If you spend part of your day online, you will have caught wind of Wahu’s body shaming experience. She posted an image of herself sharing views during a meeting and she clearly had added weight. In no time, her post was flooded with comments both nasty and encouraging.

The legendary musician spoke out about her body shaming experience and called out the keyboard warriors, whom she said were mostly women for their nasty behaviour. She admitted to having added weight, 22.5 kilos to be precise, as she had just delivered.

In an era when there are movements for nearly everything, why do such issues persist? The body positivity movement is one of the most prominent in our times but even that hasn’t stopped people from attacking others. Why do people get triggered over weight gain?

Many people blame weight gain on an individual devoid of the circumstances that lead to it. It’s always easy for people to attribute your weight gain to unhealthy eating but it can occur due to other factors. In the case of Wahu and many women, increasing weight during and after pregnancy is normal as the body functions have adjusted to the woman's pregnancy. 

Also, the biological process takes over the body and depending on an individual’s situation, weight can go up, remain the same or even lose weight. Therefore, before you make your conclusions about someone’s weight gain, it is good to find out the cause.

Despite all the talk about body positivity and people needing to check their biases, most people still see smaller bodies as the ideal. Celebrity culture and even the media continue to perpetuate the idea that smaller bodies are better. Yes, I know magazines and other media platforms show plus-size people and praise them but things are still skewed in favour of people who are petite.

Some people target others maliciously due to their own insecurities. Perhaps they even dislike how they look and chances are that you look better than them. 

Hence, when they see you, you remind them about their own inadequacies. The only way for them to battle with these feelings is by attacking you. As Wahu pointed out, shaming says more about the person than it does about you.

I’m not excusing them. What I’m saying here is that some people are not conscious enough to censor themselves as they speak and thus, go on to say mean things or even ask mean questions. 

They probably think it’s ok to say some things while it isn’t and the fact that they can hide behind a keyboard makes it even more difficult to correct this problem. 

Some people regardless of whether they are online or not are just insensitive. They will tear you apart because it makes them feel good. They are the kind of people who will do anything to get the high of making you feel bad. This is the case here. 

These people want you to think that you are in the wrong. What you need to do is not listen to them. As Wahu shared, don’t let some of these external pressures get to you. You are beautiful and don’t need anyone to reaffirm that. 

The body positivity movements need to continue talking about the importance of appreciating everyone. Also, every individual should take responsibility for their actions and words. Additionally, those who cross the line should be held accountable.