A 19-year-old model asked strangers to write body-shaming comments on her bare skin to raise awareness of how these hurtful messages negatively impact mental health.
Ainoa Cerdeira Gonzalez, a freshman at Parsons School of Design in New York City, was thinking about her final project for her Mental Health by Design class when she came up with the idea for her short film, Be Ashamed of Body-Shame.
“I thought it’s going to be very difficult to do because I’m struggling with my body image,” she told Yahoo Life of her decision to use her body as a canvas. “But at the same time I thought to myself, it becomes so powerful when I let other people express themselves on my body about their bodies.”
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Ainoa Cerdeira Gonzalez, 19, asked people to write body-shaming comments they’d received about their bodies to raise awareness of the negative impact of these messages on mental health
The freshman at Parsons School of Design in New York City was filmed standing in Washington Square Park in a bandeau top and shorts, holding up her sign
One woman after another came up to them and wrote the cruel things they had been told on their skin with a black marker
Cerdeira Gonzalez was filmed standing in Washington Square Park in a bandeau top and shorts, holding up a sign that read, “College girls: If you were ever physically shamed, what were you told?” Feel free to write it on my body!’
One woman after another came up to them and wrote the cruel things they had been told on their skin with a black marker.
“Try not to gain weight,” one person wrote on their stomach.
“You’re not sexy enough to model,” another scribbled on her thigh.
“You should gain some weight. You look ill,’ added another.
Cerdeira Gonzalez decided to let young men join in after a guy approached her and said, “You know, we get shamed too.”
“Pick up and you’ll find a friend,” one person wrote, while another doodled on her leg, “Are you eating?”
Cerdeira Gonzalez was thinking about her final project for her Mental Health by Design class when the idea came to her
Cerdeira Gonzalez, who spent three hours at the park, told Yahoo Life that she decided to include young men in it after a guy approached her and said, “You know, we get physically shamed too.”
When she hid the part of her sign that said “College Girls,” more and more men joined her project.
“It was very impressive to see that it’s not just the girls,” she said. “Sometimes on social media it seems like only the girls get body shamed, but in reality that’s not the case. It applies to both sexes.”
Some people hugged her and thanked her for what she did. At one point she was so overwhelmed with emotions that she started crying.
Her short film Be Shamed of Body-Shame saw people hugging her and thanking her for her project
A number of people praised her efforts, but there were some critics who wrongly assumed she had never been physically shamed for being a model
Cerdeira Gonzalez told Yahoo Life that she struggled with body shaming and said people had told her she looked “anorexic” and was “flat as a table”.
Cerdeira Gonzalez received more attention for her project after photographer and fashion editor Scott Schuman, known on social media as “The Sartorialist,” shared photos of her holding her sign with his 1.1 million Instagram followers .
“The school project in Washington Square Park, New York City,” he captioned the street photography post, which has garnered more than 8,600 likes.
A number of commentators praised her efforts, but there were some critics who incorrectly assumed she had never been physically shamed for being a model.
Cerdeira Gonzalez told Yahoo Life that she has struggled with body shaming in the past and said people would say things to her like “You look anorexic” or “You’re as flat as a table.”
“I’ve been physically shamed by people from my personal life…my family members, closest friends, even my ex-boyfriend,” she explained. “It really impacted me in such a way that I feel like I have a very unhealthy relationship with food.”