New student club tackles body shaming

New student club tackles body shaming

A new student club at RMIT Vietnam’s Hanoi City campus is making waves with its first initiative, a community project to raise awareness about body shaming.

The Social Waves club, founded by enthusiastic RMIT Vietnam students who want to make the world a better place, seeks to build capacity amongst its members to address social issues.

“The club’s vision is to help young people develop relevant knowledge and skills so that they can support the good causes they care about,” said Ta Huong Linh, a Bachelor of Communication (Professional Communication) student and one of the club’s key members.

Their first initiative, a not-for-profit project dubbed When I am 19, deals with body shaming among young people, especially girls.

Through social media, online news channels, and a strong network of ambassadors, the project looks at the different aspects of body shaming including the psychological pain it inflicts.

Key members of Social Waves attend Club Day at Hanoi City campus. Key members of Social Waves attend Club Day at Hanoi City campus.

“Jokes about other people’s bodies can hurt a lot,” said Do Ha Anh, one of the project ambassadors.

“When they become victims of body shaming, many young people cannot share their feelings with their family and friends, as they feel that others don’t understand and take the situation seriously.”

The project also sends out positive messages through inspiring stories of young women who fight against body shaming and learn to love their bodies.

One such story is of Nhu Huong Tra, also a Bachelor of Communication (Professional Communication) student and When I am 19 ambassador. Tra overcame insecurities after a traffic accident left her with scars, and her inspiring story has received attention from the media and the community.

In the next phase of the project, the club plans to offer tools to tackle body shaming through workshops hosted by experts on self-love and personal development. Social Waves also hopes to expand its impact to high school students, a group often affected by body shaming.

Story: Phuong Le

13 March 2017

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