Lifestyle July 2, 2018
We need to let people love themselves.
People who are overweight should be able to find solace in self-love just like anyone else. We live in a society bent on demonizing fatness. Through the constant criticism and negativity that they face on a day to day basis, overweight people loving themselves and having a positive body image is not “promoting obesity.” People who are overweight are allowed to love themselves.
We need to stop acting like allowing people who are overweight to feel beautiful is nurturing a generation of diabetes. People loving themselves is not the problem. Your body type does not dictate your value as a person nor does it dictate your health. Self-love is important for everyone—regardless of their body type. Everyone deserves to have a positive body image.
Many people have misconceptions about the body positivity movement. One such misconception is that it’s promoting obesity as some new ideal body type.
In a world where we are constantly bombarded with anti-fat media and rhetoric, a “pro-fat” mentality is never going to be the pervasive issue. We live in a society that takes every opportunity to dehumanize fat people—from comedy to the fashion industry to the multi-billion-dollar diet industry.
Body positivity isn’t about loving your body because you are overweight. It’s about loving your body in a society that takes every opportunity to tell you that you shouldn’t. It’s knowing that you are worthy and beautiful despite all sorts of negative associations with the idea of being “fat.” Body positivity is about not basing your self-worth off of the way you look.
People appreciating their body regardless of their weight is not “pro-fat.” No one is claiming that becoming overweight is a new hot trend to follow. People are simply loving themselves and appreciating all body types.
The argument that the body positivity movement is problematic usually centers around the “health” debate. The argument suggests that promoting a positive body image among overweight people promotes obesity, which is negative because obesity has an increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
No one is ignoring the health issues. People can be cognizant of the health risks associated with being overweight and still realize that overweight people deserve to love themselves and feel beautiful.
Society constantly reminds us of the potential health problems of being overweight. They teach us in schools, we hear it in media and even from doctors. No one’s forgotten the health aspects and frankly, most people would be hard-pressed to do so.
Interestingly enough, someone’s health only seems open for public discussion and critique when it’s weight related. You almost never come across a social media comment criticizing someone for their drinking habits. Very few people are going around telling heavy drinkers that by loving themselves they are promoting an unhealthy lifestyle.
Different factors play into someone’s weight, as well as the weight they are healthiest at. If you don’t know the specific health factors at play for an individual you are not in any position to speak to their health concerns. You can be skinny and unhealthy, and you can be overweight and perfectly healthy.
But the body positivity movement isn’t about health first, it’s about acceptance. While health is important, so is self-love and we can love ourselves even if we have unhealthy habits or issues. After all, no one is perfect health-wise.
Even if someone does have health problems as a result of being overweight, they are no less worthy of self-love. Being at a higher risk for certain health problems or suffering from sickness does not negate someone’s right to love themselves.
Weight should never dictate someone’s value, and as a result, should never dictate their claim to love themselves and their body. People deserve to feel good about the way they look, regardless. Self-love and body positivity isn’t about perfection. It’s about encouraging everybody to appreciate who they are and what they have to offer.
Society accepts an extremely narrow vision of what a “healthy” body type looks like. Positive body image is about broadening the scope of what we see as beautiful and healthy. Because nothing is more unhealthy or harmful than not loving yourself.
Everyone deserves to feel that they are beautiful and worthy. The body positivity movement isn’t promoting some new unhealthy lifestyle trend. It’s telling everyone that they deserve self-love and that you can be healthy and overweight. Arguing that the body positivity movement “promotes obesity” demonizes self-love, and feeds into a toxic body image culture. It’s time we start letting people love themselves.
