Camila Cabello Is Being Body-Shamed and We’re Not Having It

We can’t believe we’re writing this, but over the weekend, pictures of Camila Cabello and her boyfriend Shawn Mendes surfaced on Twitter, and people had the audacity to body shame her. Obviously, this is just not okay and we won’t stand for it.

Luckily, we have allies. Thankfully, we live in a social media universe where empowering sentiments often out-do the gross, negative ones. Although this story isn’t something that we love to read and write about, it’s so important to show that it’s not okay, and also, that the world is changing.

It all started with this Tweet, by @TheRealMan1998 (we should’ve known), asking if Camila looks pregnant. We all know that we someone prefaces a question with “I’m not body-shaming BUT…” that it’s probably not going to be good.

https://twitter.com/TheRealMan1998/status/1400603742701965312

Before we get into the Twitter explosion that unfolded and Camila’s response, let’s just have a quick chat about these pics.

These photos are beautiful. They’re of a woman, relaxing on the beach. Yes, she has cellulite. No, she’s not sucking in her stomach. Sure, these angles of her may not live up to the ridiculous beauty standards that are required for anyone on the cover of a magazine or with the title “celebrity”, and honestly, thank god.

When I was growing up, I thought that having anything but a flat stomach made me unappealing, mostly because all I ever saw were unrealistic pictures of women with tummies that didn’t look like mine. It was only as I started to care less about my summer body (which was never a real thing anyway) that I realised I have actual organs inside my stomach, that take up room, help me survive and sometimes, god forbid, stop it looking flat – whatever that means.

As women, our bodies are always fluctuating. Sometimes, certain foods make us bloat. When we get our periods, they can cause swelling in our uterus because our cells are literally shedding. As humans, we fluctuate with our weight for an abundance of reasons; hormones, eating habits, stress, lack of sleep… the list goes on forever.

Being a healthy human being is difficult enough, without having to worry about someone snapping a pic of you feeling relaxed at the beach.

This seems like the perfect time to revisit Tyra Banks’ famous (and timeless) “kiss my fat ass” video. It is the kind of content we need as constant inspiration.

Okay, now that we’ve got that straight, back to Camila.

Another Twitter user, @sugaxfg, tried to clap back with the below:

https://twitter.com/sugaxfg/status/1401090073253326848

But even in their defence, the user said “being a little overweight is normal.”

We need to get something straight. These are not photos of an overweight young woman at the beach.

These are photos of a young woman, wearing a bikini and relaxing at the beach. That is all they are. Her gorgeous curls are blowing in the breeze, she is make-up and airbrush free — she is living her best life.

Thankfully, before I had a chance to really lose my cool, other Twitter-users defended her.

“A woman’s body is the most pure form of art,” one user wrote.

There is nothing more sexy than a woman confident in her own skin & embracing her natural beauty. Camila teaches us that self-love comes from being authentically you & that a woman's body is the most pure form of art. @Camila_Cabello #bodyconfidence pic.twitter.com/p1BLPc3q5i

— RLorde (@RLorde1) May 30, 2021

Meanwhile, other users said they were “overjoyed” to see Camila’s beach body, expressing that they didn’t know why people feel the urge to comment on someone else’s body.

I wish Camila Cabello knew just how overjoyed I am to see her beach body so proud of her 🥺❤️

— ✨tata mic and ting ting ball enthusiast🌿 (@AFreak13) June 5, 2021

https://twitter.com/effortlesselle/status/1400841343845343238

Camila even responded through her Instagram stories, saying “thank u for the love yesterday and today, love y’all”, referring to all her fans and Twitter-users that fought back on the body shaming on her behalf.

https://twitter.com/autumnmendes3/status/1400869140102107141

But this isn’t just about Camila Cabello. This is about how we still see women as only being able to fit into that one stereotype of attractive: with an unrealistic body type that actually doesn’t often mean healthy and happy.

We need to continue to remove these damaging beauty standards and speak out against them in any way we can. I’ve learnt to love my cellulite and it’s incredible that we have celebrities today that aren’t afraid to exist in their natural bodies.

We love you Camila.