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Body Positive Movement - For or against?
MADDIESMOMMY6611
Posts: 140 Member
in Debate Club
How do you feel about the body positive movement? I haven't given it much thought but recently stumbled onto a few forums on a bodybuilding website where the overall theme was extremely against this movement. One commenter went as far as to say people for the movement are looking to destroy our country (USA) by promoting unhealthy eating habits and laziness.
What does this movement mean to you? Do you agree or disagree with it?
What does this movement mean to you? Do you agree or disagree with it?
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Replies
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I don't agree with fat acceptance. I think it's giving people an excuse not to take care of themselves to the extent that a lot of people need to. I get that there are some medical conditions that make losing weight difficult, but those, as far as I know, are the exception rather than the norm. With the rising levels of obesity, a lot of people obviously have a bad relationship with food and are highly sedentary.69
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Body positive is great. I think its very important to feel comfortable is your own skin. As a person who's body image opinion is terrible, I envy those who feel good about themselves. That being said, body positive is one thing...health positive is another.56
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OnFireWithin wrote: »I don't agree with fat acceptance. I think it's giving people an excuse not to take care of themselves to the extent that a lot of people need to. I get that there are some medical conditions that make losing weight difficult, but those, as far as I know, are the exception rather than the norm. With the rising levels of obesity, a lot of people obviously have a bad relationship with food and are highly sedentary.
Agree with this, with the caveat that one should not be shamed if they are fat, thin or whatever shape.28 -
Loving yourself regardless of how you look is one thing (a good thing!), but health is another. In my own (probably ridiculous) opinion, I'd say that to really love yourself, you have to care enough to look after yourself. I don't like the thought that being overweight is becoming more normalized, even if it means more people are okay with their body shapes, just because I don't want health to get lumped in with self-love.36
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Body positivity = good. Obesity acceptance = bad.
I consider myself fat because I am fat. I'm trying to get unfat. I feel good about getting unfat. I am looking better the more unfat i get.
If someone else calls me fat that does not make them wrong. It does make them a prick, but not wrong.110 -
I don't worry about other people's health, unless they're very close to me (and I'm lucky not to have to worry about any of my family it friends). Other people are allowed to make their own choices about food and exercise, and they're allowed to have different priorities too. I guess that makes me indifferent.27
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I am definitely pro-body positivity! A lot of people lump movements together, like putting HAES and fat acceptance in the same category as the body positivity movement, which are completely separate.
Body positivity is not just about fat people. It's about thin people who are told to eat a cheeseburger, it's about people who've lost a leg that don't feel comfortable wearing shorts in public, it's about female body builders who are called men. It's about an overweight female being shamed for wearing a two-piece bathing suit at the beach. It even reaches to POC not being shamed or judged or made fun of because of their skin color or shades. This movement has the potential to reach so many things and people who have felt less than for a million reasons.
It's about being kind to each other at every life phase and not discriminating against someone because of what they look like. We have no idea what is going on in anyone else's lives. I often watch 600 lb life, and after these people lose 200 lbs, they still look much larger than the average person, and are still stared at and made fun of. Even though they are working so hard to change their life. They begin to care less about the judgement further into their journey because they feel positive about their progress and their bodies exactly where they are, even while knowing they still have a long way to go before they're healthy again.
A lot of eating disorders begin because of shaming bodies different than our own. There are people who are severely underweight that look in the mirror and see a fat person. There are men who are thin that are told they aren't "man" enough because they don't have enough muscles. Women who simply carry 150 lbs differently than the person next to her and because one woman has big boobs and the other has big thighs, one is called fat and the other one is not. It can lead to people feeling horrible about themselves for no good reason, and the body shaming just has to stop. It's so dangerous and mean and cruel.
The true mission of the body positivity movement is to create healthy habits that allow each person to take care of their whole selves in the most healthy way possible. That when you love yourself and have a positive self image it directly relates to living your life in the most positive and healthy ways. If you love your body, give it the fuel it needs to live. Don't overeat to deal with emotions, don't under eat out of fear. Don't talk negatively to your self, it creates bad and unhealthy habits. Lift yourself up, speak kindly to yourself, love your body and your mind and it will create sustainable good and healthy habits.124 -
Like any movement if it leads to personal reflection and improvement it can be a good thing. For those who have difficulty with reality this has great potential for evil.
