What The Point of Body Positivity Is

[Anonymous]

Body Positivity: the word gives men the image of a fat woman sitting on the couch eating ice cream and watching tv. The truth is, you've all got your definitions wrong.

What I think about body positivity is that, instead of loving your body because you think it looks good, love it because of all the life experiences and everything it can do. Your legs, no matter what they look like, can take you to the tops of mountains, your hands can touch so many fluffy animals and build things, your arms can hug so many people who need it.

Your body is more than flesh and blood, you are meant to experience life.

While it is unnatural to hate your body, healthy habits are what enable it to do good things. There's nothing wrong with loving how it looks, but that is not necessary and shouldn't be your soul focus of life.

Anorexia body dysmorphia

Hating your body can lead to eating disorders, which of course aren't only caused by self hate. Anorexia and bulimia are the most well known eating disorders, but there are of course others. Eating disorders aren't about weight, however; eating disorders don't have a look. Someone who looks completely healthy could have an eating disorder, especially bulimia (classified as b/ping).

They can be caused by many different things, such as wanting to have control over some aspect of their lives, or to prove they can do something against their biological needs. I did it because I wanted to be sick and feel pain and control, and weight is a thing that can be controlled.

Rachael Farrokh, California actor, severe anorexic.

Body positivity is also not only about weight. Stretch marks occur on the huge majority of women, and on some men too. Scars, for example self harm scars, are often seen and judged very heavily by the public. Body positivity supports being comfortable with your physical body in how it looks but as well as its function.

My own picture

Change for yourself, not others.

~

My point is, body positivity isn't what many men think it is. It is appreciation of what your body can do rather than hating or loving it only because of how it looks, and body positivity is about supporting healthy habits to foster a strong body. Body positivity supports all differences, not just differences in weight.

[dancing_in_nebulas]

Obsessing over your body image is just being arrogant - whether you look like J-Lo or victimize yourself due to being over or under weight.

I'm so fat.
I'm so skinny.
I'm not pretty.
No one likes my body.

Me me me me me.

That's the real issue, is seriously believing the world revolves around you, that your body image is just the center of everyone else's world.

No one cares, and if they do, their opinion doesn't stop your life.

Fuck em.

And fuck the voices in your own head that make you think your body is flawed.

The big girls at my school never got bullied. If someone talked about their weight, they didn't go home and cry - they simply would laugh and say, "thanks, like I didn't notice I was big."

They owned that shit and still lead happy. healthy plus sized lives.

My friend went to a predominantly white school where girls tried to have leg gaps and no ass or tits.

All the guys preferred my size 9 friend - and all the thigh gap girls were just lonely and confused in their jealousy of her.

Cuz she owned her body, and was humble enough to not think everyone cared about her figure.

Due to that, personality and confidence shines through, so people naturally gravitate towards the positivity.

You can be pretty ugly and have a bad figure, and go through life never experiencing the sadness someone obsessed over themselves does.

So what your thighs do or dont touch? Who cares if your heavy or thin? Be in good health and enjoy your life.

You could die tomorrow - what a waste to be buried in self-inflicted sadness ya know?

[MissyLissi]

It’s not just men but women as well tbh we have all gotten it wrong. Most if not everyone is taught that body positivity is the way they look. Yes our bodies can do amazing stuff but for me and probs most people it’s on looks. I got insulted for how I look so I stated to eat less thinking if I fit the standards of being skinny I wouldn’t be insulted as much for the way I look. I was so wrong now I like that I’m skinny but hate how I got skinny. As much as it should be about what we do body positivity is about feeling good about who we r and what we can accomplish. It’s not just a man who gets it wrong it’s all of us

[The6ix]

I think we need to stop being vile and vicious towards each other, even if an individual doesn't like someone else based on their looks then that other person should not say anything. Unfortunately, we live in a world where people can be unfiltered and follow orders of what is right, what is cool and what is not. I saw your picture on the bottom and never hurt yourself, I don't get why girls do that and I hope you have the inner strength to believe in yourself. I sucked ass in high school in terms of grades and I was around guys who said stuff like "oh please you can't pass every course you take" just very negative.

