The Body Positivity Movement.

This movement began in 1996 and encouraged people to adopt a more forgiving and affirming attitude towards their bodies. It was created with the intention to improve mental health, liberate people from detrimental self-hatred, value everyone's beauty & identity, and to help people focus on making positive changes in their own lives and within the community.

Recently, another Odyssey Creator from UNC Greensboro wrote an article titled "Body Positivity Is Great and All But Not When It's Ignoring Health Concerns." This article criticized body positivity, saying it is an "excuse" to ignore health concerns. Well, author, the health concerns YOU are ignoring are the issues that come from mental health.

This movement was not created as an "excuse" for slightly overweight people to eat 4 tubs of ice cream and feel alright about it. This movement was created in an effort for everyone - big, small, curvy, and everything in between - to feel alright about their body type and comfortable in their own skin. The idea is not to put down exercise or encourage people to eat like crap; it's to tell the world, "Hey! You're not a size 2 with boobs and a perky butt? That's alright!"

Let's talk about something that is not very easy to talk about: eating disorders. Did you know that there are a number of eating disorders that are not even categorized in the psychological profession? When people think of eating disorders, they think of the two big names: bulimia and anorexia. Now, these are very extreme cases. Many people minimize their unsafe eatingand exercise practices because they do not fit into the narrow definition of Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa, which can delay much needed treatment. In reality, most people fall on the disordered-eating-spectrum over time, called EDNOS (Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified). Looking in the mirror for hours a week and pinching all the places you hate on yourself is not right. Limiting your food consumption to less than the caloric intake your body needs for its basic functions is also not okay. Staring at other girls pictures for hours and saying they are "perfect" is definitely not alright. Hating yourself and being upset because you don't feel like you fit into the "general" idea of beauty that the media has pushed on us is just wrong.

The body positivity movement was meant to tell people, especially women, that they can wear that bikini, they can buy those shorts, they can work that sleeveless dress, and that the number on the scale and the reflection in the mirror do not define who they are as a person. They should look into the importance of mental health, as it is JUST as important as physical fitness. There are a lot of people out there who struggle with self-hatred and body shaming because they don't weigh 100 pounds or have the perfect figure. Let this movement inspire those people to love themselves, no matter what the number is that comes up when they step on a freaking scale.