What is Body positivity ? Discussed by everyone, nobody understands what it means.
Body Positivity is a topic that is, being discussed by everyone, but nobody understands what it means.
Body Positivity Movement History
This movement came in the 1850s when corsets and tightlacing were started for women to fit them in the societal standards of the tiny waistline. At that time, this movement was introduced with the name ” VICTORIAN DRES’s REFORM MOVEMENT” this was the first wave where women fought for the right that we should accept all body types regardless of any waist measurements.
After, that second wave came in the late 1990s, where exercise series videos were, launched for the overweight people who were not very comfortable joining the wellness group due to fear of Body shaming.
After this, the Third wave came, in 2012 where people started posting on social media that “ALL BODIES ARE BEAUTIFUL” and challenging society’s standards of having a perfect body not only for women but for men’s also.
What is Body Positivity – BRIEF
Body positivity not only means to challenge society, but it also means accepting your body’s shape and size, enjoying your body, feeling confident about it, and loving yourself.
So, many celebrities came forward and posted pictures of them stating that no matter what shape, size, physical ability, gender, or race you belong to, we all are perfect in our way, and we should love ourselves.
Recently, Victoria secret also started a movement where they took models of every shape, size, and color.
Even men have to face this, where standards have been; set for ideal masculine men, and they should fit in the qualities for six-pack abs, a broad upper body, muscular arms, shoulders, pectoral muscles, and good height.
MENTAL HEALTH
One of the major; reasons it was, started was that as people were body-shamed, it started affecting their mental health and well-being. People started judging themselves and their self – worth which can leaded to depression and eating disorders.
Body image show one’s perception of their own body can differ from their actual body appearance. The way we feel and think about our bodies affects our mental health as well. The depiction of having a perfect body: can lead to dissatisfaction leads to unnecessary dieting and excessive exercise.
Further, we should also encourage people to not body shame anyone on their physical appearance, as this also leads to depression, anxiety, eating disorders for not meeting the social criteria of their body.
CRITICISM
The movement was been, initiated to help people accept the way they are, whereas the idea which people took from it was that you should be thinner and fitter then only you can lead a perfect, happy, and healthier life. Further, it will make you more beautiful.
Another criticism that is faced was that it excluded people of color and the people who are disabled, belong to the LGBTQ community, and are non-binary.
Furthermore, with this movement, people started to focus so much on their bodies that they forgot about their self-worth and what else they could do in their life.
ACCEPTING YOURSELF
We should always accept our body the way it is and love ourselves.
It is understandable that simply saying that accept yourself is not easy. It still creates a lot of pressure which makes it difficult for people. By just covering your negative thoughts with positive messages is not helpful.
It’s ok not to love everything about yourself or your body, but beating yourself to look perfect and that too for society is not a healthy practice.
Everything about you doesn’t just lie in the shape, size, or on your appearance.
We can change our perspective by being positive and respecting our body and, start working on self-care. Eat healthy because that will make you feel good or exercise so that you feel pumped and energetic. Go out and shop for yourself in clothes that fit you and that make you happy, don’t buy those clothes which you are gonna wear in the future when you become thinner or when you gain some weights that will only make you sad.
Unfollow those pages on social media that don’t make you feel good about yourself. There are so many pages that you can follow which spark your interest or makes you feel good about yourself.
At last, everyone has a different body and we should always learn to accept and love ourselves besides society’s standards.
Body Positivity <3
by – Kritika Aggarwal
