It has always been a simple but strong message, "You are perfect just the way you are. You are enough as you are".
You know, over the years, body positivity moved up the ladder with series of awareness and even convicting defaulters so much that I wondered if it has becomes the new problem we have in this era because our forefathers never suffered from such issues.... Were they breeds of strong minds or are we just breeds that have solved all our problems and looking for one to create?
So to say that Body-shaming became a thing and people even lost their lives because they were bodyshamed. I used to think it was exaggerated until I realized that truly, words about a person's body truly cut deep.
Personally, I always tell people that there are somethings that normally don't get to me but maybe it's because I'm not fat but yeah, I've been convinced over time that many do get hurt by how people talk about their bodies.
Picture Is Mine
But Let me ask you, Why are you disturbed over what you can't change? And if you can change it, why do you listen to what people are saying instead of working on it?
On the contrary, are there moments when Body positivity overlaps with real benefits? Moments when the zealous desire to make people understand that they're perfect irrespective of how they are becomes a death trap covering them from the actual reality that they truly need to work on themselves?
You will believe with me that saying you love your body even when it's not fitting the general society standard isn't necessarily same thing as saying you love your body and fails to acknowledge it even when it's unhealthy.
Something I will always use as a point of reference will be Obesity. While I will never speak against your right of dignity, I can't simply because of body positivity lie to you. Obesity is a risk factor for almost all the illnesses in human body, that is to say that when you're obese, you are at risk of getting many diseases unlike people of healthy BMI.
Diabetes, hypertension, stroke and some cancers just to mention but a few are all deadly illnesses you are prone to once you're obese. Do you rather prefer to hide under the arm of body positivity and then eventually lose your life early?
The science is simple and you don't need to go to the hospital,
Measure your weight in kg, measure your height in metres. . Then, divide your weight by your height in m² ( that is, if you got 170cm as your height, concern to metres and it'll be 1.7m, then divide whatever is your weight by 1.7×1.7)
The value you get is what's called BMI (Body Mass Index) and anything greater than 24.9 isn't so great but you become obese when you're getting 30 and above.
Simply looking out for this individual who is obese by making simple suggestions of food modifications becomes a crime and makes it look like you're attacking him or her whereas you just wanted the best for her.
In such occasions, body positivity becomes blurry and the genuine intention to help someone is lost in fear of being labelled judgemental.
In summary, to love one's body shouldn't mean ignoring medical realities nor showed it lead to disregarding flaws or areas of improvement because doing so never erases self-worth (were only but Humans and definitely don't know it all anyway).
The best form of practicing body positivity remains the one practiced with honesty. When positivity acknowledges reality, it becomes empowerment. When it ignores reality, it risks becoming harm.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day ahead 👍