when i was in 5th grade a guy pointed out a mole on my arm that had dark hair growing from it and said it was gross and ugly
i plucked the hair from that mole for over 6 years
in high school a guy pointed out how noticeable the gums were in a friend of mine’s smile
she still hates her smile and the size of her month
another friend got made fun of for the high pitch squeakiness of her voice
she hated her voice for so long and went through too many identity crises to count, trying to match the image her voice gave off an trying to be the complete opposite, this back and forth made her really insecure and she stayed in the closet far longer than she had figured her sexuality out herself
one comment alone can’t completely destroy someone’s whole self-image but people’s words stick with you, it can make you self conscience of something you never even noticed before, i’ve had plenty of talks with people about one comment that had stuck with them for years, that they still remember the memory as clear as if it had happened yesterday, and it still affects how they see themselves