Yesterday, a photo of what looked to be Barry’s new suit for season 5 of CW’s The Flash was leaked online. The picture appeared to be from a costume test and showed a more comics-accurate suit than Barry’s had in the past, with no leather and no chin strap. A lot of fans, though, weren’t focused on that and instead chose to publically criticize the way actor Grant Gustin looks in the suit, apparently forgetting or not caring that sharing thoughts on Twitter or Instagram is the equivalent of using your outside voice. People can hear you, including the person you’re talking about.
Gustin took to Instagram to respond to those criticizing and mocking him for the way they think his slim frame looks in the new suit–in a “bullshit” leaked photo he didn’t even know was being taken, of a version of the suit that, as he describes, isn’t even final anyway.
“As far as the body shaming,” he writes. “That’s what pisses me off. Not even just for my sake. I’ve had 20+ years of kids and adults telling me or my parents I was too thin. I’ve had my own journey of accepting it. But there’s a double standard where it’s ok to talk shit about a dudes body.”
Gustin doesn’t owe anyone an explanation for why his body is the way that he is, but he goes on to write, “I do my best to stay in shape and add as much size as I can throughout these seasons. I’m naturally thin, and my appetite is greatly affected by stress. Stress is something that ebbs and flows for me throughout a season. Thus, gaining weight is a challenge for me.”
Gustin’s right about that double standard. Men, in general, may not have the exact same relationship with a lifelong public scrutiny of their bodies and impossible beauty standards that women have pretty much from birth, but that doesn’t mean that these types of comments hurt them any less. Criticizing men’s looks isn’t more acceptable than it is when people do it to women, just as body-shaming someone for being too thin isn’t more acceptable than body-shaming for being fat–another double standard that exists.
People’s bodies—even celebrities’ bodies—existing in public spaces do not come with inherent permission for others to comment on them. And as Gustin notes, this isn’t just about him.
“I’m happy with my body and who I am,” he writes, “and other kids who are built like me and thinner than me should be able to feel the same way. Not only that, but they should be able to feel like THEY could be a superhero on tv or film or whatever it may be someday.”
(image: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
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