According to the National Organization for Women, “A majority of girls (59%) reported dissatisfaction with their body shape, and 66 percent expressed the desire to lose weight.” 

Today we live in a society that is obsessed with superficial beauty, whether that be in pertinence to facial appearance or body shape. This obsession would not be that bad if it was inclusive, but that has rarely ever been the case which makes for certain body types to be considered more desirable than others. This form of body type hierarchy has obvious negative effects on the people who are outside of the desired body type, regardless of whether that is because they are bigger or smaller than the desired type. 

To try and overcome these parameters, many are promoting this mindset of body positivity, and how we need to be happy with ourselves and the body that we are in. At first glance this seems like it would be a positive approach to knocking down societal walls, but in actuality it can lead to more harm than good. 

Trying to remain in a mindset of loving yourself and your body regardless of the flaws can allow for people to become judgmental of people who want to alter their bodily appearance. According to Michi Xie’s article for Serious Women, many women who are part of the plus sized community get angry at people who decide to lose weight because of the fact that it “takes away representation” of that body type in the media. Having this mindset is as toxic as the norms set by society because it allows for people to never feel as comfortable as they should within their own bodies. 

Body positivity is supposed to be about loving yourself for all that you are, but that is being taken away by people who do not want to allow others to do what they want with their own body. Telling someone that they “do not love themselves” or are “fatphobic” for wanting to alter their body is not only judgmental within it of itself, but it also is taking away from peoples journey to self love. 

Being happy in your body and never wanting to change it is completely fine, but it is not fine when you try to diminish others for not feeling that same way. When are we going to realize that body positivity is not that far off from being just as damaging as toxic media and societal norms. Body positivity has created a community that not only holds a hatred for plus size people, especially women, who want to workout, but it is just as damaging to people that are deemed “too” skinny and must have an eating disorder to look the way that they do.

If we truly want to one day live in a society that is inclusive to all body types, we must first learn to love our own without having to tear others down during that process. Body positivity does not allow this to happen as it promotes the fact that you have to love yourself as you are right now, and that any slight change to that means that you have no love for yourself. Instead of adhering to this, perhaps a more beneficial mindset to adapt would be one that promotes body neutrality instead of positivity. Body neutrality is allowing yourself to love your body as it is without needing to first believe that it is beautiful, and this also allows people to promote healthier body habits without them feeling bad for “altering” their body. Promoting this idea rather than body positivity can allow for there to be less toxicity as it has no connection to change being bad, and it would allow for people to alter their body without toxic repercussions.