Prominent body politic movements, explained

Many marginalized individuals, such as those who are fat, disabled, and people of color have fought against society’s exclusive standard of health and physical beauty for centuries. By creating socio-political movements that endorse inclusivity, liberation, and positive self-image, these folks created safe spaces to advocate against their mistreatment. The fight for body justice expanded and diverged into more specific advocacy initiatives over time. Presently, each movement within this realm deconstructs negative self-image and prejudice against bodies that society deems inferior. 

Body Positivity

Body positivity is the assertion that all people deserve to have a positive image of their body, regardless of how society and popular culture conveys appearance ideals. The body-positive movement, specifically, recognizes sexuality, race, gender, and ability as factors that affect body image, but maintains an overall focus on the influence of body size. The movement challenges unrealistic beauty standards to promote the widespread acceptance of all bodies. 

The term “body positive” emerged in 1996 with the creation of an organization called The Body Positive. This organization, founded by clinical social workers Elizabeth Scott and Connie Sobczak, aids individuals who suffer from disordered eating and poor body image. The organization accomplishes this by providing peer-to-peer education, offering individual courses on achieving body acceptance, and educating treatment providers on how to foster sustainable and positive care behaviors.    

From 2008 to 2010, body positivity spread through various groups on Facebook and on Tumblr, a blogging social media platform. Fat, queer, women of color posted content to discuss the injustices they face — from being fetishized to ostracized.

In 2012, body positivity gained popularity with cisgender, heterosexual white women as well. Soon, messages of self-love and embracing perceived flaws flooded #bodypositivity, altering the initial message of the radical social justice movement from liberating marginalized bodies to praising all bodies. 

Currently, many corporations partake in the co-opted messaging of body positivity. Popular clothing brands like Old Navy and Nike now advertise larger-than-traditional models, but commonly only those who are white, have an hourglass body shape, and possess Eurocentric facial features. This representation — although needed — is hardly radical.

Additionally, several diet companies such as Lumen claim to be body-positive by selling nutritious foods that are said to produce “natural” weight loss. However, all that these companies are accomplishing through the promotion of calorie tracking and endorsing low-carb meal plans is the appropriation of diet culture. 

As a result, the meaning of body positivity broadened. Presently, the mainstream movement promotes self-love, body confidence, and inclusivity. The movement’s primary audience, however, lacks diversity, It consists of fairly thin, able-bodied, cisgender white women, whose bodies only somewhat differ from the standard of beauty.   

Fat Acceptance

Radio show host Steve Post hosted a “fat-in” in Central Park in New York City during the 1960s to protest fatphobia, the discrimination and rejection of fat people. In turn, he created the fat rights movement. 

The fat acceptance movement, a byproduct of the fat rights movement, advocates against the maltreatment of fat people. Western culture frequently associates fatness with laziness, unattractiveness, and even immorality. Fatness is considered a behavioral problem, and many believe that fatness is a disease.

In 1969, retired biomedical engineer Bill Fabrey created the National Association of Fat Acceptance (NAAFA). The organization, now called the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, challenges biases toward fat folks present in healthcare, employment, and education.  

Presently, the movement remains political. It combats anti-fat bias through policy creation, protest, and empowering fat people to appreciate their bodies. The primary focus of the movement is to improve the quality of life of fat people. 

Body Neutrality

Body neutrality is the acceptance of one’s body as it is in the present moment. The philosophy encourages individuals to value their internal characteristics, rather than encouraging individuals to cultivate a love for their body. Body neutrality disconnects self-worth from physical appearance. 

Body neutrality notably began in 2015 in response to negative reactions to body positivity. Many believe that the body-positive movement evolved to exclude marginalized groups that it claimed to serve. Body neutrality is certainly a byproduct of body positivity, but where body positivity is a socio-political movement central to cultivating body acceptance, body neutrality overlooks bodily appearance to minimize negative body image.

Intuitive eating counselor Anne Poirier played an active role in forming the movement by creating a body neutral workshop at the Eating Recovery Center. Additionally, companies such as designer clothing brand Tommy Hilfiger endorse this ever-growing movement. Hilfiger’s brand offers online courses that educate individuals on the body-neutral philosophy. Overall, body neutrality resonates with those who find it difficult to love their bodies. 

Body Liberation

Body liberation is the freedom from social and political systems of bodily oppression. The goal of body liberation is to destroy body standards that perpetuate ableism, sizeism, racism, and healthism. The movement began in 1978 with the publication of Fat is a Feminist Issue, a book by Susie Orbach. It discusses problems many women encounter with body image and eating.

Rooted in the fat acceptance movement, body liberation criticizes diet culture, bodily prejudice, and beauty standards that are present anywhere in our society, ranging from school health classes to clothing accessibility.

Body liberation represents a more prominent political argument for combating oppression based on physical appearance. It doesn’t require one to believe that their body is perfect. Instead, it rejects the idea that individuals’ physicality need to align with social norms endorsed by oppressive systems.

Author, yoga teacher, and influencer Jessamyn Stanley, as well as many other activists, prefer body liberation in place of body positivity. Stanley feels that body liberation allows her to accept herself without feeling the need to immediately “love” every part of her body. Instead, by endorsing body liberation, she is able to free herself from bodily expectations in their entirety.

Body liberation is prominent on social media as well. Photographer, writer, and body liberation activist Lindley Ashline partnered with The Body Love Shop on Facebook to offer a body liberation book club. Currently, body liberation challenges systems of power such as diet culture, fatphobia, and anti-blackness that inhibit individuals from living at peace with their bodies.

Political body acceptance movements fight for the appreciation of all bodies no matter their appearance. The belief that slim, able-bodied, cisgender, heterosexual, and white bodies are superior is rooted in white supremacy, patriarchal ideals, and homophobia. Body politic movements combat that narrow ideal.