Last week, I got into a “discussion” on Twitter about the Body Positive Movement. It wasn’t intentional, I was just talking about what I had observed in the movement, and the fact that I needed to lose 10 pounds because my knees would thank me.
On the one hand, I get it. It’s a whole movement about confidence. Confidence in whatever size you are, that every body has a summer body and basically DO YOU no matter what anyone thinks. It kind of goes hand in hand with me telling moms to get in the frame because your kids want to know you were there. NO MATTER WHAT YOU LOOK LIKE.
Don’t let the shape/state/look of your body prevent you from living your life.
I get it. I applaud it. I agree with it.
But I get annoyed.
Maybe because I grew up surround by big beautiful brown women who had more confidence in their pinkie fingers than anyone I knew. ( And I get that a lot of that confidence was/is a shield against the trolls of this world who have nothing better to do than judge people’s bodies).
Maybe it’s because as a former health care professional, I have seen the ravages that come with being big and beautiful and get annoyed every time someone shoots down some one’s attempt to…change. To exercise. To change that body. To improve it healthwise.
Being told they are contributing to diet culture because they were happy about losing 10 pounds.
Maybe it’s because the body positive movement is social media gold, and as someone who works in that world, I get tired of seeing people post things…for likes. Not because they truly genuinely believe that every body is beautiful but because they know they can go viral for doing so.
And that the movement lacks…color.(Where are those big beautiful brown women I was speaking about?)
I don’t know. It’s a strange time.
What I do know for sure is that whoever you are, and whatever body you are in, it’s up to you to be comfortable in it.
Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t be YOU. Share You.
Stretchmarks, Fupas, cellulite and all.
If you are skinny and you are proud of your body, share it.
If you are over 40 and can still wear that tiny black dress and want to share how you are comfortable enough with your body to do so, SHARE IT.
If you are comfortable in your skin and dont want to or plan to actively lose weight or exercise, DO YOU.
If running to clear your mind works for you and you happen to lose weight as a side effect, celebrate it.
If you are a size whatever and want to wear a bathing suit on the gram, DO IT. Your kids and family want those photos of you. They want to be able to SEE YOU.
F them trolls.
If you know you need to lose 10 pounds so you won’t be pre-diabetic anymore, do it. Don’t let anyone tell you anything.
If you want to lose 50 pounds because YOU will feel more comfortable in your own skin, DO IT.
If you want to share that before and after photo because you are damn proud of it, you should be able to without trolls coming for you.
People are forgetting that you can love the body you are in, but not it’s current season.
I honor my body, and that it has gotten me this far. But I also honor the fact that if I lose 10 pounds, my knees will thank me. In the age of body positivity, people are forgetting that self-love doesn’t mean that there are not things that you want to improve or change about yourself.
The body positive movement should include every body type.
Cause ALL BODIES MATTER
STOP
I took more than 5 minutes but under 10.
This was a stream of consciousness post. Set your timer for 5 minutes and just write. Then hit publish. Don’t correct it or anything. Just do it.