Does Size Really Matter? The Body Positivity Movement is Not Just About Size
The modern world revolves around mirrors. In 2012, the average person looked in the mirror at themself around eight times per day (Smolinski, 2012). As social beings, we are constantly obsessed with our body image, whether that is self-perception or the perception of others. We have an obsessive tendency to analyze every little detail of our bodies, picking at things from the way our hair falls to the way we produce “rolls” when we hunch over. Allyson Ford, an Eating Disorder, OCD, and anxiety therapist, says “We all have a personal ‘body image story,’ you weren’t born hating your body.” She’s right! How did we learn to become so nit-picky and judgemental of our bodies?
It starts with the media. Whatever we are seeing, we internalize. We are surrounded by these images that reinforce unrealistic and harmful cultural norms and expectations. Specifically, the media constantly reinforces the “thin ideal,” the concept that thin is the only shape of beauty. We are taught that we should strive to look like skinny-looking celebrities advertised on billboards and in commercials. These images of celebrities are unattainable goals for our bodies, as they are photoshopped until the realistic human figure is unrecognizable. Ford states that the media, “has been a major factor in influencing body image distress, distortion, and disordered eating in Westernized cultures for decades.” This is the problem that sparked the original body positivity movement focusing on reclaiming power and bodily autonomy by reclaiming physical size.
This movement attempts to challenge the cultural norms regarding body size and discourage destructive behaviors that are prompted by unrealistic celebrity images in the media, such as eating disorders. The belief of this movement is that all body sizes are and, should be considered, beautiful. It is necessary for there to be healthier conversations revolving around body size that challenge the “thin ideal.”
However, there is still this underlying destructive line of thinking that reinforces the idea that we will be happier and more in control of our lives if we can control our body size.” However, while this seemed to be a good thing, this movement encouraged harmful restrictive dieting and over-exercising regimes. While the body positivity movement was a step closer to healthier body image talk, it was still promoting the view that the way to be beautiful is to be thin. Are we really “body positive” if we are only challenging norms about body size?
Size is not what constitutes a body as a whole, only a small portion. Examining depictions of beauty in the media makes it clear that what is actually shown is the “white ideal” of beauty. The bodies portrayed as “desirable” belong to tall, blonde girls, with hourglass figures, and are skinny yet curvy. “The ideals represented to us are far more complex than the thin ideal,” states Ford. The representations of skinny celebrities in the media were also perhaps, subconsciously, teaching us which race was beautiful. We have to “look within and challenge where our societal standards of beauty originated” (Dobson, 2023). It was never just about size, there is more to the story of body image and the body positivity movement.
Body positivity should be reframed as a movement that promotes positive language and appreciation for all of the parts of an individual’s body. It should include not just size, but race, gender, sexuality, and every other identity factor. Ford exclaims, “The thin idea is so real, and so is the white ideal, the ableist ideal, the gender binary ideal, the heterosexual ideal, the affluent ideal, and the young ideal.” There are so many identity factors that constitute our bodies. With this comes many different angles to pick apart someone’s body. The media should strive to represent every kind of body and expression of identity, but the majority of the time falls short of doing so.
Mary Dobson writes that “Body positivity is a social movement that promotes positivity around the individual viewpoint that all bodies are valid, and rejects the societal injunction that those who deviate from the status quo are undeserving of love and appreciation” (Dobson, 2023). The body positivity movement should work towards liberating all bodies, especially the marginalized bodies of society. We must fight against those that try to erase individuality and force us to conform to unrealistic standards that are depicted by the media. Ford says, “I truly believe that ‘body positivity’ is not attainable for everyone until there is justice, equal representation, trust, and safety for all marginalized bodies.” We must reframe the body positivity movement from challenging the “thin ideal” to challenging the “white ideal,” every other “ideal,” and the concept of having a societal “ideal” for beauty and bodies in general.
One way we can help reframe the body positivity movement and challenge the notion of an “ideal body” is by recognizing the language we use. We must acknowledge the beauty and validity of all bodies, recognize our own privilege in our bodies, and strive to protect others’ bodies who may be more susceptible to harmful language and action. We can initiate a change of language in the media and in our communities by first starting with the change in ourselves. We can change how we talk about our own bodies. We should treat our own bodies how we treat someone or something we love: show respect by listening to your body’s needs, develop a language of appreciation and positive encouragement, advocate for self-care, and stop being convinced that what we see in the media is the only form of beauty. You don’t have to always love the way your body looks, but you should always be kind to it; it’s the only one you’re going to get. Might as well direct love, instead of hate, onto our own bodies, and mimic the love that we extend to others onto ourselves. We can heal by mending the language and relationship we have with our bodies, and by rejecting the existence of an “ideal body.”
References
Dobson, Mary. “Reforming and Reframing: The New ‘Body Positivity’ as a Social Justice
Movement.” Lift Wellness group. Lift Wellness Group, 2023.
https://www.liftupwellness.com/blog/2020/6/3/the-new-body-positivity-as-a-social-justic
e-movement
Ford, Allyson. “Body Image and Social Justice.” ProjectHEAL. ProjectHEAL, September 13,
2022. https://www.theprojectheal.org/blog/body-image-and-social-justice.
Smolinski, Julieanne. “Women, How Often Do You Look in the Mirror? Study Says 8 Times a
Day.” Today. Today, May 15, 2012.
https://www.today.com/popculture/women-how-often-do-you-look-mirror-study-says-8-fl