After high school, I upgraded courses in the adult school and night school, go into some good universities, eliminated those so-called friends from high school and stopped talking to them. Went on to obtain my university degree in political science, made the deans list, got into law school. I put in the work, I had faith in God that things would get better and I went down my own path. I'm glad I went my own way, some people are blessed to have hundreds or thousands or millions of supporters get them through tough times. Others like me didn't really have anyone to turn to and it sucked but it made me a stronger person. Sorry I know the school thing is different, I just wanted to give my perspective on something I was dealing with and over came it.

[devilman666]

This is because so many fat women use the term to make themselves feel better. They dont care about people with actual disorders, they just dont want to be held responsible for their weight and dont want to be judged for it. Nearly everyone understands having issues with weight, but most people find ways to deal with it. For me, I am underweight and have been my entire life, which gives me some confidence issues. I try to fix it by eating more and working out but I am working for minimum wage so I go hungry often, which doesn't help, and due to my high metabolism I start losing weight rapidly when I dont eat. Like I've lost 10-15 pounds over a weekend before because I was sick and vomitting/diarrhea the entire time. 10-15 lbs might not sound like much but keep in mind that before that I was 6'1" and weighed 125 lbs, afterwards I weighed a little less than 110lbs and had to eat extra for a couple weeks to gain the weight back. I understand weight issues, but saying "body positivity means I am beautiful and sexy just the way I am", fixes nothing and is not really an excuse.

On a similar note, I saw another question today asking about womens preference in penis sizes, where one man said he was laughed at for having a 5 inch penis. Should we have a body positivity movement for small penises? Go around shaming women for not enjoying small penises?

[Sensmind]

Yes you are totally correct and the title should be expanded to be more understood - What happens today is we live in a polarised society so we create stances - Lets take for example Body Positivity, any opinion even say reasonable caution is seen as shaming especially of larger women.
What I am saying is have more understanding of the reasonable caution as you say understanding has to be given to people who are a certain way through no fault of their own and they have to be positively endorsed, encouraged, supported but if you are OVERweight or UNDERweight (just using weight as example) by choice (the letters in caps are important). The numbers may be up to interpretation or actual looks but everyone agrees there are levels that are unhealthy that risk your physical health and possibly your mental health. Also importantly especially famous and the media (Magazines and Instagram) you are role models.
While totally agree with your post, I am just countering with some support of the criticism and maybe in this polarised world saying there is plenty of room in the middle ground for a position. I think I can take a position, first understand if a person is like this by choice or not, if not as you say be as positive about it, we are all unique in our own way with strengths and flaws. I am talking the mainly by choice, I have no issue with anyone being anyway once it is healthy both physically and mentally, not harmful to themselves or others.
A simple comparison is I think a few drinks can be fun but I don't advocate having 15 every night.

[Anonymous]

This is interesting to know. I thought body positive was people just accepting who they are. Anyways, regardless. I have BPD which causes me to have a bad relationship with food. I lost 25 kgs in 6 months from eating 600 calories a day. I then went to the gym for 2 hours a day for 6 months and became really strong. Looked good. But still hated myself. Looked fat and wanted to lose more weight. I injured my spine in doing so and now I can't work out anymore. I'm in chronic pain and I binge. I truly hate myself. And it takes me seeing myself now, and seeing myself in my gym days to realise how much I didn't see the good things about myself. I also didn't know about the scars thing. I have scars on my thighs and on my wrists from suicide attempts. They're very very embarrassing. You can hide the wrist but it sucks when you go to have nakey time and someone sees fresh wounds all down your legs. Body image is horrible and I hate it so much. It consumed my life entirely. Maybe we could chat about this stuff if you're keen to make a friend.

[Phoenix98]

Body Positivity: the word gives men the image of a fat woman sitting on the couch eating ice cream and watching tv.

That's probably because in most cases it's those kinds of people doing it or using body positivity as an excuse to live like that.

