Hashtag “Body Positivity” – a movement that has made waves around the world in recent years. We live in a world where many women feel under a lot of pressure to be perfect. On Instagram & Co, everyone seems to have the perfect hair, the perfect skin, the perfect life and the perfect body. Even though everyone knows that it is obviously an artificial illusion world with the right perspective, flattering light, a skillful pose, filters, Photoshop and other tricks, more and more women are still emulating these role models.
“Body shaming” must come to an end
The ideal of beauty has changed several times over the centuries, but there has always been a “right” or “wrong” way for women. In ancient Greece or the Italian Renaissance, anyone who was not full was not considered attractive. In the 1920s women were suddenly tomboyish in the “ideal” and in the 1960s they were as slim as possible, following the example of the first supermodel “Twiggy”. Just ten years earlier, the “perfect” woman was plump with a slim waist similar to an hourglass, and around 1970 the desire was suddenly for healthy curves and sportiness. Keeping up with all these trends is almost impossible and so there were always a lot of women - yes, usually the majority - who didn't have such a supposedly perfect figure.
And even today, not everyone has a butt à la Kylie Jenner or the “thigh gap”. The result is often a form of “body shaming”. All the supposedly imperfect women feel uncomfortable in their skin, strive for unattainable ideals of beauty, perhaps even risk their health or are attacked by other users on social media. “Body shaming”, be it passive in the sense of dissatisfaction with oneself or active, for example through nasty comments on the Internet, has become a major problem of our time and is one of the reasons why more and more women -and men too– suffer from an inferiority complex because of their figure.
Almost every woman is dissatisfied with her body
The consequences of the focus on appearance and the danger of “body shaming” have now reached enormous proportions: a full 92 percent of German women areaccording to ÄrzteZeitungdissatisfied with her body. For men it is also almost 80 percent. For some, the shame goes so far that they are reluctant to appear naked in front of their partner. More than a quarter of women would be willing to pay up to 30,000 euros to make their problem areas disappear. This explains why the number of cosmetic surgeries is constantly growing.
What potential does “body positivity” have as a countermovement?
“Body positivity” is intended to put an end to this development. Even though it is currently on everyone's lips, it is not, strictly speaking, a new invention. Instead, the movement began in the 1990s and a look at the statistics showed the first successes at the turn of the millennium in terms of greater satisfaction among women and men with their bodies. But thanks to Instagram and other social networks, that quickly changed again. “Body shaming” currently appears to be worse than ever before. The reason why “body positivity” is now experiencing another upswing and made it into the established media for the first time in 2012, when SEVENTEEN MAGAZINE decided to stop airbrushing models.
Further actions such as the banning of words like “bikini body” from WOMEN'S HEALTH or features with plus-size models in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED followed. There is no longer a “Swimsuit Competition” in the Miss Teen USA election and more and more influencers on platforms such as Instagram are consciously deciding against editing their alleged beauty flaws in their photos. Suddenly cellulite, stretch marks, moles, fat rolls and scars can be seen in the previously perfect feeds.
But what is “body positivity” really?
To a certain extent, the hashtag “Body Positivity” actually represents a small revolution when it comes to the topics of body image and self-love. What sounds good at first glance has recently come under increasing criticism. Because the prejudices that prevail in our society are persistent. For example, overweight people have to accept disadvantages in their professional lives because they are associated with attributes such as laziness or a lack of discipline. Unfortunately, a positive attitude doesn't change that. These stereotypes are not going to change in a matter of months or years because of a hashtag.
In addition, “body positivity” runs the risk of being used as a marketing tool and thus misused to a certain extent. Many brands use the hype to attract attention, for example by stopping retouching their models' photos. A development that is indeed advantageous. However, it remains questionable how long the good intentions will last once “body positivity” has become the new normal. The sustainability of the movement cannot currently be estimated. Between Instagram feeds, marketing tools, etc., the real thing is quickly forgotten: It should be about feeling comfortable in your body. This doesn't have to be the case every day or even 24 hours a day and doesn't mean you can't or don't want to change. But there should be a basic satisfaction with yourself. The keyword has already been mentioned: self-love.
A positive self-image does not rule out optimization
Some people are now trying to use “body positivity” as a reference point for “body shaming”. Suddenly you're no longer allowed to want to lose weight or go to the gym because that would inevitably mean a lack of self-love, right? Incorrect! Loving yourself doesn't mean not being able to optimize your body or lifestyle.Burn excess fatShould be a goal for everyone, not just for the sake of their own health and in combination with a mindful lifestylebecause of the external appearance. Instead, “Body Positivity” is about a holistic concept of life with the goal of self-love and respect for the benefit of your own (mental) health – being yourself, being healthy, being happy. So it is much more than “just” a hashtag!
Image sources:
Pixabay.com / jill111, StockSnap
Unsplash.com / rawpixel, Court Prather, Laura Marques,Sharon McCutcheon
