Recently, I read an article (which was decidedly pretty old so I'm late to the game) called "I'm Not a Fan of the Body Positivity Movement". As a plus size woman who considers herself an active member of the body positivity movement, I felt I had to say something about it.
The majority of the article focused on the shame you should feel after you eat unhealthily, and how the body positivity movement "empowers you" to ignore the shame and continue to gain weight (as if that is the worst thing ever, omg). As a member of this community, I just have to say: You completely misinterpreted the opinions of the body positive community. And when I say completely, I mean completely.
Of course, I don't speak for every single member of this community, but I think I echo the thoughts of most fairly well. The article has a section where it's a small hypothetical "narrative".
"I don't eat some of it and put it back in the freezer when I get home. No, I eat it all. And I hate myself for it. But then, I see an empowering on Facebook about respecting your body. So my empowered self goes out and grabs two more pints of ice cream and I remind myself that it's my body and I can do what I want with it. What happens now? I'm ten pounds heavier and a little bit closer to obesity or any other weight-related diseases such as diabetes. The body positivity movement is wonderful, but it's missing one thing: if you don't like those extra pounds, get rid of them. If you really don't think you're pretty enough, buy that expensive makeup. Because you can do whatever you want with your body."
She says "The body positivity movement is wonderful" but it's clear from this passage that she hasn't fully understood the mission of the movement. The main message of the community is that it is okay to be okay with yourself. But it also shows that you are allowed to love yourself as you are as a part of your journey to better yourself, as there are many members of the community who are actively trying to do this as a part of their journey to self-happiness.
She also falsely assumes what plus size people apparently think, trying to "relate" to us by talking about "her" experience with Ben and Jerry's, which "empowers" her to grab two more pints of ice cream and gain ten pounds that day. Clearly, she thought this was a clever attempt to belittle the community by stating that eating three pints of ice cream was a direct result of "an empowering" she found on Facebook (can you sense my giant eyeroll through the screen?). Sure, this could be someone's result from a post in the movement, but it is overall just a wild generalization meant to shame the community.
An implication throughout the entire article, though, is that the body positivity movement is only plus size, or in her mind, unhealthy people. This is just not true at all. There are many thin/healthy passing people in the movement such as @Babyyshark and @omgkenzieee on Instagram who advocate for thinner women to love the parts of themselves that don't fit the model status quo like stretch marks or cellulite.
Of course there is more I could point out more inaccuracies from this article, but it'd be a mile long and a trek to read.
At the end of the day, it is absolutely the author's right to dislike the body positive community. But in my opinion, if you're going to publicly say you dislike something, you should at least understand what the heck you're talking about first.
