Not only women, men face discrimination too. We are at an era of “man shaming” and Internet has become a treacherous platform for it. Many male celebrities have been humiliated in Tweets, memes etc. For instance, Anant Ambani was targeted in the past about his weight and so was Grammy winner Sam Smith. And very recently, Fardeen Khan was trolled on social media when his weight gain pictures went viral, and the way he was targeted was sad.
Few Tweets that went viral read, “From chocolate boy to rosugulla boi”; “Anant Ambani's loss is Fardeen Khan's gain”, etc. Few people also showed support. A user Tweeted, “We don't body shame women post pregnancy, then why body shame Fardeen Khan?”
Psychologist and psychotherapist, Dr Srikanth Acharya says: “Men are more sensitive and have lower coping skills compared to women. Men appear to be physically strong, but are highly emotional. Hence, such humiliation can make them go into depression and it could take a lot of time for them to re cope.’’
According to the psychologist, terms like “Grow up”, “You are so immature”, “Do you live with your mother?, “I’m not interested in boys. I’m interested in real men”, “Are you gay?” are all man shaming and they affect the mental health of men.
Mr India 2015 Rohit Khandelwal says: “I believe that a person can live the way he wants to, it’s his own choice. And the way Fardeen Khan was treated was very wrong. So what if he is not into acting right now and has put on weight?
Nobody should humiliate him for what he wants to do with his life. We are all humans and we love food! And I have also seen other male actors humiliated in the industry. We actors and models are under constant pressure to look great.”
So, is man shaming really a win for women? The answer is a no. According to pyschologists, man shaming is simply making matters worse for everybody.
