Earlier this week Victoria’s Secret model Bridget Malcolm posted a picture of herself wearing a bikini on Instagram. What followed was a series of comments criticising her weight. “Wayyyyy to thin at least other models have more meat” wrote one; “Is she anorexic or something?” asked another, and “Bones”, wrote another.

Yesterday Malcolm responded to these comments, saying, “Can we STOP with the skinny shaming please? I am extremely fit and healthy and am not in the slightest way anorexic. I have worked hard to look like this and am proud of my body.”

“I may not be the curviest but I am a woman who has every right to look the way I do,” she continues. “Maybe today take a look inside yourself and wonder why you feel the need to shame strangers over the internet about their bodies.”

Malcolm is the latest in a series of models and public figures to call out body shamers – from Charli Howard who was ditched by her agency (despite being a size 6-8) to Gigi Hadid who faced similar criticism for her size during Milan Fashion Week. In these instances however, both parties were “shamed” for being over, not underweight.

So is skinny shaming a thing when fashion and Western society at large perpetuates the beauty ideal of a tall, slender woman? Do women like Malcolm, who conform so easily to this ideal, have a right to complain when they are criticised for the way they look? Is it perhaps equivocal to a white person complaining about reverse racism?

Many would argue that skinny shaming is null and void. Tall, slender white women can open a fashion magazine, go to the cinema or watch TV and see themselves represented and celebrated – a privilege a relatively small proportion of the female population can enjoy. Theirs is a beauty celebrated in our society and, because of the way that Western culture is spread across the rest of the world, in other societies too.

Because of this privilege, there is a certain double standard when it comes to the way we talk about people’s bodyweight. While it is socially unacceptable to advise an overweight person on their eating habits, telling a skinny person to eat more is fine. It’s similarly unacceptable to make a comment like “You’re so fat!” and yet “You’re so skinny” is again fine. 

Ultimately however, no-one deserves to be put to shame on account of their body type, regardless of whether theirs is one celebrated by our culture or not. Some people are naturally skinny, others struggle with eating disorders – in either case, pointing out the fact is unlikely to be beneficial. As Malcolm rightly asserts, “I am a woman who has every right to look the way I do.”