When you flip through any magazine’s pages, you could very easily come across some model or actress’ photographs where they seem to show off their flawless bodies, which have nourished skin, wavy hair, sexy curves, and fit muscles. More than men, women were so much more thrilled to look at these photographs, for some different reason: they admire those women and their bodies and go eerily surprised at how amazing they look; without even realizing what is real and what is fake, most people associate themselves with those people’s body images. It always sucks to compare our bodies with someone else’s, isn’t it?
Most of the women might have come across these kinds of model-type bodies somewhere and assumed that those were the bodies that women were supposed to have. Otherwise, they might experience low self-esteem, low confidence, and mainly non-acceptance of their own bodies, no matter how powerful they are. Forget models; don’t you have friends in your own life where someone hates their nose, someone doesn’t want thick thighs, someone wants to be taller, yadda-yadda? Have you tried making your body in a FILMIER style? Maybe all these are because we had been implanted with the idea of the so-called perfect bodies. As we keep scrolling through Instagram and tik-tok, we wish to be a top-class k-pop model or a singer who fixed her nose recently, do we?
Having said that, the majority of people have started accepting their bodies and falling in love with themselves for who they are. The concept of body shaming has not entirely diminished all through the globe, but most of them have at least started because every body type is beautiful. And have you ever heard people saying size does not matter? In all terms. Especially when it comes to women and their bodies, all of us are beautiful, and all of us are worthy of it no matter how fat or lean we are. Beauty truly comes in all shapes and sizes. No doubt. But we are not here to discuss the societal standards of beauty and appearance.
Earlier women were enforced with the opinion that size zero makes them completely attractive women. Now? There are campaigns and rallies going on for the self-acceptance of bodies of all sizes and shapes. But if we look at these kinds of propaganda, there are brands who are trying to create a market for their products targeted at specific consumers, who keep changing from time to time. It’s a marketable goal, Voila!
But yeah, nothing wrong with using these products if you want to. But that’s not the point that we are discussing here. This piece is entirely for those who confuse body positivity with poor health. Body positivity is still esoteric, but what about health? Isn’t that the most required element in our whole existence? Are those who declare that they appreciate their own bodies taking enough care of what their real health is all about? Ummmm, not exactly, we guess.
Promoting body positivity can be a life-changer for many, as it’s deeply associated with mental health, societal stigmas, and many other hidden factors. But it also seems to ignore health risks associated with excessive weight, aka obesity, which may lead to several other issues like diabetes, heart complaints, and several other organ failures. An imbalanced diet plan could be dangerous over some time, even though the size of your body promotes your self-esteem. Being indulged in the idea of embracing one’s body however it is, people tend to forget the health hazards it indirectly promotes.
When the body positivity factor focuses more on the way you look, there is another factor called body neutrality which concentrates more on how your body functions. Body neutrality is a very simple concept where you are just in harmony with your body, without thinking of its worth or respect-just by simply existing with your body. It’s more about minimizing body negativity. Practising body neutrality also encourages you to love and accept your body as it is and work towards your fitness and health goals. Experts believe body neutrality is a more authentic and empowering approach to acceptance when compared to body positivity.
We had a word with Ms Sandhya about this whole movement and how it’s taking another turn. She’s an ISSA international sports sciences association certified fitness coach and nutritionist. She shares her perspective with us:
“I think it’s we women who have created these unrealistic beauty standards through different generations about how we need to be a certain way to be considered beautiful or desirable. it is and has always been us who has created these exceptionally high standards to follow. Body positivity on the other hand welcomes change if understood and practiced the right way. When young women see models of different sizes, shapes, and colors representing brands, that breaks certain barriers and brings in a sense of acceptance and confidence. It brings a different perspective to understanding that everybody is different and beautiful. It is a great initiative with an inclusive concept that breaks many stereotypes and comforts people about the insecurities they carry with their bodies. Body positivity brings with it a sense of self-acceptance of skin tone, hair color, and other physical attributes. But when it comes to health, it’s a totally different perspective and it isn’t acceptable that a person who is obese with a medical condition is ok with their body. Learning to love your body weight cellulite freckles acne etc is the bright side of body positivity however not working on yourself when your health is screaming for attention is the dark side I feel. You can be on a higher BMI and still be fit and healthy similarly you can be on a lower BMI but still not be strong and healthy. Size is not a concern when health is in control. I’m a strong believer in balancing everything, like there should be an equal balance between workout, rest recovery, and eating right vs indulging in the food you enjoy too. Every initiative has its good and bad, and Body positivity, just like the rest, is 50-50. It should promote acceptance and health equally ” ending it with the line I live by the words, Take care of your body as you would of someone you truly love.”
Accepting one’s skin colour, how tall they are, their hair type, broken nose, or unshaved body hair might be body positivity, which is a real relief to celebrate our bodies. But if we are trying to eat everything that we like and care less about how much fat our bodies store, that might not bring out the actual goal of this social movement. We don’t have to discriminate between beauty standards, we don’t have to cultivate low self-esteem about our bodies of different sizes; we emphasize that all bodies deserve equal respect and acceptance, but it’s also imperative that we start listening to our bodies on how they function.
Just remember: All sizes and shapes are beautiful but might not be healthy, and that’s not a positive thing to be proud of!