For those who have an issue with self loathing this has the potential for good. Every act of self improvement is an inherent act of love.5 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I don't worry about other people's health, unless they're very close to me (and I'm lucky not to have to worry about any of my family it friends). Other people are allowed to make their own choices about food and exercise, and they're allowed to have different priorities too. I guess that makes me indifferent.
In the wild west of the late 1800s this is true. Make bad choices, die early and the buzzards take care of the carcass
Fast forward to 2019 medical costs are out of control and these costs are in some way shared by everyone. Read somewhere obesity is pretty directly tied to 10% of US medical spending. It is an issue that impacts you.33 -
sammidelvecchio wrote: »I am definitely pro-body positivity! A lot of people lump movements together, like putting HAES and fat acceptance in the same category as the body positivity movement, which are completely separate.
Body positivity is not just about fat people. It's about thin people who are told to eat a cheeseburger, it's about people who've lost a leg that don't feel comfortable wearing shorts in public, it's about female body builders who are called men. It's about an overweight female being shamed for wearing a two-piece bathing suit at the beach. It even reaches to POC not being shamed or judged or made fun of because of their skin color or shades. This movement has the potential to reach so many things and people who have felt less than for a million reasons.
It's about being kind to each other at every life phase and not discriminating against someone because of what they look like. We have no idea what is going on in anyone else's lives. I often watch 600 lb life, and after these people lose 200 lbs, they still look much larger than the average person, and are still stared at and made fun of. Even though they are working so hard to change their life. They begin to care less about the judgement further into their journey because they feel positive about their progress and their bodies exactly where they are, even while knowing they still have a long way to go before they're healthy again.
A lot of eating disorders begin because of shaming bodies different than our own. There are people who are severely underweight that look in the mirror and see a fat person. There are men who are thin that are told they aren't "man" enough because they don't have enough muscles. Women who simply carry 150 lbs differently than the person next to her and because one woman has big boobs and the other has big thighs, one is called fat and the other one is not. It can lead to people feeling horrible about themselves for no good reason, and the body shaming just has to stop. It's so dangerous and mean and cruel.
The true mission of the body positivity movement is to create healthy habits that allow each person to take care of their whole selves in the most healthy way possible. That when you love yourself and have a positive self image it directly relates to living your life in the most positive and healthy ways. If you love your body, give it the fuel it needs to live. Don't overeat to deal with emotions, don't under eat out of fear. Don't talk negatively to your self, it creates bad and unhealthy habits. Lift yourself up, speak kindly to yourself, love your body and your mind and it will create sustainable good and healthy habits.
This deserves repeating.
I think that before we can want better for ourselves we must learn to accept who we are. No need to say more...the above post says it all.28 -
Let me tell you, hating myself did not make me feel like making good choices. Up until a little while ago, you could often hear me say I was going to "take out my bad day on myself" as I pulled into a McDonald's drive-thru. I've done that once or twice a week for the last 10 years.
We need to stop telling people that fat bodies are gross. We need to allow fat bodies to exist without glares, sneers and anger. We need to leave the "concern for health" to doctors who are informed and capable. If a stranger says they're worried about my health, it's the same as a million FB users saying they're sending "thoughts and prayers" for disasters. They don't actually care, they just want to seem like they do while masking apathy or worse.
That kind of BS makes me sick. It makes me want to eat a double cheeseburger in their face.
And we need to start making changes with kids. Give them the tools to be healthy adults, instead of Froot Loops and Snickers, cleaning plates, and too much time sitting around. I think that might have to be a government regulation thing. There's way too much empty calorie, cheap foods and not enough teaching about portion control.49 -
sammidelvecchio wrote: »I am definitely pro-body positivity! A lot of people lump movements together, like putting HAES and fat acceptance in the same category as the body positivity movement, which are completely separate.