Obviously hating your body to the point where you hurt yourself trying to change it is terrible but so is loving your body to the point where you ignore the horrible things that a negative life style does to you.

Like for instance a very overweight/obese person loving their body yet still eating a ton of food and continuing to live the unhealthy life style that made them become like this to begin with. Loving your body in that case is bad and will only lead to more health issues and suffering.

[genericname85]

the problem with body positivity is that it always drifts into fat/anorexic acceptance... i mean your take on this doesn't really matter that much, cause that's not how body positivity is communicated anywhere. if you're fat or anorexic, it's perfectly appropriate not to be ok with your body. but the appropriate response isn't harming yourself or drifting into depression. just fix your diet and do something that keeps you fit. it's not rocket science. if you're physically disabled, that's a different story but most of us aren't-

[sjoes006]

“ What I think about body positivity is that, instead of loving your body because you think it looks good, love it because of all the life experiences and everything it can do. Your legs, no matter what they look like, can take you to the tops of mountains“

Yep yep. Couldn’t agree more!

I’m naturally on the skinny side but classes, stress, parents divorce, all the things created a need for me to both feel in control and escape during my last year in college.

I was dangerously underweight at one point. Okay for a long point.

I moved cities for work and that helped. But I had to figure out a way after 6 months to workout and not get addicted to it.

No measuring, No scales for 4 Weeks. no counting every calories.

I managed to keep a gold weight.

[Dali-chan]

I think everyone is free to love himself the way he is. If a woman is happy to be fat then good for her, but she doesn’t have to complain to get rejected because of her weight, since she will be rejected by a lot of guys, lot of cloths she likes won’t fit her, deal with some health issues, and of course she won’t get the same privileges as a slim good looking woman. She’s free to love herself but she doesn’t have to expect the others to admire her body.
It remind me of Ashley graham who’s an oversized model who wanted to be in Victoria’s secret, she got mad for being rejected while I will find that unfair that she’ll be in the same runway as Candice swanepoel and Barbara palvin cause these girls had to workout, deal with sore muscles, do a restrictive diet to be where they are.

[Tressie]

Body positivity is the practice of encouraging positive thinking about our bodies and is also a feeling good about who we are and how we can accomplish our goals. It is challenging the ways in which society presents and views the physical body.
Body positivity is something every person struggles with. Whether you’re male or female, cis or trans, able-bodied or disabled — having a healthy and positive view of your own body can be a life-long struggle. For people of color, women, disabled people, and trans folks, the challenges to attaining body positivity can feel insurmountable, and that is in part because they are.

No matter what anyone else tells you, and no matter how they think you should feel. Just stay happy and love the way you are.

[Wolframium]

Yeah, that's all cool, but… What if I want to see UV and IR? Directly? What if I don't want to eat, because it's waste of time? What if I want generally better body in all regards? The one which will never get tired, bored, hungry, shit like that. With pefect motor control, ability to store informations, calculate shit, visualize better, connect to computers and give them commands directly…
Like…we all know, what I'm talking aobut without me saying it.
Give me that body and I will be body positive to the moon. Of Jupiter. Because I can walk on those without dying. At least most of them, Io might not be the best. As well as the captured asteroids, of course.

[ManOnFire]

You mess up the message by making this as if it's about how men see it, when a hell of a lot of women are mixing up the definition of body positivity, namely by trying to counter the attacks on thicker women with the newer age "skinny shaming" bullshit: boo hoo hoo, we skinny women are put down too. Gimme a break. Skinny and breastless is still glorified by the media and the magazines.

[SydneySentinel]

I intentionally gained weight because I thought it would keep men from looking at me. When I was underweight, I hated my body. When I was overweight, I hate my body. I'm eating for fuel now. Not to look a certain way but because I want to live a long time.

[AuroraRoseat]

Precisely. There are those who misuse the movement as there will always be those individuals. The reason for the movement is to STOP shaming people because they don’t fit society’s standards. It is about promoting beauty but not an unhealthy lifestyle.

