Journal #14: #bodyposi

The Body Positive movement and #bodyposi hashtag has been developed in the last year and is most predominantly used on social media outlets such as Twitter and Tumblr. This hashtag promotes healthy body image and encourages the idea that people are so much more than just their outward appearance. Whether we want to admit it or not, every girl has struggled with body image at least once in their life. This is not to say that men don’t also struggle with body image. In fact, the rate of body dysmorphia in men is quickly rising. However, a girl’s appearance is very critically analyzed in our society. It often seems that our appearance is more important that our intelligence, courage, intuition, and kindness.

bell hooks discusses eliminating internalized sexism in ourselves is the first step to eliminating the patriarchy. The patriarchy benefits from setting women against each other. Therefore, when women begin to band together it becomes an “act of treason” against the patriarchal society we live in. That’s why the body posi tag is important. We’ve stopped looking at women through this critical lens and began to value young girls even though they may not fit into the tightly constructed beauty standard our society abides by. It also unifies young girls rather than pitting them against each other.

Even though the Body Positive movement lacks feminist politics and many of the young people who actively use the hashtag may not realize that #bodyposi is part of the feminist movement, it still promotes the Sisterhood that bell hooks illustrated in Chapter 3: Sisterhood is Still Powerful. The movement works towards defeating the patriarchy and the dehumanizing beauty standard that women must strive to achieve. It also has worked to create an accepting and safe platform where young people can discuss the struggles they face when it comes to body image and self worth. My hope is that the Body Positive movement can gain political context within the Feminist movement and become an integral part in our fight towards reconstructing our patriarchal society.