Body positivity is not just about fat people. It's about thin people who are told to eat a cheeseburger, it's about people who've lost a leg that don't feel comfortable wearing shorts in public, it's about female body builders who are called men. It's about an overweight female being shamed for wearing a two-piece bathing suit at the beach. It even reaches to POC not being shamed or judged or made fun of because of their skin color or shades. This movement has the potential to reach so many things and people who have felt less than for a million reasons.
It's about being kind to each other at every life phase and not discriminating against someone because of what they look like. We have no idea what is going on in anyone else's lives. I often watch 600 lb life, and after these people lose 200 lbs, they still look much larger than the average person, and are still stared at and made fun of. Even though they are working so hard to change their life. They begin to care less about the judgement further into their journey because they feel positive about their progress and their bodies exactly where they are, even while knowing they still have a long way to go before they're healthy again.
A lot of eating disorders begin because of shaming bodies different than our own. There are people who are severely underweight that look in the mirror and see a fat person. There are men who are thin that are told they aren't "man" enough because they don't have enough muscles. Women who simply carry 150 lbs differently than the person next to her and because one woman has big boobs and the other has big thighs, one is called fat and the other one is not. It can lead to people feeling horrible about themselves for no good reason, and the body shaming just has to stop. It's so dangerous and mean and cruel.
The true mission of the body positivity movement is to create healthy habits that allow each person to take care of their whole selves in the most healthy way possible. That when you love yourself and have a positive self image it directly relates to living your life in the most positive and healthy ways. If you love your body, give it the fuel it needs to live. Don't overeat to deal with emotions, don't under eat out of fear. Don't talk negatively to your self, it creates bad and unhealthy habits. Lift yourself up, speak kindly to yourself, love your body and your mind and it will create sustainable good and healthy habits.
This deserves repeating.
I think that before we can want better for ourselves we must learn to accept who we are. No need to say more...the above post says it all.
I definitely agree with this. And I also agree with another commenter about how you only really love yourself when you take care of yourself. The forums I was reading were really fat shaming and it was pretty shocking that people would say such horrible things on an open forum.
I think a great part about this movement is that it encourages people to never shame anyone for any body type. That is most important.9 -
I honestly feel like body positivity is an amazing outlook for people to have. I also think there is a well intentioned idea behind the fat acceptance movement. However, I believe it got somewhat skewed somewhere along the way.
I think in a lot of ways fat people are made to feel lesser in society. I think we face a lot of judgement for things that go along with our condition/addiction/struggle that we can't necessarily help (like having to use mobility scooters and not being able to get out and work)
I think at the beginning, the fat acceptance movement was probably meant to de-stigmatize being overweight and obese, and to support the idea that while it is unhealthy to be obese, it is not necessarily anyone's business to shame people into submission over it or to incessantly point it out.
However, "fat acceptance" kind of turned into a misinformation campaign about the effects of obesity. There are many overweight and obese people who do live full and active lives, but like any other bad habit, a poor diet does take its toll eventually. And of course, there are lots of skinny people who do long term damage to their health with poor diets as well.
And I do know lots of older people who have had a bit of a weight problem for a large portion of their lives and still get around pretty well. This includes my grandmother, who is 84 years old. And while she has some health problems, she does pretty well for her age and a lot of her issues stem from the many years she spent doing hard hard labor building locomotive engines, even if being overweight may have exacerbated them. Even while she was heavy, she worked until retirement, traveled, raised a family, went dancing with her girlfriends, and she has lived a good life while struggling with her weight.
The main issue is that some of the people who are pro-HAES can be very much in denial about the long term effects of obesity, which obviously doesn't do anyone any good considering how much bunk is already out there about weight loss.
The anti-HAES people can be just as bad on their side, being incredibly overbearing about the negative effects to the point of making it their business to harangue every fat person they see who has even a bit of a lackadaisical attitude toward their weight loss.
But at its core, body positivity isn't meant to tell people it is healthy or beneficial or glamourous to be fat. It is meant to tell people that everyone is worthy of love, compassion and social acceptance regardless of their appearance or health. That no matter what you look like, whether you are obese, or suffer from deformity, illness, or handicap, you are not disgusting and inhuman. You can be beautiful just by virtue of your willingness to go out and live your best life, whatever that may entail for you.21 -
sammidelvecchio wrote: »I am definitely pro-body positivity! A lot of people lump movements together, like putting HAES and fat acceptance in the same category as the body positivity movement, which are completely separate.
