What does body positivity really mean?

Body positivity is a slogan that has been present in culture for some time now. When we look at posts tagged #bodypositive on Instagram, we see photos of women and men whose bodies most often deviate to varying degrees from the norms accepted in the world of media. So we see rolls of fat, cellulite, stretch marks after pregnancy and many other features that we usually try to hide from others. It may seem like a big breakthrough and a significant change for the better - and to a large extent it is. However, as this movement reaches the mainstream, does it not lose some of its basic assumptions?

In 1990, writer and journalist Naomi Wolf published a famous book entitled "The Beauty Myth". In it, she draws attention to the fact that although women can play more and more social roles compared to the past, this does not mean that they gain more and more freedom - control and restrictions only change form, and their new incarnation is much harder to capture. Women are no longer imprisoned at home, but they are prisoners of the need to be slim, well-groomed and attractive. The cosmetics industry is developing, and increasingly intensive photo retouching sets impossible requirements for beauty. An obsession with the perfect body begins, possible to achieve only through greater sacrifices.

The body positivity movement emerged in response to such tendencies. Instead of retouched models' bodies, it tries to show bodies it calls "real" - obese bodies, with scars, discolorations and other "defects" that are not represented in mass media. We also see people with disabilities and transgender people, who are often taboo for the media. Body positivity advocates try to spread knowledge about rational self-care - a healthy diet that meets the needs of the body, cosmetics free of harmful chemicals or non-overloading forms of exercise. In this way, they refute accusations, among others, about normalizing diseases such as obesity - they always emphasize that it is not about an uncritical approach, but about proper care for one's own body and a reasonable approach to cultural standards that change every decade.

Isn’t this the kind of approach we need as an antidote to the still-strong culture of Photoshop and plastic surgery? Yes, if it stays true to its foundations. The mainstreaming of body positivity is a big change in the right direction, but there are some distortions of the positive message. This includes advertising campaigns – advertisers are treading on shaky ground here, because body positivity contradicts the belief instilled by advertising that consumers need certain products to have healthy and happy bodies. For years, Dove did quite well, with campaigns featuring non-professional models being among the first high-profile ads of this type. Over time, however, the brand has had its share of missteps, including whitewashing a black model in an advert and designing packaging that resembled women’s bodies, which has reduced them to the role of commodities once again.

It is not only large corporations that face similar accusations. Another example is a book by British celebrity Louise Thompson. The reality show star included advice on weight loss diets and body sculpting exercises, and also included photos of herself – a woman with a figure that fits perfectly into conventional standards. There would be nothing wrong with that, if it were not for the fact that she planned to title the book “Body Positive”. Internet users did not hide their disappointment at the fact that the author used a slogan related to the rejection of rigorous treatment of one’s body to promote an approach that is quite the opposite. Ultimately, the book was published under the title “Live Well With Louise: Fitness & Food to Feel Strong & Happy”.

It is not only entrepreneurs who want to make money on a catchy slogan who demonstrate an attitude that is inconsistent with the basic assumptions – this often happens to the supporters of the movement themselves. An obvious example is the case in which we only have a positive attitude towards a specific part of the group of “non-standard” people. However, we would like to draw attention to another, more subtle type of body shaming disguised as a positive approach. An example of this is the comments that appeared after Meghan Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry, such as “in a world full of Kardashian sisters, be like Meghan Markle”. What does such a comment say? Theoretically, it praises the new duchess for her naturalness. But is praise through criticism of others the right way to go? It is also worth remembering that Meghan Markle’s naturalness also comes at the cost of many sacrifices, such as regular hair straightening using quite invasive (and expensive) methods. In this case, the praise of naturalness turns out to be very superficial.

It’s also easy to fall into the trap of apparent positivity. Of course, we have the best intentions when we say stretch marks are beautiful or call them tiger stripes. But it’s worth considering whether this approach actually makes us feel better, or are we once again trying to judge our bodies from the outside, instead of trying to go inside and feel good about ourselves?

What do all these accusations have in common? The inability to stop looking from the outside. The goal of the body positive movement is to liberate the body from being treated as an object of constant evaluation and to reject the paradigm in which it determines a person's value. As you can see, it's not easy - we are all stuck in numerous thought mechanisms that we still have to unlearn. The most important thing is that we have started.