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The body positivity movement is based on the premise that ALL bodies are valuable and beautiful. This movement helps alleviate some of the negative effects of social media. It provides users with more variety of body types that differ from the "usual" body type shown in the media. But it is important to be skeptical and critical when dealing with a social media movement.
As an important note, the movement still has a ways to go and there are many concerns and critiques of the movement such as the narrowness of the movement, the focus on beauty as value, and the commercialization and co-opt of the movement by mainstream corporations. Currently, the movement is mainly focused on weight and needs to expand its focus to include other forms of body positivity rhetoric. This movement is mostly focused on cisgender able-bodied women.
As poet and body positive activist Sonya Renee Taylor says, “As long as there is a movement that is only positive for some bodies, it’s not body positive...” The body positivity movement struggles to truly expand its rhetoric to actually include all body types. Yes they have expanded to a variety of body types over just one type but, that the types of bodies chosen to represent this movement are generally only slight variations of what was originally portrayed to the people. It is not actually inclusive even though it brands itself as such.
Another major critic of the body positivity movement is that it still equates beauty with value. Within our society, which is structured as a patriarchy, women’s value has been complexly entwined with beauty. Women are valued by how beautiful they are in the male gaze. But is this really the only way women should be considered valuable? While men deal with some of this they have more options to equate themselves with value such as success in their careers or financially or in what power they hold. Simply put while beauty is an aspect of a man’s value in society it is not the only way he is valuable. The body positivity movement is a great way to expand the definition of beauty however, beauty is not and should not be the only way to be considered valuable.
The last major critic on the movement is that it has been co-opted by major corporations like Dove and Victoria Secret to advertise and sell products. These companies are still telling people what beauty is and how their products or services provide people with the ability to be their brand of beautiful. The only difference in how companies sell their products or service from before the movement to after the movement is that they have just simply attempted to add slight variety to their target consumers.
Companies are using the body positivity movement to manipulate consumers, in particular women, into buying their products. While they have advertisements saying “You’re beautiful the way you are!” What they are really telling consumers is “You’re beautiful if you use our product.” If you look at the photo comparing Dove and Victoria Secret's ad campaigns it is abundantly obvious that Dove has a more diverse group of women. However, even Dove only shows the slight variations I discussed earlier and is not actually very inclusive at all. Right now the internet is full of articles criticizing the body positivity movement and an outcry for the movement to grow and develop into what it is meant to be.
As a woman with a body that has not ever fit the traditional model mold body and never will, the body positivity movement is a breath of fresh air. Being aware and mindful of the movement and its need for growth does not mean that the movement is not helpful or important. It is a start towards creating a more accepting and loving society. The body positivity movement is helping so many people accept their bodies and focus on their wellbeing especially adolescents. The body positivity movement has allowed women the opportunity to redefine femininity, helps individuals with chronic illnesses to embrace and accept themselves, and has inspired a shift in ethical photoshopping.
When it comes to the definition of femininity our culture defines it as demure, but risque, thin, but with curves, and delicate,soft, and flawless. Women in the body positive movement have challenged the old definition of femininity and expanded it. Femininity that includes stretch marks, fat rolls, cellulite, varying waist, hip, and bust sizes, varying heights and weights, all skin tones, large muscles, etc. In this way, femininity is not defined as a set adjectives, but as what ever a women looks like whoever she happens to be.
Another way the body positive movement has had a positive effect is in individuals with chronic illnesses. Now when I say chronic illnesses I do not necessarily mean those who are healthy but have an impairment or disability. I am talking about people with arthritis, lupus, diabetes, Lyme disease, or fibromyalgia (which I actually have myself). Illnesses that effect an individuals relationship with their body because it leaves them in pain or unhealthy. As I mentioned, I have fibromyalgia, I am in constant pain every second of my life, even in my dreams. I have struggled with accepting my body as my own because of this battle I face. But the body positivity movement provides individuals with these illnesses a different way to understand our bodies. For example, in the body positivity movement there is a push to shift speech from say, "I am fat" to "I have fat". This shift is because having fat does not mean that is all of who you or your body is. It is this that helps those with chronic illnesses say "I have fibromyalgia AND I can love my body" because your illness is also not all that you are just a part of who you are.
The last positive effect of the body positivity movement I am going to discuss is how the movement has encouraged the use of ethical photoshopping by companies. Ethical photoshopping is when companies retouch photos in a way that maintains the authenticity of the person. It is also the practice of labeling photos that have been retouched for photoshopped so viewers of the photos are reminded that it is not an accurate portrayal. Some companies like Target have decided to not use photoshop at all in some of their campaigns. Celebrities have had a hand in helping this movement along by posting on social media both versions of their pictures to show fans and viewer how much was changed. Some celebrities have also requested and or refused to have their photos retouched like Zendaya. This shift towards more natural photos being spread across social media help ease the negative effects.
I know this post has been on the longer side but I appreciate my readers taking the time to engage with the material. Be skeptical, be mindful, and Be Yourself. Till next time, xoxo.