Body positivity is not just about fat people. It's about thin people who are told to eat a cheeseburger, it's about people who've lost a leg that don't feel comfortable wearing shorts in public, it's about female body builders who are called men. It's about an overweight female being shamed for wearing a two-piece bathing suit at the beach. It even reaches to POC not being shamed or judged or made fun of because of their skin color or shades. This movement has the potential to reach so many things and people who have felt less than for a million reasons.
It's about being kind to each other at every life phase and not discriminating against someone because of what they look like. We have no idea what is going on in anyone else's lives. I often watch 600 lb life, and after these people lose 200 lbs, they still look much larger than the average person, and are still stared at and made fun of. Even though they are working so hard to change their life. They begin to care less about the judgement further into their journey because they feel positive about their progress and their bodies exactly where they are, even while knowing they still have a long way to go before they're healthy again.
A lot of eating disorders begin because of shaming bodies different than our own. There are people who are severely underweight that look in the mirror and see a fat person. There are men who are thin that are told they aren't "man" enough because they don't have enough muscles. Women who simply carry 150 lbs differently than the person next to her and because one woman has big boobs and the other has big thighs, one is called fat and the other one is not. It can lead to people feeling horrible about themselves for no good reason, and the body shaming just has to stop. It's so dangerous and mean and cruel.
The true mission of the body positivity movement is to create healthy habits that allow each person to take care of their whole selves in the most healthy way possible. That when you love yourself and have a positive self image it directly relates to living your life in the most positive and healthy ways. If you love your body, give it the fuel it needs to live. Don't overeat to deal with emotions, don't under eat out of fear. Don't talk negatively to your self, it creates bad and unhealthy habits. Lift yourself up, speak kindly to yourself, love your body and your mind and it will create sustainable good and healthy habits.
This, all of this. And that's what frustrates me about discussions surrounding body positivity on MFP - the majority of people try to distill the idea down to themes regarding being overweight or obese. Plenty of people take it farther to "it's about it being ok to be fat and that's inherently unhealthy, so no body positivity isn't good".12 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »I don't worry about other people's health, unless they're very close to me (and I'm lucky not to have to worry about any of my family it friends). Other people are allowed to make their own choices about food and exercise, and they're allowed to have different priorities too. I guess that makes me indifferent.
In the wild west of the late 1800s this is true. Make bad choices, die early and the buzzards take care of the carcass
Fast forward to 2019 medical costs are out of control and these costs are in some way shared by everyone. Read somewhere obesity is pretty directly tied to 10% of US medical spending. It is an issue that impacts you.
Obesity, yes; obese people feeling decently about themselves, no.
Other people driving is an issue that impacts me, too. By causing air pollution, people who live near freeways as children have much higher asthma rates, for example. There are a lot of things everybody does that affect everybody else, that's part of loving in societies. As far as it goes, this is way, way, way down on this list of importance.19 -
[/quote]
This deserves repeating.
I think that before we can want better for ourselves we must learn to accept who we are. No need to say more...the above post says it all. [/quote]
I don't disagree, but also I was about to type that I used to be in gigantic denial. At almost 300 pounds, I could turn sideways, suck in my gut, look in the mirror and think, "You're not THAT far from high school...." I was, though, I was.
Anyway, I was GOING to say that before we can better ourselves, we have to admit that we aren't in our ideal shape.
10 -
There are a lot of people who feel pretty awful about themselves and aren't in denial. Accepting your body doesn't mean that you're in denial about things that you can or can't change. You personally may have been, but there are a ton of people who feel pretty awful about their bodies. And again, this is not just about weight.JustinAnimal wrote: »I don't disagree, but also I was about to type that I used to be in gigantic denial. At almost 300 pounds, I could turn sideways, suck in my gut, look in the mirror and think, "You're not THAT far from high school...." I was, though, I was.
