Does the Body Positivity movement have disadvantages?

Throughout history, the type of body considered socially accepted has been changing, especially for women. It has gone through curvilinear and thick silhouettes, later on voluptuous women were idealized, and in recent years, that figure called "hourglass" is sought. Therefore, it is clear that women have been adapting to the social image of the female gender typical of each era, in many cases at the expense of their physical and mental health.

In response to the almost unattainable standards of beauty that have been established in recent decades, at the end of In the 2000s, a new movement called Body Positive appeared, aimed at defending beauty in all sizes. Since then, there are many people who defend this position, since they intend to change the conception of beauty in the world and thus fight against Fatphobia, or rejection of fat bodies. However, there is another part of the population that does not fully agree with this movement for various reasons that we will see later.

In today's article,

We will talk about Body Positivity, what it is, how it came about, and we will focus on the advantages and disadvantages. you have and why. Is it getting toxic? Does it promote obesity? Does it create eating disorders? Stay to discover the answers to these and more questions and thus generate your own opinion about the movement that has had such an impact.

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What is Body Positivity?

It is a movement that bets on the acceptance of the body, celebrating bodies of all sizes. Female empowerment and self-love are its main ingredients, thus achieving a vision of the physical body, regardless of its shape, size, or other attributes related to the appearance. It involves loving the body for what it is, even if it is not perfect by society's standards.

How did it come about?

In the 1960s, a rebellion broke out against the way plus-size women were portrayed. The goal was to break the link between weight and personal worth, reinforcing that all bodies deserve dignity, respect, and fair treatment, regardless of their shape and size. Thus, the movement sought changes in schools, workplaces, and advertising.

• You may be interested in: "The 16 types of discrimination (and their causes)"

Advantages of the Body Positive movement

Diversity. It is important that people can identify with a group, and this can only be achieved through diversity. We are social beings, we need to generate a sense of belonging. It is crucial to identify with others like us to avoid feeling like weirdos, accept who we are and thus create a much more positive bond with both oneself and the environment.

Help prevent bullying

Society tends to reject people who are far from what we consider "ideal". Thanks to Body Positive, respect for differences and imperfections is promoted, without the need to attack or reject someone for not meeting social standards.

• Related article: "The 5 types of bullying or bullying"

Improvement of self-esteem and self-concept

By following this movement, you put aside all those reasons to feel attacked, rejected or as if something is wrong with you. It is accepted that everyone is as they are, and even, it's okay to be.

Helps to understand that it is just a body

Understanding that people are much more than a body, than a scar, than a prosthesis, than acne, than a body, makes us feel full without reducing your worth to just that. Physical characteristics do not determine who you are, nor how much you are worth.

It allows to visualize

It is important give a voice to people who have been forgotten or marginalized by society due to their body composition. This does not mean that obesity is being promoted, but that regardless of how they look, they have the right to have access to clothes of their size and fashion, to a place in society, etc.

Disadvantages of the Body Positive movement

Among the negative aspects that this social phenomenon can give rise to, the following should be highlighted.

Overweight

A part of the population considers that promoting acceptance is normalizing overweight or obesity. Unhealthy eating habits are sometimes encouraged among the population.

Focus on appearance

The movement focuses solely on appearance. The members of the movement fight for all bodies to be socially accepted and for there not to be a strict and immovable canon of beauty; nevertheless, They don't look at what's behind all this. This movement is criticized for not focusing on self-esteem, self-love, self-worth, etc. After all, it is very difficult to feel good about yourself if you don't work on the most psychological part of all this.

There is a lack of representation

Although diversity is one of the values ​​of the Body Positivity movement, in practice, it seems to have trouble defending it. For example, a recent study on body positive posts on the TikTok social network has revealed that most of this content revolves around the beauty ideals of the West.

In conclusion…

The ideal would be the combination between body positive and body neutrality, since body neutrality is based on accept the body as it is and appreciate it for what it can do for you, not so much for the aesthetics but for the functionality. Our bodies and ourselves are constantly changing, which means that some days we will love ourselves for who we are, while other days self-love may seem like too much to ask. By incorporating both body positivity and body neutrality into our lives, we can select the approach that is most in line with our thinking on any given day.