Doctor has important warning for anyone talking about ‘burger nipples’ as she makes plea to public
First things first: can we all agree that we're all sick to death of all these ridiculous terms people have come to use over the years to dissect and describe peoples' bodies?
Phrases like 'bingo wings', 'chicken legs' and 'burger nipples' are beyond derogatory and, by now, I'm sure we're pretty fed up of hearing them.
So, to find out a little bit more about the issue, we spoke to a doctor who has shared an important warning for anyone talking about the latter term in a plea to the public.
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Now, we know that every single person's body is different in its own beautiful way - and that goes for breasts too!
Nipples are hugely unique and vary in size, shape and colour plus they can also change - for example in pregnancy - when they often become larger and darker in colour.
And even though this is all natural, some trolls still feel the need to refer to an extremely normal bodily feature in a super pejorative way.
Dr Claire Merrifield, GP and medical director at Selph tells Tyla that 'burger nipples' is a derogatory term referring to breasts which have a large dark areola, resembling a 'burger' on the tip of the breast.
"This is a misnomer as the term refers to the areola, the dark skin that surround the nipple, rather than the nipple itself which protrudes out of the breast," she points out.
Explaining that the phrase is by no means a medical term, Dr Merrifield assures there is no need to worry about the appearance of your nipples.
She tells Tyla: "The size, shape and colour of nipples and areola vary hugely among people and even in the same person at different times of life.
"During pregnancy the nipples naturally darken and become larger and they will typically lighten and shrink after pregnancy."
Additionally, people can also have the exact same size nipple and areola, but the size of the breast will influence how large they appear.
"There is nothing wrong with this and we shouldn’t be labelling people with nasty terms due to normal variation in appearance," the doctor outlines.
Preach.
The term 'burger nipples' is 'terrible' for the body positivity movement," Dr Merrifield continues.
"It’s a horrible thing to say about anyone, and although some people may find it amusing, the damage it could do to women’s self-esteem is appalling," she warns.
Dr Merrifield carried on: "I don’t see why we need a term to describe the size of other people’s nipples.
"The only thing this kind of comment elicits is shame and worry for the people who are being told there is something 'wrong' with their perfectly normal healthy bodies."
And for the people who use such language, she outlines that what may seem like a 'throw-away statement' can lead to a 'lifetime of feeling insecure and maybe even resorting to unnecessary surgery to correct something that was never a problem in the first place'.
"To the people who use this kind of derogatory terminology, I would ask you to consider how you would feel if someone said this to your mother or your child," Dr Merrifield urges.
And to anyone worried about the size of their nipples?
The doctor assures: "Please don’t be.
"Beautiful people come in all shapes and sizes. Speak to someone who you can trust if it is bothering you or make an appointment to see your GP if you are feeling very worried about it."
Topics: Health, Life, Mental Health, Advice
Rhiannon Ingle