In recent years, the body positivity movement has grown exponentially. With celebrities like Lizzo and Ashley Graham acting as role models for bigger/curvier girls, people have started to push different body shapes into the media more than ever. But does the body positivity movement have toxic underlinings?
Now, don’t get me wrong, I think all bodies are beautiful, and as a bigger girl, it’s great seeing people who look like me being represented and loving their bodies. However, even though I think those people are beautiful, it’s hard for me to feel the same way about myself.
I’ve had self-image issues since the 6th grade. I was at my lowest during the summer of 2020. During that time, it was hard to even look at myself in the mirror. That fall, I started going back to therapy, and even though I still struggle with my self-image, I’m in a much better place and seeing people who look like me have helped me accept myself even though I still don’t fully love myself.
Moreover, there is still one issue I have with the movement. Whenever I see people talk about body positivity, they always say things like “You have to love your body” or “Loving yourself will make you happy.” Now, these might seem like super positive and plentiful things to tell someone, but it’s not realistic when you look into what’s being said.
Even if you’re the most confident person in the world, I can guarantee that you won’t be able to love everything about yourself. But, when you always have people telling you that all you need to do to feel better about your body is “loving yourself,” it makes it seem like to be confident, you need to have no insecurities.
Hammering the idea that you need to love everything about yourself is harmful. As I’ve gotten more comfortable in my body, I understand that there will be things that I don’t like about myself that I can change, like my weight or my back rolls. But I also realize that there will be things that I can’t change, like my face shape or how big my feet are.
Even though sometimes I struggle with seeing the beauty in these things I can’t change, I’ve learned to accept it and look at all of the parts of myself together instead of the individual components that I don’t like.
Sometimes if you’re watching a tv show, there might be characters that annoy you or that you flat out just don’t like. That show still might be your favorite show, though, because instead of looking at those characters that annoy you, you see the show in its entirety.
So instead of pushing this narrative that confidence and self-love come from loving every single part of ourselves, we should push acceptance and teach each other how to see ourselves as a whole and not just in parts.
Too Much Love by Brooklyn Ramey - Michigan, U.S.