The Body Positive Movement

Woman have a tendency to compare their bodies with top models and never be satisfied with their own. Nowadays, the ideal feminine body/beauty is Victoria Secret or Kylie Jenner. The reason why so many people hate their bodies, was taught to us young. Standardized society wants girls to be tall, and skinny in order to be and attractive. This is what was taught to us since to youngest age. Who was the stupid macho who invented this? Of course, a woman is beautiful in any size, as long as they feel good in their skin.

The Body Positive is a social movement that was created by Connie Sobczak and Elizabeth Scott in 1996 in favor of the acceptance and appreciation of all types of human bodies. They conceived the body positive movement as “a living and therapeutic community which releases suffocating social messages keeping people in a perpetual struggle against their bodies”. It promotes diversity and self-esteem by arguing that beauty is a social construct that depends on cultures and challenges stereotypes and normative definitions shared by the media.

This movement was created in the United States which has greatly spread since then thanks to social media and more in particular, Instagram. More and more woman felt concerned and joined body positive groups on Facebook and twitter. The movement is mainly supported by activists and people who believe in the acceptance of their bodies. Obese people have the right to feel good in their skin and they should! Social Media has a huge effect on young woman’s body image, because when we scroll in our Instagram feed, seeing only pretty skinny girls in their swimsuits, it persuades us that it is the standard body to have. This is why Body Positive is showing more diversity in bodies in order to break the typical image of beauty and make the feminine body beautiful as it is. Self-perception is what matters. There is even a famous slogan that states: “The more diversity is displayed…the more it will be celebrated”.

Many hashtags have been made such as #allbodiesaregoodbodies, #youareworthy or even, #instacurves to allow the community to discover the clichés that have been made. The body positive movement has grown, and it is now within everyone’s reach to show their desire to belong to an uninhibited generation. With the power of Social Media, it reunited people with interest and concerns in common. In this case, loving your body no matter what and being proud of yourself. As Ericka Hart states: “It is not because we are fat that we do not have the right to be loved!”

Check this Facebook group about the Body positive Movement out : https://www.facebook.com/bodyimagemovement/

By Alexia Driol