The pressure to fit into narrow definitions of beauty often begins at an early age, affecting how many young girls see themselves and the choices they make - even in activities they once loved. Ananya Panday, who is seen as a confident Gen-Z icon, recently opened up about how body shaming and critical remarks about her looks once deeply affected her growing up. Speaking on an episode of In The Ring With Filmfare, Ananya recalled how confident and outgoing she was as a child - until comments about her body began to creep in. “From like 3 to like 10, I was very. I would be that one at a birthday party who knew all the footsteps and how I am now, I was like that from 3 to 10, very confident, very chatty and all of that,” she shared. But everything shifted in her teenage years. “I would just kind of. even if my friends and I were doing a dance performance in school, I would always be like, 'Can I stand behind?' And I would never audition to be like the main. I would always kind of prefer to take the, you know, a back position of that sort.” She admitted that even as a debuting actor, the struggles didn’t go away instantly: “It took me time. I'm not even saying as soon as I became an actor, that went away. Even in my first film, I really struggled with my body. not thin enough. today I'm more comfortable, but it did take me in my first two films also.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ananya 🌙 (@ananyapanday) How can body shaming lead to social withdrawal in adolescents, and what are the long-term effects? Sonal Khangarot, licensed rehabilitation counsellor and psychotherapist, The Answer Room, tells indianexpress.com, “As a psychologist, I’ve seen how body shaming during adolescence - when identity and self-worth are still forming can deeply wound a young person’s confidence. For someone like Ananya, avoiding auditions or hiding during performances reflects the internalised shame and fear of judgment. Sometimes social withdrawal becomes a defense mechanism to escape scrutiny.” Over time, she adds that this can lead to chronic low self-esteem, anxiety, disordered eating, and difficulty asserting oneself in relationships or professional spaces. Adolescents start shrinking their presence in the world, believing they’re ‘not enough,’ unless actively supported to rebuild their self-image and safely reconnect with their sense of self and visibility. Why is it that even people who seem successful or conventionally attractive continue to struggle with body image? According to Khangarot, even those who seem successful or conventionally attractive, like Ananya, can struggle with body image because it’s less about how one looks and more about how one ‘feels’ about how they look. “As a psychologist, I’ve seen that constant external scrutiny - especially in high-pressure industries - fuels internal self-doubt. When worth is tied to appearance, even the slightest flaw can feel magnified. Social comparison, perfectionism, and internalised beauty standards create a relentless loop of inadequacy. So, despite external validation, the internal narrative remains harsh - because true body acceptance comes from self-compassion and autonomy, not applause or approval.”
