By Shruti Sunderraman
The internet can be a dark, dark place for women. Tackling online misogyny on a daily basis is a task onto itself. But when a Twitter account fat-shamed comedian and All India Bakchod (AIB) writer Supriya Joshi, she decided to use the opportunity to school her trolls on this subject with a series of tweets.
The meme she was tagged on aimed to take a dig at fat women with the theme ‘when you meet a fatty family’ in which Joshi was depicted as ‘your girlfriend’, TV actress Dolly Bindra was called ‘your girlfriend’s mother’, TV show host and comedian Bharti Singh was labeled ‘your girlfriend’s elder sister’ and AIB founder and comedian Tanmay Bhat was called ‘your girlfriend’s younger brother’. While the meme onto itself is a cringefest, Joshi, instead of letting it slide, decided to call out on this ridiculous practice as a lesson to all trolls.
Hi guys, want to take a quick moment to address these memes I have been getting tagged on recently. https://t.co/nBGBouCTOC
— Supriya (@supaarwoman) July 10, 2017
She highlights how fat women have always been the punchline for jokes. This especially comes out in Bollywood movies where the “fat saheli” is always the comic relief to the lead actress; perpetually the joke and perpetually undatable.
Joshi then talks about the treatment fat women have received in media. “Media has dictated that a body like mine is not a normal body, therefore it is hideous and demands to be made fun of,” she says. “Because that’s what you do with things you don’t understand – you either respond with hate, or you respond by making fun of them.”
She also underline the misogyny of how being a woman has led her to face more size-shaming in comparison to men. Joshi chose to call a spade a spade with this tweet:
Calling me fat is not funny, you’re literally telling me what I look like. I have a mirror. I see it every day and love who I’m seeing in it
— Supriya (@supaarwoman) July 10, 2017
A lot of Twitter users came out to her in solidarity. Stand-up comic Vir Das also expressed his support.
Hey Supriya. We’ve never met, but I’m a fan. This thread is incredible and everyone needs to read it! https://t.co/CjhXLTD0Mg
— Vir Das (@thevirdas) July 11, 2017
She lays emphasis on the need to normalise body types by urging women of all sizes, to put themselves out there; to not be diminished by the societal body standards. She certainly led through example by speaking up about her experience.
But I will not shut up. I will still put myself out there. Because if I shut up and hide, I will let the haters win.
— Supriya (@supaarwoman) July 10, 2017
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