[SomeGuyCalledTom]

This is the better definition, I agree. But the way the term is adopted by the media and leftists/ feminists, they're clearly selling a narrative that "fat = beautiful", which is like saying obesity and diabetes are wonderful things. Nobody should be harassed or abused because of their body shape. But health should be prioritities 1, 2, and 3, yet the media keeps pushing the opposite narrative.

[FýrdracaDócincel]

Nobody here cares what you say the point of body positivity is.

I want you to know that what you say it is doesn't matter because we all know EXACTLY what it is.

Tldr.
And I say that with irony. Even if this MyTake were a word long.. I wouldn't have even read the word because of the uselessness.

You are defending an excuse. Thats it.

[Bensbrie]

Friend, she literally mentioned healthy habits. She is not trying to justify sitting on the couch all day and eating a whole rotisserie chicken and icecream. And there is nothing wrong with being grateful for what your body can do. Gratitude is a wonderful thing and can help fight many negative things both emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. She said body positivity is supporting healthy habits to foster a strong body, so what's wrong with that?

[FýrdracaDócincel]

@Bensbrie
Oh look.. a second apologist.

[Bensbrie]

For whatever you think about calling me next honey: no I am not a feminist, an sjw, or weigh 250 lbs. Can we please stay cordial and respectful in conversations, I would appreciate it. Yes you have free speech, but please use it in a way that is respectful and considerate, thank you.

[Giggletr0n]

@FýrdracaDócincel Dude, stop, your post history is so much more of a shit show then anything else that you have tried to be edgy about here. You have the mannerisms of a niceguy that just got rejected for the 100th time this week... learn when to quit!

[Bensbrie]

Sir could you please be cordial and respectful even if you disagree with people. I'm sure you are capable of exhibiting a small amount of decorum at the least and politeness, your 22 years old, you have had enough brain development to have undergone a certain degree of maturation, could you please exhibit some? Thank you.

[FýrdracaDócincel]

@Bensbrie
HAHAHA!
No. 😐

I respect certain individuals I find to be exceptional.

There is nothing special about either of you.

[Bensbrie]

Well I disagree, but i hope you have a blessed day.

[Giggletr0n]

@FýrdracaDócincel When you have to post cringy comments like this: "All I too often I hear "most people won't be convinced either way."
I DON'T GIVE A FUCK IF I SUCCESSFULLY CONVINCE THEM OR NOT!! I NEVER HAVE!! I WANT POWER!! I WANT TO ACTUALLY FUCKING DESTROY!!" because you are just so used to losing then your point immediately loses all credit and you once again slip back into the realms of angry virgin niceguy.

[Giggletr0n]

@Bensbrie Sorry to say but that guy clearly hasn't developed past the edgy teen faze

[FýrdracaDócincel]

@Giggletr0n
Retype that so I can fuckin read it.

[Giggletr0n]

@FýrdracaDócincel For a guy that clearly aims to be seen as a "smart guy" the fact that you can't break down a somewhat poorly spaced out paragraph is telling... very telling.

[FýrdracaDócincel]

@Giggletr0n
I don't aim to be seen as anything anymore.

I thought I make that rather clear.

[Giggletr0n]

@FýrdracaDócincel Not so much, all of your points take a very sharp turn into typical incel territory where every sane point is immediately swallowed up by the lies that you keep on telling yourself. People that don't take any crap also don't invite it and your post and comment histor, on just this site alone, are massively obvious indicators that you do not at all understand what it is to speak your mind in a constructive manner and how to not take any crap in any real way.

[Giggletr0n]

@FýrdracaDócincel You are not some hard case with a free thinking mind; what you are is an incel loser, a no-hoper that just can't seem to crawl out of his pit of self shame long enough to stop your own war against yourself. You are literally your own worst enemy!

Have fun with never getting laid. Make a meme out of my comments or post it on r/Braincells and wait for the inevitable repost to r/IncelTears. Do however you wish, but know that those people that you debate with that you claim to hate the opinions of are literally laughing at you the very second that they can.