Anyway, I was GOING to say that before we can better ourselves, we have to admit that we aren't in our ideal shape.10 -
JustinAnimal wrote: »
This deserves repeating.
I think that before we can want better for ourselves we must learn to accept who we are. No need to say more...the above post says it all. [/quote]
I don't disagree, but also I was about to type that I used to be in gigantic denial. At almost 300 pounds, I could turn sideways, suck in my gut, look in the mirror and think, "You're not THAT far from high school...." I was, though, I was.
Anyway, I was GOING to say that before we can better ourselves, we have to admit that we aren't in our ideal shape.
[/quote]
@JustinAnimal True Story
A couple of years ago I had lost 85lbs...10-15lbs away from my goal. I have a protruding stomach due to some large hernias. It makes me look as if I am 5 months pregnant at age 66. I dealt with this during my weight loss telling myself I would never have a flat stomach but I would be healthier. However it was a constant struggle accepting that I would never look slim.
One day while out taking a walk I stopped in a nearby furniture store. A clerk walked up to help me. Within just a couple of minutes she pointed to my stomach and said..."What's that?". At first I didn't answer because I didn't know what she was talking about. She pointed again and said..."What is that?". I then realized that she was pointing to my stomach and the only thing that I could say was..."Don't worry...I didn't stick a sofa up my shirt". I was floored that someone would be so rude. I left the store angry...swore I would not ever go back. I also left embarrassed and humiliated. I was right back where I started...trying to accept myself as I am. I gained all the weight back and it has taken this long to start caring enough about myself to try again.
The problem that I see is that most of us know we are not "ideal" whatever that is. We just don't care enough about ourselves to put out the effort it takes. Society often reminds us that we are not perfect...that we are not "ideal".31 -
I just got back from a holiday in Brazil. I was honestly shocked to see the number of fat people out and about. It's not like in the movies/tourism ads with the women with "Brazilian booties" and ripped men on the beach all that stuff - nooooooo - the reality is a whole bunch of overweight men and women going about their daily lives. I'm talking I'd say a good 60-70% of people I saw I would consider overweight.
The fit people were few and far between. And I did spend some time at the beach too.
Now, one thing that I did notice too, was a general body acceptance regardless of the fatness! Women were dressed nicely, wore short shorts, wore midriff tops (even with stomachs poking out all over the place), women and men were on the beach wearing very small bathing suits with fat bits hanging all over the place and the best thing was: none of them looked like they were giving a *kitten* about being fat or wearing small/revealing clothing. They all seemed to be accepting their bodies and there was no shaming or people staring at each other.
It was very different to here in Australia where a fat person wouldn't be caught dead in a tiny bikini or midriff top out in public, and even slim people wear t-shirts at the beach because they don't feel comfortable or thin/fit enough.
I like the fact that they were confident enough in their skin to wear revealing clothes and to be on the beach without feeling like they needed to cover up. Women and men of all ages.
However, the health conscious me didn't like the fact that so many people were overweight - for health reasons, not aesthetics.
My husband has 2 nieces in their early 20s. One of them was so fat she was about 3 of me. I was at a family BBQ at his sister's place and everyone was fat/obese except for myself, my husband and his two sisters who are in their 50s. Everyone else, particularly the young people, were FAT. They simply did not take care of themselves. I worry for their health more than anything. I'm not talking a bit fluffy (I consider myself a bit fluffy when I'm here in Australia, but over there I was feeling lean AF, I even went to the gym in short shorts and a crop top like those Insta model types and I'd never be caught dead wearing that in a gym here in Australia!) i'm talking FAT. Like will have heart problems and diabetes and knee issues and all sorts of *kitten*.
I'm losing my train of thought here, but to get back to the topic - I like the fact that there was acceptance and body positivity regardless of the size of the person, BUT, like others in this thread, I personally think that some form of healthiness needs to be addressed. I don't think everyone needs to be skinny or fit, but I also think that obesity is not healthy. A happy medium. Fluffiness perhaps. Eat a bit better, move a bit more, keep the body in a relatively healthy state, even if carrying a few more kilos than the charts say you should, but overall people DO need to look at their HEALTH and WELLBEING. Not just being comfortable in a skimpy swimsuit. Coz if you go and have a heart attack tomorrow you won't have a chance to rock your bikini the day after.14 -
I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about, but I think one should accept overweight people in that they are also HUMAN BEINGS who deserve just as much respect as the next guy.
