Society people live in has its own made-up standards of beauty: a standard image of the perfect human body, face, appearance. Standards might change in different periods of time and there always are “perfect” people, who fit those standards along with those, who do not.
What standards do we have now, in the 21st century? Current standards are what the media, model agencies and advertisements impose to us: big eyes, long lashes, neat nose, cheekbones, full lips, thin waist, long straight legs, tallness, low weight. If a person does not fit these descriptions above, he/she might feel incomplete. That is where the self-hatred is born. It can lead to self-harm and can be caused by bullying.
Beauty and body standards make people go obsessed and try dangerous ways to change who they are.
That is what Body positivity deals with. It teaches self-acceptance and self-love. There is nothing wrong with loving yourself. Body positivity supports changing in healthy ways, causing no harm to the body.
Body positivity is psychological and spiritual experience. Body positivity affects concepts in person’s brain in best ways.
Body positivity is a modern term and as it is a novelty, there are few definitions of it. The precise definition has not been added to any of world’s main dictionaries yet. Nevertheless, according to the Cambridge dictionary, positivity is the quality of having a positive attitude and we can suggest that body positivity means having an accepting, respecting and appreciating attitude towards every kind of human bodies.
The origins of body positivity go back to the Victorian Dress Reform movement, which aimed discouraging women from wearing extremely tight corsets, in order to fit the standards of the 17th century: extremely tiny waist and hourglass body figure.
Victorian Dress Reform movement also fought for women rights to wear pants and stop hiding their bodies underneath layers of fabric.
In 1960s Lew Louderback published an essay named “More People Should Be Fat” and it caused the birth of a movement, aiming to stop fat-shaming. The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance was created in 1969. This movement advocated over-sized women rights to be published on magazine covers and fought against doctors, who claimed any overweight person unhealthy.
The movement appeared to be the reason The Body Positive organization was created. The Body Positive was founded by Connie Sobczak in 1996.
Body positivity has blossomed from fat acceptance to loving yourself in all shapes and sizes.
After some time of watching and observing people, who proudly call themselves body positive, everyone might get to the point where you understand that almost all of the body positive people are overweight. It seems like all that pictures of them being alright with their health condition will cause an epidemic of fatness and that is absurd. National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance fought against the doctors, who claimed that extra weight is a disease. There might be a bunch of reasons why some individuals are overweight; however, society is used to being sure that the reason is laziness.
In fact, the results of the studies at the University College London prove that fat-shaming is not a solution for the obesity problem, it does not motivate overweight people and otherwise, discrimination is a part of the problem.
Going through lots of difficulties on their way, overweight people eat food to comfort themselves and it makes everything even worth. Consequently, overweight individuals need help and support and body positivity provides it. Body positivity does not contribute obesity.
Body positivity is a new movement, which is still being accepted by society.
Body positivity is a lifestyle that helps deadbeat people to accept themselves and love themselves the way they are. Body shaming and bullying lead people, especially teenagers, to suicidal depression, which may cause a tragic ending.
Ozenbayeva Nazym
