Hillary Clinton was asked by a young girl about body image during a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Oct. 4. Brennan Leach, 15, wondered what the presidential candidate's take was on the matter, especially after hearing how Donald Trump attacks fat women in the media.
"I see with my own eyes the damage Donald Trump does when he talks about women and how they look," the 15-year-old told Hillary Clinton, according to New York Times. The Democratic candidate told the crowd that she understands that for many kids who are Brennan Leach's age, body image issues become more defining and affecting.
Hillary Clinton said that sometimes it might be best to laugh off demeaning remarks on fat women and not take the words so seriously. However, there might also be times when it's necessary to make a stand against the bullies. Yet for the presidential hopeful, what's more important is to accept one's self.
"We're not all going to end up being Miss Universe, I hate to tell you," Hillary Clinton told the crowd. "So let's be the best we can be. Let's be proud of who we are."
Experts say that body shaming is happening more often than ever before, especially with the advent of social media and technologies like Photoshop. Sometimes, parents might also be guilty of reinforcing the wrong message to their daughters, when they constantly hound the girls on weight, what they eat or how they look.
Parents must instead focus on teaching young girls to pick healthy foods or encourage physical activities, rather press on about weight, San Francisco Gate reports. Ideally, parents should also boost their daughter's self-worth more than the physical image. A positive attitude about weight, food and general health, which should be cultivated early on in children, can reduce body image issues when a young girl becomes a teenager.
