Oh my god she’s so body positive!
You hear it all the time in articles! Journalist proudly declaring the latest fat actress as being body positive for simply existing.
Here’s a title I saw recently:
*enter celebrity name* spreads body positivity by braving a bikini
Unsurprisingly, this celebrity was fat. Unsurprisingly, this celebrity had cellulite.
Unsurprisingly, this celebrity had stretch marks. … and worst of all, she had the audacity to show all of the above. But is that body positive?
Not if she posted that photo herself degrading her body.
Not if she posted that photo herself body-shaming herself.
Not if she posted that photo herself while promoting diet culture.
You can’t assume body positivity because a person lives in a body that is outside of the beauty standards. You can’t assume body positivity from someone’s appearance. You can only know if someone is body positive from their actions!
Do they stand up against bullying and body shame?
Do they resist diet culture, or at the very least refuse to promote it?
Are they intersectional?
Does she actually identify as body positive themselves?
From the picture, can you say she is body confident? Yes. But body positive? No.
But even body confident, I have an issue with. If she didn’t have cellulite, excessive fat or stretch marks would that still be in the headline of the article?
How do you know if she is confident? Are you inside her head? Would you still be so in awe and so inspired if her body was similar to that of Victoria Secret models?
Body positivity is not the same as body confidence.
Confidence can’t be assumed – even if they are loud and an extrovert.
So stop looking at everyone else and admiring their perceived confidence and start working on your own. #ScarredNotScared