Body Positivity? What’s That?

Body Positivity – the phrase has gained some serious steam over the past decade, but what does it really mean?

Let’s analyse this term a bit to better understand what Pear is here for and what we hope to promote to our readership.

The Body Positive movement advocates the acceptance of all bodies, regardless of form, gender, size, or appearance. Body Positive activists recognise that size is just one of the many ways that our bodies are judged by others. The movement includes men and women of different shapes and sizes, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and abilities. By doing so, the movement is working to shift public perceptions away from the traditional ideal of beauty toward a more accepting atmosphere.

The movement is centred on the idea that people need to love themselves fully while accepting their physical traits. Unlike the ‘fat acceptance movement’; Body Positivity is all-encompassing and inclusive of all body types. This movement states that neither fat-shaming nor skinny-shaming is acceptable and that all body types can and should be celebrated.

Although the Body Positivity movement is popular, it also faces criticism for normalising obesity.

One very important thing to remember is that Body Positivity is not body image; it is more of a social justice movement that offers compassionate yet realistic views on living a healthy life while loving yourself. Body image describes our perceptions and attitudes towards our physical appearance, which change over time and are greatly affected by our experiences and thoughts. Body dissatisfaction can often develop due to a negative body image that can be developed from these life experiences, the culture we live in, teasing, or personality type and beliefs about what bodies should look like. Studies have shown that if you hate yourself or have a negative self-image/body dissatisfaction complex, you’re not going to take care of yourself and hate yourself even more for it.

The Body Positivity movement aims to reduce many forms of stigma directed against people of all sizes, with a broad range of health and well-being objectives. It is the idea that you can live comfortably in your body as it is right now, or work on treating it well through nourishment, joyful movement, and self-care, without punishing yourself for the way you look. Additionally, it’s the understanding that your worth and what’s going on with you physically are two separate entities – no matter what’s happening inside, outside or to your body, you’re still just as worthwhile as the person next to you.

With that said, Body Positivity also means accepting the body you have as well as the changes in shape, size, and ability it may undergo due to nature, age or your own personal choices throughout your lifetime. To do this, you must take responsibility for determining what your body needs by focusing on its overall health, weight, food intake, and exercise. Adopting this behaviour leads to better physical and/or mental health, enabling you to sustain it over the long term.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look ‘good’, just make sure it’s your own version of ‘good’ and not someone else’s. In today's social image-obsessed culture, all you can do is try to be kind to yourself and always stand up for others who are being treated unfairly because of social attitudes towards their bodies.

In short, the Body Positivity movement simply means accepting your body with all its curves, rolls, lumps and bumps. Both men and women deserve to live in a world where they are shown respect and don’t feel constantly torn down by society.

Don’t you agree?