I want to also add that you can’t tell someone’s journey just by passing them on the street. Someone may be obese, but what if that person who weighs 250 has already lost 100lbs? Or what if they just started their weight loss journey... you don’t have a crystal ball. In a year they could be a whole new person.19 -
JustinAnimal wrote: »
This deserves repeating.
I think that before we can want better for ourselves we must learn to accept who we are. No need to say more...the above post says it all.
I don't disagree, but also I was about to type that I used to be in gigantic denial. At almost 300 pounds, I could turn sideways, suck in my gut, look in the mirror and think, "You're not THAT far from high school...." I was, though, I was.
Anyway, I was GOING to say that before we can better ourselves, we have to admit that we aren't in our ideal shape.
[/quote]
@JustinAnimal True Story
A couple of years ago I had lost 85lbs...10-15lbs away from my goal. I have a protruding stomach due to some large hernias. It makes me look as if I am 5 months pregnant at age 66. I dealt with this during my weight loss telling myself I would never have a flat stomach but I would be healthier. However it was a constant struggle accepting that I would never look slim.
One day while out taking a walk I stopped in a nearby furniture store. A clerk walked up to help me. Within just a couple of minutes she pointed to my stomach and said..."What's that?". At first I didn't answer because I didn't know what she was talking about. She pointed again and said..."What is that?". I then realized that she was pointing to my stomach and the only thing that I could say was..."Don't worry...I didn't stick a sofa up my shirt". I was floored that someone would be so rude. I left the store angry...swore I would not ever go back. I also left embarrassed and humiliated. I was right back where I started...trying to accept myself as I am. I gained all the weight back and it has taken this long to start caring enough about myself to try again.
The problem that I see is that most of us know we are not "ideal" whatever that is. We just don't care enough about ourselves to put out the effort it takes. Society often reminds us that we are not perfect...that we are not "ideal".[/quote]
You should have taken a page from Julia Roberts's character in "Pretty Woman" and asked her if she worked on commission before leaving.4 -
As a med student all I can say is that i'm all for body positivity and selflove but not pro-fat. Selflove to me means loving yourself but also caring about your health and well-being and always trying to make yourself better than you were yesterday. And also high body fat percentage is unhealthy in so many ways and that is a medical fact. Facts are facts. And in more than 80% overweight people the reason is eating more than they should and not doing any physical activity, endocrine problems are in much smaller percentage the reason. I was first the one to make excuses "but i was always "bigger" for the most of my life, i have slow metabolism blah blah..." those were just excuses, i've lost around 20kg and maintaining that weight for 3 years without much effort, my metabolism is completely normal
(coming from a person who really was bigger than others for most of my life since puberty) 7 -
To everyone who posted their opinions on the "pro-fat" topic, why do you feel the need to share your feelings on that when the thread is about the body positivity movement? Honestly just curious.19
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MADDIESMOMMY6611 wrote: »How do you feel about the body positive movement? I haven't given it much thought but recently stumbled onto a few forums on a bodybuilding website where the overall theme was extremely against this movement. One commenter went as far as to say people for the movement are looking to destroy our country (USA) by promoting unhealthy eating habits and laziness.
What does this movement mean to you? Do you agree or disagree with it?
According to some sections of the internet, lots of things are "destroying America", usually by promoting being kinder and more accepting of others. I tend not to listen to them.
To me, this is a no brainer. Why wouldn't we encourage people to feel positive about themselves, regardless of body type? This can mean fat, thin, tall, short, whatever. Being positive and comfortable with oneself does not mean the same thing as not wanting to change anything about it. I am both positive about my body and trying to lose weight. They are not mutually exclusive.
This is not the first type of thread similar to this, and there is always inevitably a portion of the audience who believes that we shouldn't do anything that could be construed about encouraging obesity and they believe that shaming people will make them eventually change. To be blunt, I think that's a way to try to justify being a bully and not feel bad about it. Other people's health decisions are not any of our business. It is not our business or responsibility to get them to try to change. We only have a responsibility to be kind and decent to everyone.
