Being a young lady today sometimes feels like walking around with your body on display for public debate. From our own aunties ,online trolls, neighbors to even makangas on matatus, everyone suddenly thinks they’re a certified body analyst.
If you’re chubby, it’s madam uko na weight, enda gym. If you’re slim, it’s “weeh, kula kidogo utaisha.” Apparently, nobody is ever safe, our bodies are an open mic session for unsolicited comments.
For plus size and chubby girls especially, the pressure is louder. Social media doesn’t make it easier. Scroll through Instagram or TikTok and the “perfect body” is shoved in your face, snatched waist, flat tummy, flawless skin.
The reality? Most of those “perfect” bodies are a cocktail of filters, angles, and apps working overtime. But here we are, internalizing the lie and struggling to shrink ourselves into shapes that were never real in the first place.
What hurts more is that even offline, society makes chubbiness seem like a crime. People you didn’t ask for advice suddenly become dieticians: “Stop eating at night,” “try dieting” “you know there is a gym?” Yet nobody pauses to ask, what if this girl is comfortable in her body? What if she’s not trying to “fix” anything? The constant pressure to conform ends up creating insecurity where there was none.
And then comes the fashion police. Society has this unspoken rulebook that certain outfits are not for your body type. Crop tops? Reserved for flat tummies. Bodycon dresses? For hourglass shapes only. Short shorts? Only if your thighs meet someone’s idea of acceptable.
Meanwhile, clothes don’t come with body size restrictions at the shop it’s the people who’ve turned dressing into a battlefield. A plus-size girl in a crop top is suddenly ”too bold” while the same outfit on a slim girl is “cute.”
It gets tiring. Young women end up shrinking their personalities along with their wardrobes. They avoid bright colors, skip swimming trips, and delete photos that don’t hide their curves. Imagine not living fully because the world has decided your body should come with a disclaimer.
Humorously, it’s almost like everyone else is more obsessed with your body than you are. You’re just trying to enjoy your smocha or ice cream in peace, but someone is there calculating calories on your behalf.
Makangas will even roast you on a morning commute, by the time you reach town, your self-esteem has been dented more than the matatu’s bumper.
But beneath the jokes is real pain. Many young women are fighting silent battles with body image, eating disorders, and mental health struggles.
Instead of being offered grace and support, they’re drowned in shame. The same society that claims “love yourself” is the one pointing fingers, creating a vicious cycle of self-doubt. Some of us are learning self-acceptance slowly, but society keeps pulling the rug under our feet.
Here’s the truth: bodies are different, and they always will be. Some women are naturally slim, some naturally chubby, some gain weight easily, some don’t and all those bodies are valid.
Clothes are for wearing, not for society’s permission slips. And while advice on health can be important, it should never come wrapped in shame. Because at the end of the day, the biggest weight young women carry is not on their bodies it’s in their hearts, from words that were never theirs to bear.
