Body Positivity is a movement where all bodies are supposed to be appreciated. The movement has become a trend, but people have different opinions on how it should be promoted. 

The Body Positivity movement started in 2012 and is now starting to get more traction. Different social media platforms are encouraging people with various body types to post content without shame. However, this movement mainly supports bigger women—essentially leaving skinnier women and men out of the community.

TikTok has become one of the biggest platforms where body positivity is encouraged. Yet, many people wonder why it does not include different body types and a lot of people disagree with the way the movement is being promoted. “The idea of body positivity only being applied to bigger women is wrong because all body types should get positivity,” Ashley Martinez, a sophomore, said. Although the idea of body positivity is there, it is not correctly being put out to the public. 

Over the last couple of years, body positivity has mainly been female-focused; it was created to fight against the negativity of social media. According to Thrive Global, a media company, “The simple hashtag #bodypositivity gained over 11.5 million posts on Instagram at the end of 2019, showcasing women wearing the outfits that they want, not because they think they have to.” a author for verywellmind.com, said. 

Some people believe that body positivity is really difficult to have because of social media. These platforms alone are one of the causes of many people’s insecurities. Photoshop is not noticeable at first glance and many influencers edit their images to make themselves look like something people can admire. Photoshop is something that can be done on the internet to remove imperfections from the face or body. This creates an unwritten expectation for everyday men and women to look the same. 

Body positivity, like any other movement, can have negative effects. “I find the idea of Body Positivity good, but I find it confusing that this generation is encouraging obesity,” an anonymous MACES student said. A lot of people support all bodies when they post on social media so they don’t feel bad about their bodies. But a lot of people feel that this trend is supporting obesity and anorexia when it is just an uplifting trend for women and men. 

Most people that support this movement think that it can be fixed so different people don’t feel excluded. This movement can be fixed by truly accepting any and everybody’s body regardless of their shape or size. This movement should accept and spread this view, this would make everyone happy and learn empathy towards others. “I do support body positivity as a form of building a community because is a great way to support them,” Daniela Navarrette, a senior said. Body positivity is a great way to uplift people’s self-esteem and make them feel good about themselves.