Room to grow
March 23, 2021
Although Morrison said things are on the right track, advocacy for the movement can still be improved.
“I feel like we preach it more than we actually show it, and try to improve. You first have to start with yourself and then you can love others and show others that their body is perfect just the way they are,” Morrison said. “There’s a lot of improvement to do, but we’re heading towards the right direction.
The body-positivity movement is still struggling with representing marginalized groups within the greater community, according to Polivoda.
“There’s a lot of people still left out. We are replacing beauty standards but if you look at the face of body positivity right now in this moment, it is a lot of white women or maybe women of color with lighter skin tones who maybe are a little bit curvy or maybe a plus size, but in a quote unquote ‘curves in the right places” kind of way,” Polivoda said.
Standing up for someone can be a simple act that can cause people to be mindful of their actions Pieper-Berchem said.
“The biggest thing is to step in and to step up. It doesn’t have to be a big huge thing, but just one simple little comment and walk away. Just to make the person aware of what they’re doing,” Pieper-Berchem said.
People sometimes get bullied for things that are natural Roether said, but they don’t know about this commonality because they don’t have conversations about it which leads to shaming.
“A lot of things that people get bullied for are just normal things and can be prevented by just having simple conversations,” Roether said. “Sometimes they are difficult,, but by having those hard conversations and being communicative we can stop those harmful incidences as the beginning.”
Polivoda said a great way to take action is to use critical thinking and apply it to everyday scenarios when encountering the body-positive movement.
“Question what’s around you,” Polivoda said. “If someone shares a really compelling Instagram post or when someone is talking about anything, think about who’s making money from this? Who is this speaking to? And why?”