Lack of body positivity is something that some people harm or even kill themselves over. So I think it is something that is important to promote. Especially now with the internet and social media, people see a lot out there constantly that makes them feel bad about themselves, so if we can counter that by promoting things that help to counteract that, then I am in support of it.16 -
It's good to love yourself, no matter what. Accepting different body types is great. Shaming doesn't help anyone, and if it does, it's a rare and somewhat twisted case indeed. But I also think it's important not to go overboard with this "all bodies are beautiful" message and lose all common sense and think it's perfectly healthy for an average human to weigh 500 lb. Balance is key as with most things.8
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seltzermint555 wrote: »It's good to love yourself, no matter what. Accepting different body types is great. Shaming doesn't help anyone, and if it does, it's a rare and somewhat twisted case indeed. But I also think it's important not to go overboard with this "all bodies are beautiful" message and lose all common sense and think it's perfectly healthy for an average human to weigh 500 lb. Balance is key as with most things.
If ever this is deemed necessary this should always be limited to behavior and not the individual.
It is critical to point out that people are not their behavior, something missing from our collective ideology and having a horrendous result.12 -
seltzermint555 wrote: »It's good to love yourself, no matter what. Accepting different body types is great. Shaming doesn't help anyone, and if it does, it's a rare and somewhat twisted case indeed. But I also think it's important not to go overboard with this "all bodies are beautiful" message and lose all common sense and think it's perfectly healthy for an average human to weigh 500 lb. Balance is key as with most things.
If ever this is deemed necessary this should always be limited to behavior and not the individual.
It is critical to point out that people are not their behavior, something missing from our collective ideology and having a horrendous result.
I have a little trouble with this sentiment. People who murder aren't murderers? I understand not punishing an addict for their behavior, and, I suppose, overeating is an addiction in many rights if not all of them. Still... having trouble finding the words.
I don't think people should be shamed... but I think our actions dictate who we are as people. People who chronically overeat and undermove are obese... I'm all over the place. Nevermind!5 -
sammidelvecchio wrote: »To everyone who posted their opinions on the "pro-fat" topic, why do you feel the need to share your feelings on that when the thread is about the body positivity movement? Honestly just curious.
As someone who addressed it in my post, I am just going to say that I have rarely seen people talk about body positivity without conflating the two topics. I can't imagine what reason one might have to disagree with the concept of body positivity without bringing up being anti-fat-acceptance. And I have only rarely seen anyone do it.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I do feel like the gist of a lot of the other posts that mention it were pretty much operating on the same logic. I think almost everyone here gets the difference, but the two things seem to be almost inseparably linked in the social consciousness. Because of that, I feel like it bears repeating that not only is body positivity a good thing for everyone, but that the parts of it that have become meshed with the fat acceptance movement do have that same core of goodness and compassion woven into them as well- even if the message does get distorted at times. I feel that is the main reason why I, and others, would bring it up.8 -
I'm all for loving our bodies, but I don't think its right to celebrate being fat. All we are doing is teaching the younger generations to care less about their health. Do I think we should criticize people for being overweight? Absolutely not, but we shouldn't be promoting obesity either.
In my opinion (and this is probably a very unpopular opinion) if you TRULY love your body, you will do what you can to make sure that it is healthy.
I eat right and exercise BECAUSE I love my body- not because I hate it.14 -
I care about the eating habits of other people as much as I care about their sleeping or working habits. That is, not much unless they're closely related or explicitly asked me for advice. I also believe body positivity is important no matter what your size is. I even support the core concept of health at every size, that is, if losing weight is not currently a priority, there is no reason at all to stop caring about all other aspects of one's health. It's not an all or nothing deal. I'll even go a step further and say I support fat acceptance if fat acceptance is currently the best option for a person.
What I don't support is deluding yourself that your statistic health risks are equal to your health risks at a lower weight, that you're doomed to be a certain weight because that's what your body wants, or that having a healthy discussion about weight is fat shaming.18
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