AES46 Body Positivity

So what is body positivity? Body positivity refers to the assertion that all people deserve to have a positive body image, regardless of how society and popular culture view ideal shape, size, and appearance. Body positivity is not just about challenging how society views people based upon their physical size and shape, however. It also recognizes that judgments are often made based on race, gender, sexuality, and disability. 

Some of the goals of the body positivity movement include challenging how society views the body, promoting the acceptance of all bodies, helping people build confidence and acceptance of their bodies, and addressing unrealistic beauty standards. Body positivity also aims to help people understand how popular media messages contribute to the relationship that people have with their bodies, including how they feel about food, exercise, clothing, health, identity, and self-care.

Some people may think that body positivity is part of toxic positivity. If you don’t know what toxic positivity is, it’s the excessive and ineffective overgeneralization of a happy, optimistic state across all situations. Because people assume that by being body positive we are somehow encouraging people to be obese or to be unhealthy and not doing anything about it. 

First of all, we can’t judge someone’s health by the way they look. I know many people that have amazing bodies, the type of body that is the beauty standard but they don’t have a healthy lifestyle. On the other hand, I know people that have bigger bodies that actually work out and they eat healthily, so you can’t make one definition of what does a healthy body looks like. And If you care about someone’s health, that has to be both their physical and mental health. So, hating on people for the way they look, isn’t gonna help them to build a healthy life. 

The body positivity movement has personally helped me. I also struggled with my body image, I thought just because Im not thin that means I will never fit into what people call beauty. I felt so bad about just bloating, about how my belly looked. I prioritized how I looked more than the daily nutrisions that I need. But now I see many girls on the internet promoting body positivity and now I actually feel confident in my own body. Because now I know that my body doesn’t determent my worth as a human being. 

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