“Orphan Black” star Tatiana Maslany just said all the right things about body shaming culture

Tatiana Maslany is speaking from experience: For all the positivity that exists in the world, there’s a significant amount of negativity — especially in the form of body shaming. It just seems so petty, and downright cruel, to criticize someone for their body type, which of course they have no control over!

Nevertheless it happens, but the good news is that there are people like Tatiana Maslany, star of Orphan Black, who emit all the positive vibes, and offer reminders that talking about other people’s bodies is unnecessary.

The actress recently talked to Elle about her perspective on body shaming, admitting that she’ll never ever understand why people think it’s their business to comment on other people’s bodies. She put forward the idea that bodies hold a lot of power, and perhaps people are afraid of it. “I think that’s why people can try to shame them so easily, because they are so powerful.”

Maslany spoke about going to the Korean day spa in LA, where women freely walk around nude. “I’ve never felt so in love with the human form as when I’m walking around and seeing all those bodies, thinking, ‘Oh my god, we’re all just built so differently.’ And every single body is beautiful.” Of course, she’s absolutely right, and the more people who subscribe to that truth, the better.

She went on to discuss the way women are constantly objectified, but how sexuality is about so much more than breasts or other features. “It’s the way I say ‘hello’ to somebody, the way I sit with somebody.”

Maslany also recognized that body shaming extends to men, who are not immune to feeling insecure about their bodies. She referenced the recent film, The Overnight, as it acknowledged the fact that body shame is a thing that everyone struggles with from time to time. That’s a perspective we aren’t often privy to in this society where men are supposed to be the strong, silent types. “But so many of my guy friends struggle with the same things we do as women,” Maslany explains.

At the end of the day we are all human, and we all have feelings that can be hurt by careless remarks. Body shaming is, indeed, completely and utterly unnecessary.