This is just one of many times Nicola has asked people to stop, in one Twitter thread she wrote “Every time I’m asked about my body in an interview it makes me deeply uncomfortable and so sad I’m not just allowed to just talk about the job I do that I so love.” Adding that “It’s so reductive to women when we’re making great strides for diversity in the arts, but questions like that just pull us backwards.”
Jorja Smith has been subject to a barrage of abuse lately, since the video for her new single ‘Little Things’ dropped. This slew of hate has come despite her pleas. Speaking to model and activist Adwoa Aboah in 2019, for ELLE UK, the singer revealed that she no longer reads comments from her followers after receiving body-shaming messages claiming that she looks “pregnant.”
Pascal Le Segretain
Nicola’s pleas struck a cord with me. Sometimes, I imagine a life where I don’t think about my body. A life where there isn’t a constant chorus accompanying us, telling women we’re too big, too small, too broad, too curvy, too natural, too fake, too little, too much. And much like Nicola, I simply don’t want to hear any thoughts on my body.
At some point during my career, it feels like my body has become fair game to comment on. Men who don’t like my opinions will take to my DMs to tell me what they think of it (how attractive I am to them, what they would do to me, what parts of my body are or aren’t to their taste), sexualising me and violating my privacy. Women who like my opinions will also take to my DMs to compliment my body (more times than not it’s sincere and nice, sometimes it’s backhanded). From “your curves are sexy” to “did you gain weight?” and “did you lose weight?”- I’ve heard it all, and it all makes me feel uncomfortable.