.

Read More: Why Are Only Women Fat Shamed And Not Men?

Shikha Talsania

Shikha Talsania stood out in Veere Di Wedding where the other protagonists had the Bollywood-esque bodies that we remain jealous of. Her take on body shaming trolls? Don’t be a hater, be a lover. She believes that we are judged by our hearts and not for our bodies as they keep changing and maintains a totally positive outlook on the whole issue.

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A post shared by Shikha Talsania (@shikhatalsania) onOct 23, 2018 at 8:16am PDT

Bharti Singh

Image Courtesy: @bharti.laughterqueen/Instagram

She has broken all stereotypes – being a comedienne, marrying at the peak of her career and the best of all is being on the healthier side and never attempting to slim down for the sake of being a celeb. She continues to laugh at herself and the joke will always be on the trolls who try to make fun of her body. Bharti Singh, who shot to fame as the character Lalli, has even appeared for a body lotion TV commercial to break the clichéd image of slim-trim models in advertising.

Rytasha Rathore

Image Courtesy: @rytash/Instagram

She started off with a character in a TV serial that required her to stay true to herself. ‘Badho Bahu’ actor Rytasha Rathore even went a step ahead and became a viral sensation on the internet for her bikini pics that showed all her curves in full glory. She was fat shamed and her response to that was epic. In a Facebook post on the Humans of Bombay page she said : You will always be ‘too fat’ or ‘too thin’ or ‘too loud’ or ‘too opinionated’ for the world, but you know what — we’re better off being ‘too much’ than being nothing at all.

Now those are words to live by!

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