Its time to give The Body Positive movement back to the black, fat, LGBQT and disabled bodies
- emmanuellegammage
- Jun 18, 2020
- 3 min read
The Body Positive movement was a huge factor in my recovery from anorexia. It taught me that my body was not an indication of my value and I didn’t owe the world pretty and slim. It was a safe space on the internet to fall in love with my body again and learn from other women, many of whom looked like me.
But thats the thing.
The whole movement online was full of able-bodied, slim, white, cisgender women. Like me.
But the movement wasn’t created for us.
It’s a political movement designed to highlight the marginalised bodies of black, POC, fat, LGBQT and disabled bodies.
Bodies like mine were already socially acceptable, even if we didn’t personally accept ourselves. Indeed - we have thin privilege. That doesn’t mean that we haven’t been through some tough shit with our bodies: we’ve suffered with confidence, insecurities and indeed, eating disorders. However, it does mean that our bodies have never faced discrimination, fat shaming, pressure to lose weight, healthcare professionals refusing to see anything but our fatness or trouble finding our size in high-street shops.
Sure, our socially acceptable idea of bodies has changed ever so slightly - we accept bigger hips and bums now. But we have SO much work to do.
The movement came after the Fat Acceptance movement of the 60s with black, fat women the champion of it all. But these women are rarely the face of it. They are overlooked because they do not fit the Western standard of beauty. Brands and influencers have hijacked the movement for profit - often claiming diversity and plus-size whilst doing the bare minimum. Using branding like ‘embrace your curves’, ‘body confidence’ and ‘body empowerment’ whilst continuing to promote a narrow ideal of beauty. Often - the plus size models used aren’t even considered plus-size by most of us!
Ariel Woodson describes the hijacked movement as:
"defanged fat activism repackaged suitable only for corporate use and coddling the feelings of thin, able-bodied, cisgender, white women"
On Instagram, in the media, adverts and campaigns, most women over a size 14 are excluded from the conversation in favour of hour-glass shapes. Any brand that uses Iskra Lawrence as an attempt in diversity is a cop out in my eyes.
Grace Victory said...
“Marginalised people are being erased from the one place they were safe in - it has been watered down and hijacked by women who are seen pretty much everywhere”.
The whole point of the movement was to give a platform to and highlight marginalised bodies. But we have failed the movement and all of the women who need it.
In light of that, as Alex Light said, we must become allies rather than leaders of this conversation.
Many people say that we should all feel positive about our bodies, therefore the movement is for all. As I said, the movement changed my life for the better and continues to help me every single day. Psychologist, Alexis Conason says:
“when done right, body positivity challenges our normative views of beauty and worthiness; it makes space for all of us, and we all benefit. A body-positive movement rooted in disrupting the status quo and smashing body ideals helps us all”.
But, for socially acceptable bodies like mine - body positivity is different to someone who faces discrimination and fat stigma every single day. So, although we should all feel positive about our bodies - we should give the movement back to those that created it and needed it and become allies instead. We should be sharing the voices and promoting the black, fat, disabled and LGBQT bodies.
It's not enough to simply disagree with brands and influencers anymore whilst you continue to support them. We must actively educate ourselves and do the research - particularly about fat liberation and systematic body oppression. Focus on supporting brands that promote diversity, that genuinely care about the mark they leave on the world and diversify what content you're consuming.
I've made a mental list of brands I will no longer be supporting in the future.
A few articles to read:
This is a list of my favourite black, POC, LGBQT and disabled body positive advocates: Remember: diversity your feed!
Stephanie Yeboah - whilst you're here read her latest blog post called 'Fat' is 'NOT' a bad word.
Grace Victory / @gracefvictory
Jessamyn / @mynameisjessamyn
Enam Asiama / @enamasiama
Olivia Campbell / @curvycampbell
Gabrielle Gregg / @gabifresh
Kellie Brown / @itsmekellieb
Aaron Philip / @aaron_philip
Char Ellesse / @ellessechar
Ruby Allegra / @tvbyallegra
Tanya Compas / @tanyacompas
Munroe Bergdorf / @munroebergdorf
Jacinda Leelo / @adultsdrink
Devin-Norelle / @steroidbeyonce
Lottie L'Amour / @lottielamour
Below is also a great Instagram post full of black creators to follow!
One last point - no matter what you look like, you are all worthy of being body positive. But when you use the term now, think twice about it rather than throwing in the hashtag.
Emmanuelle❀
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