The body positivity movement emphasises all bodies being beautiful and healthy, but puts so much value on women’s’ appearance. Everyone deserves to feel like they are attractive just the way they are, without having to look like photoshopped magazine covers.
The issue with this movement is the fact that too much worth is placed on “beauty” and health, instead of the self. In this movement, there is an insistence that all women are beautiful, but not that all women are valuable. This is harmful because a woman shouldn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing to be a respected member of society. Additionally, many people fetishize plus-sized women because the movement has put all the focus on making them seem attractive and less focus on making it clear that they are important and respected. This is not only problematic for the women who are being fetishized more than ever, but also for impressionable children.
As a 12-year-old girl, I wanted to be accepted and valued for who I was; I was not looking to be sexy and appealing for men. Now that I am older, I recognize that it was not an issue with who I was at the time, but the problem was with the media I was consuming only showing girls who fit society’s beauty standards and were confident in their value.
Another fault of the movement is that it equates health with value. The movement will often mention how plus-sized people can still be healthy. Why are we only valuing healthy women? The idea that a woman’s value comes from her health is ableist. All women deserve to feel beautiful and valued no matter how they look or their circumstances in life.
Written by Lilia
Artwork by Sophia Patterson
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