[FýrdracaDócincel]

@Giggletr0n
Just when I thought your arguments can't get any more unrespectable, you turn to the word "incel" and the idea of getting laid!

How much more desperate can you get than that?

It's really hilarious how quickly you people resort to the bullshit tactics when the smallest amount of pressure is applied to your fragile points.

It also goes to prove what I've been thinking the whole time.
Nobody here is gonna suck your dick because you're preaching and crying to me.. basically because I'm realistic.

[Giggletr0n]

@FýrdracaDócincel You literally have the word incel in your username.

Pressure? You applied no pressure... at all. You just went quiet for a while after a trying to flex about how much of a prick you are. If that's the kind of pressure that you can put out then no wonder you cry about losing!

"Nobody here is gonna suck your dick because you're preaching and crying to me.. basically because I'm realistic." - You say realistic but the rest of us say no hope loser. Also, you comment just cemented yourself as an incel because only an incel would immediately default to that way of thinking.

[Syrian_survivor]

Eyyy look! A massive retard :3

[FýrdracaDócincel]

@Syrian_survivor

Oh look! Someone who defines a word by it's technical definition instead of how it's actually used!
The retard here is you. Thats it.

[Syrian_survivor]

Sure man keep up the nice work :3 👌

[Bensbrie]

@Syrian_survivor Haha, I know I shouldn't laugh, but I'm slightly amused. Thanks for making me smile buddy, I've had a rough day a bit, so I appreciate your humor friend!

[Syrian_survivor]

@Bensbrie eyyy no problem my dude, glad to hear!✌️ :3

I can slide into PM and try cheering you up too there if you don't mind ofc :V

[Bensbrie]

@Syrian_survivor sure bro. Wait, I think I have to be xper 2 for you to message

[Syrian_survivor]

@Bensbrie follow me and let's see 🤔🤔🤔

[Bensbrie]

@Syrian_survivor I followed bro

[Cruizer]

What a shit show.

[Bensbrie]

Are you okay honey? Do you need a hug or something? Like have you been having a bad week or aomething dear?

[IIGrifterSixII]

We just dont care about it to that level > Dont tell us fat chicks are sexy and were cool. Dont tell me unheathly bodys are ok because body positivity and were ok. Its not that complicated. If you have a body problem go get help. Hows it anyone elses problem? Now cann we please get some hot chicks back to modeling... Ill even settle fron the trans VS model, At least they look like a good looking woman

[stormbreaker06]

because you people are weak and soft.

the moment you say something about them they want to cry, report you and put you on social media.

people think its cool to be fat. NO ITS NOT. if you are fat then we are not healthy.

[monkeynutts]

You are right, but I don't think most women sell the concept of body positivity the way you have.
I don't know any girls that suffer from bulemia, or anorexia. But I know slot of fat girls who instead of sitting on the couch eating ice cream, should be on the ground doing crunches, picking up objects, putting them down, and generally moving more.

[ztriple3]

I agree with the message of self worth that the body positivity movement is trying to give people, but where I split off is that it always and at times encourages unhealthy habits. It's one thing if you're like my mom with a busted thyroid, or have some kind of wasting disease. However, if you won't eat because you think you need to be skinnier and you'd pass out playing tag with me? You should be proud of yourself, but don't let that pride excuse you from giving yourself your best life.

[ztriple3]

Forgot to remove *always and*. Can't figure out how to edit.

[CoffeeWC]

Some people misuse the body positivity movement as an excuse to not have a healthy lifestyle, because a lot of women misunderstand it. They think it's about not improving your body because it's beautiful the way it is. True body positivity is about taking care of it.

[Justacatlady]

I’m sorry you went through or are still going through this. I hope you have people in your life you can talk to and that can help you through this.
This was very well done and thank you for sharing. Very accurate

[maxambit]

I believe that we physiologically link our body to sexuality instead of health and longetivity. Instead of trying to be thin to be attractive we should be looking at what we are doing to try to not die from being obese or anorexic.

[Giggletr0n]

@feliciaverduzco Oh so you are THAT kind of douchebag then?