Beauty without harm: body positivity or how not to go too far?
Finally, glossy magazines and catwalks allowed us to gain weight. There are models who, with all their looks and success, demonstrate that “plus-size” is only a plus. They are actively promoted by brands that have decided to make extra pounds attractive. Under the banner of combating anorexic beauty, they began to promote beauty with a plus sign. And here we are again on the edge. Proponents of body positivity break pitchforks in the fight against supporters of body-shaming for their right to have extra pounds. And they lose because her majesty fashion and his majesty business are on their side. But let’s not think about brands and their earnings, but about ourselves.
What it all started with
Body positive is a great idea in general. Each body is beautiful – this is the basic idea that adepts of the movement of body positivity want to convey. This worldview carries a respectful and invaluable perception of any appearance, including changed due to illness, injury or personal decision.
There is nothing wrong with that. If you want to sweat in the gym for the sake of your pumped buttocks every day – go ahead, don’t want to – don’t do it. You want your underarm hairs to spike and tickle – okay, want smooth skin – no problem, keep a razor. Whatever your choice is worthy of respect. Each body is beautiful.
Unfortunately, today the basic values of body positivity have been misinterpreted. The beauty industry has been declared the root of evil, and the desire to have a good look is lack of intelligence. The supporters of the movement themselves began to fall into extremes
A radical body positivity
It seems like a great idea because self-confidence starts with accepting yourself. And development starts with an adequate attitude. However, gradually the body-positive began to acquire features that do not contribute to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and, in fact, positive.
One of the extremes of the movement is that beauty must be natural. So, epilation, styling, manicure, eyebrow correction – all this from the sly and pleasing alpha males who only dream of damaging our feminine dignity. Numerous groups of supporters adore stories like the hairy legs club or the movement of unshaven armpits (ladies not only leave their hair under their armpits but also dye it in different colours, focusing on this part of the body). Unhealthy advocacy of neglect, lack of care, and adherence to the basic rules of hygiene instead of harmonious attitudes to non-ideals are one of the extremes of body positivity.
Light body positivity
But there is also a less radical direction, the so-called “light body positive”. Proponents of this approach help deal with birth defects, with complexes associated with public humiliation at school. Therefore, if you were in the past the same “nerd” you used to be abused at school, and the echoes of this are still hindering you from becoming a confident, open-minded woman, you need to study the light body positivity deeper. The other participants’ stories and their experiences will help to cope with self-doubt. In one of the body positivity groups is a photo of a girl who had her eye removed through a tumor as a child. She was very ashamed. Thanks to the support of the participants, the girl began to wear bright and stylish eye bands, changed her hairstyle, and later married and gave birth to a baby. Thanks to the community, her self-esteem rose. This girl fell in love with herself and realized that imperfections in the body were not an excuse for giving up personal happiness.
GoBeauty hopes that in the future this trend will lead people to a calm, harmonious attitude to their own and others’ appearance. We hope that people will learn to love their body and respect others, without getting hung up on evaluations.
