NO NO NO. Via GIPHY.com!
HIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!
Wassup!? Katie and I are both tackling this month's body positivity and mental health theme, so her writing is featured below.
Need to catch up? I got you. Here's Katie's last month: Body Image issues Have Held Me Back, But This Is What I Know Now
Below is Katie's stance on why the Body Positive Movement isn't about her body. Keep reading!
When I began to share my body love journey and invite others to share theirs, I had a lot of things wrong.
The way I spoke about body positivity was so off. I didn’t educate myself on what the movement is about, how it started, or who it’s for. I fell into a trap that has been set too often--that body positivity is a catch-all term for loving yourself regardless of your body. This may be true to an extent, but it’s missing a lot of info.
Body positivity is saying EFF THAT to anyone else’s opinions. It's about knowing that your body = your rules. What you do with it is up to you and should not be determined by someone else’s ideals.
The Body Positive Movement was started to give marginalized and oppressed bodies a place to be heard and seen.
It’s not just about size, shape, or weight, but it is about accepting all bodies at every shape, size, color, ability, sexual orientation, and age. It grew from the feminist movement and was based on the ideas of fat activism & size acceptance.
Fatphobia is a real thing and it's so prominent in our society. People believe that being fat is the worst thing that could ever happen to them. I mean, really? The worst? I couldn’t disagree more. The BoPo Movement exists to combat this idea and ridiculous body phobia.
I’m a size 12/14. I’m a white, cis-gendered, able-bodied and heterosexual woman. I SHOULD NOT be a Body Positive activist, nor do I consider myself one. I believe everyone has beauty and deserves to love themselves, but people like me should not be leading this movement.
the bodies that should represent this movement are not ones like mine.
Look up #bodypositivity and you’ll see white, thin-bodied, and able-bodied women. You’ll also find a lot of companies and influencers looking for exposure. Here’s the problem: people who are looking at the Body Positive Movement are not going to find the guidance they’re looking for. Instead, they’re going to feel like the space that was created for them is being overrun by the idealized bodies that prompted this movement in the first place.
Body positivity should sound like:
"You know what? I’m tired of not being seen, and I’m tired of feeling guilty about taking up space. I should have a voice to speak out against fatphobia and anything else that makes me feel like my body isn’t seen, heard or accepted. So, I’m going to support this awesome movement. It’ll be just for us!"
But now it sounds like:
"Oh! A space to gain followers and more attention... Let me join!"
And then the sacred space that once existed is now gone. Body positivity is misinterpreted as “to love yourself,” but it's more than that. It's not meant to be a trending hashtag. It’s not meant to be taken over by women like me. I want to support the growth of a genuine body positive space and I want to support those who SHOULD be leading it.
Does that mean we can all be body positive? Hell yeah! Does that mean we can all work together to lift each other up? YES! We need to make this information known; we need to preserve the origins and intentions of the Body Positive Movement and community. We can do this by removing judgement and prejudice surrounding any and all kinds of bodies.
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Katie is a Body Positive Health Coach and the founder of Take Care. Here's her Insta!
Loving these guest blogs ;] If you're feelin' 'em too, don't leave the comment section all dry. GIVE ME A HOLLA!
I'll be back on the 1s and 2s next Tuesday. Until then you fantastic person, you. Make this day a good one.