The case of teachers “body shaming” students: A dangerous way of school violence!

Body shaming, also known as body shaming, is a form of using language to disparage or mock another person’s appearance, which makes the victim feel hurt because of being insulted.

Severe words

In recent years, this form of verbal “school violence” that attacks the psychology has become more and more popular. No There were only students talking ill and criticizing each other, but there were also cases where teachers were also participants in that sarcastic conversation.

Recently on social networks there has been a stir about the incident. A female high school student was criticized by her former teacher for body shaming with a series of offensive words such as: “fat like ***” like a piece of sausage, chest like a car bowl…< /p>

It is worth mentioning that this teacher was the one who directly taught the female student Literature for 3 years of middle school. The participants in the group who spoke ill were former classmates – in the same class as this female student.

Besides criticizing the female teacher’s appearance, she also joined with the student to badmouth her family situation and asked someone to secretly take a photo so she could comment on the student’s appearance.

Facing this incident, Ms. Hoang Thi Dung ( Vinh Phuc) expressed: “I also have a child who is a middle school student and I feel extremely angry with this incident. Especially when there is the participation of the teacher who once taught you. That shows that the morality of a part of teachers is going down a lot.”

Similarly, Mr. Hoang Minh (Nam Dinh) said: “It’s sad that my child is also a victim of body shaming at school. So I feel very sympathetic to the child in this story. Sometimes seemingly innocent comments can hurt a lot of people. This is also a form of school violence.”

Talking about the above incident, Ms. Pham Thuy Quynh (teacher of Sakura Montessori International Kindergarten) said: “Also a teacher. I think it is inappropriate for a teacher to think like that, lacking respect for personal privacy, especially for students in this case. That is not consistent with the moral qualities of a teacher, causing students’ lack of respect for teachers. The incident not only directly affects the students but also affects the image of teachers like us.”

“It’s normal when someone is criticized and speaks ill of us. I have never felt unhappy or excited. On the other hand, the victims are the students – people who are too young and their souls are too fragile, let’s ask how can they stand being “attacked” like that? ” Ms. Hoang Tinh, a teacher at a middle school said.

A word can sometimes “kill a soul”

Once was a victim of body shaming by fellow students In the same class, T.T.L, a 9th grade student at a secondary school in Cau Giay (Hanoi), said: “In 6th grade, I was transferred to a completely different class. While my friends are familiar with each other, I am the only one who is lost. At that time I weighed 70kg, my friends said I was as fat as a “pig” and no one in class talked to me. I’m always the butt of people’s jokes.

I’ve been like that for more than a year. I didn’t tell anyone, not even my parents. I was very sad. Going to school is like torture for me. Having to chew on those harsh words for a long time made me gradually withdraw into myself to the point of almost being depressed and just wanting to die.”

Some of us have probably experienced this too. is the culprit of body shaming that we are not even aware of. Just seemingly joking statements: “What do you eat to make you so fat?” Does he look like a pig? His face is broken like a sickle! His chest is like a car bowl. “This guy is as effeminate as a girl… and can affect the soul and even the life of another person. .

N.T.N, an 11th grade student at a high school in Hai Phong, confided: “Body shaming is something that happens often, especially at school. In fact, I was once a “culprit”. “Say bad things about other people’s bodies. That was in middle school, when I was still a junior high school student, I joined the whole class in saying bad things about a friend. At first, I was happy to see the whole class more united when doing the same thing. I didn’t know it was bad until I found out that he had depression. Thinking back now, I feel very regretful for my actions.”

We are still many times confusion between joking and disparaging. Jokes that do not cause discomfort are limited to familiar people. Going beyond that boundary when your words cause discomfort and offend others is body shaming.

Shared with reporter Dan Tri a teacher said: “In all my years of working in the profession, I have also witnessed several incidents of body shaming at school. The consequences left after those incidents are quite many and heartbreaking.

I still I remember a student at my school, after being criticized by his friends about his appearance, he became very self-conscious and stayed away from everyone at school, not daring to interact with anyone. Then one day his family found out Seeing her cut herself as a way to relieve the stress of being subjected to so many gossips about her appearance, luckily she was okay. That’s when I saw that the words had great “weight” and sometimes they didn’t can kill someone’s soul.”

Behind those disparaging words, many painful consequences occurred when the offended victims criticized their appearance. They had to always have low self-esteem and hide their shortcomings Narrowing yourself and distancing yourself from everything around you can lead to boredom in the light and severe psychological disorders, even leading to despair and suicide.

There need to be regulations to stop it. This situation

Today, with the rapid development of science and technology, social networks have become an “ideal place” for those who like to attack others using tools such as: It can be words.

That is a means that makes “Body shaming” more widespread and difficult to control. Students are the ones participating and active on social networks Therefore, they also become the majority of victims of body shaming.

Parent Hoang Minh said: “If I do not deal fairly with the school as well as the perpetrator’s family, I will Report it to your superiors or police so the incident can be clarified. Because verbal violence in many cases can also be considered defamation with words and gestures that offend the honor and dignity of others.”

“Although I feel very regretful because cases have occurred but the truth is that there are still no specific regulations on handling these subjects with inhumane behavior. If I had a child who was a victim, I would definitely have to work carefully with the school to find a way to adequately punish the perpetrator for what he did,” Ms. Hoang Thi Dung said.

For this problem to no longer be a painful problem in schools, it requires the participation and cooperation of many people.

On the side of the victim to repel the “Body” problem “shaming” The best way is to speak up. Students need to speak up when their appearance is disparaged; speak up when they see others being made fun of because when they stay silent, they unintentionally create an opportunity. for bullies to hurt them more.

In addition, families and schools, with the cooperation of teachers, need to raise students’ awareness about body shaming; offensive behavior in all forms; at the same time, it is necessary to pay close attention to students to limit the impact of this problem. The school needs to have specific regulations and rules to educate and handle these problems seriously action of body shaming nature. Only then can this school bullying problem stop.

“The school environment is a different environment from all other environments. School is not just a place that provides students to learn new modern knowledge, but also a cultural environment that teaches them lessons about lifestyle and morality. Therefore, students should behave civilly according to their age. Especially teachers, please demonstrate how to be a teacher so that children can still look forward to learning,” Ms. Hoang Tinh shared.

And finally, the most important thing is Let’s help them have “antibodies” to body shaming – that is, fostering self-confidence and loving themselves more. Please know how to appreciate yourself. Because each of us is a unique individual and does not have to be similar to anyone else.