She was never conscious about her body until she heard the mean comments. Eventually, she lost weight and also her confidence. Harshita Gupta, who narrates her story in this Tape A Tale video, has just one request: Listen, think and stop body shaming.
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00:00There was a girl.
00:02And she had only one mistake.
00:04That she was fat.
00:06She didn't think so.
00:08But the world made her feel it.
00:11School, family functions, relatives' houses.
00:14Everywhere people used to say strange things to her.
00:17Don't ever sit on this bike.
00:19If you sit, you'll get a wheelie.
00:21How many stomachs do you have?
00:22One, two, three?
00:24Of course, third included boobs.
00:27One day she went to a function
00:29and sat quietly in the corner.
00:31Then an aunty came to her and said,
00:34Oh dear, you've become so fat.
00:37That's fine.
00:38She's the one who's going to give competition to my daughter.
00:41Her daughter had thyroid.
00:44Back then,
00:45that girl didn't buy clothes herself.
00:47Whatever her mom used to get,
00:49she used to wear.
00:50One day she was getting ready to go to a party.
00:53She looked at herself in the mirror.
00:56She wore a top.
00:58And the tires were clearly visible.
01:01Whenever she used to look at herself like this,
01:04all those comments used to run in her mind.
01:08She took off the top,
01:10wore a night suit,
01:11and told her mom,
01:13that you guys go to the party.
01:15I won't go.
01:17And without saying anything,
01:19she went to sleep quietly.
01:21That girl got so cautious about her body,
01:25that she stopped going to parties,
01:27stopped getting ready,
01:28and even stopped talking to boys.
01:31Because she always felt,
01:33judged,
01:34unwanted,
01:35and not pretty.
01:37She loved the stage.
01:39But so many eyes,
01:41more than her talent,
01:43would consume her body.
01:46She was scared of this.
01:49She started wearing kurtas.
01:51Hashtag traditional love,
01:52hashtag ethnic love.
01:54Not to do this.
01:56But someone had told her,
01:58that wearing indian clothes,
02:00makes you look less fat.
02:02Whenever someone used to comment on her,
02:05she used to come home and cry alone.
02:08And she didn't say anything to anyone.
02:11One day she came to know,
02:12that she is suffering from PCOD.
02:15This disease has different symptoms,
02:17on different parts of the body.
02:19She had excessive weight gain.
02:22The doctor told her,
02:23no matter what happens,
02:25you have to control your body weight.
02:27Otherwise, the disease could get serious.
02:30More than that doctor,
02:32she had to answer some people in life.
02:35She had to answer some comments.
02:37She had to answer those judgmental eyes.
02:41This was 2011.
02:43She stopped eating out,
02:45sweets,
02:46fried,
02:47breads,
02:48in short, all her yummy food.
02:50And started doing regular workouts.
02:53After two years,
02:54she was not size zero.
02:56But she was in such a size,
02:58where she was confident to stand in the crowd.
03:01She thought she won.
03:03But no.
03:05Even after 13 years,
03:07that is, even today,
03:08if she is romantically involved with a boy,
03:11she is very insecure about her body.
03:14She judges her own body,
03:16and is afraid,
03:17that some boy,
03:19like her childhood,
03:21would comment on her body.
03:23According to society standards,
03:25she has lost weight.
03:27But all those stretch marks on her body
03:29still remind her of those comments.
03:33She has accepted her own body.
03:36But even today,
03:37what others will say about her body,
03:39it bothers her somewhere.
03:42By the way,
03:44I have heard that that girl
03:45has started going on stage again.
03:47Now, she faces the camera.
03:50And today,
03:51she is standing in front of you
03:53and narrating a story.
03:55But I am just waiting for that day,
03:57when the bike will pass in front of me,
03:59but I will not think,
04:01that Harshita,
04:02don't sit on that bike,
04:04or else you will get dizzy.
04:06Maybe I will win that day.
04:09And all those people will lose,
04:11who have made me feel,
04:13that I am less than anyone.
04:16And next time,
04:17if you comment on someone's body,
04:20then remember this story.
04:23And if possible,
04:25then stop.