Understanding the movement
March 23, 2021
Although her club focuses on empowering specifically women, junior and co-president of Girls United Ella Roether said the body-positivity movement still has a long way to go to ensure inclusive representation for all.
“A big part of it is (making sure) that all body types and skin colors and genders are represented,” Roether said. “It’s important to recognize that it’s not just women and it’s not just made for bigger women, everyone can participate in it and it’s not just for white women. I think that it’s important to make sure that the movement is intersectional.”
The body-positivity movement started to gain popularity around 2012, and the original idea behind the movement was to confront the senseless beauty standards that have been placed on women. For junior Symone Morrison, the body positivity movement is all about empowering people of all shapes and sizes.
“It’s something that we really needed as a society,” Morrison said. “For years, we put people down for what they looked like because it’s not what you see in magazines and on prints.” It’s not only (affecting) women, it’s also (affecting) men, or people who fall anywhere really on the gender spectrum that are falling into these ideas of needing to look a certain way to be accepted, — Amy Pieper-Berchem
Her experiences providing clothes for others has allowed Cat Polivoda, a fat-liberation activist and plus-sized clothing store owner, to spread body-positivity.
“I’m sure fashion is fun, but what I really care about is people being comfortable and confident in their bodies,” Polivoda said. “I found that clothes are a really good way into those conversations with people.
Body-positive social media influencer Brianna Tam has amassed over 4 million likes on TikTok. While her success rose because of her outspoken advocacy for self-love, Tam said her role in the community is still fluctuating as she continues on her journey through the movement.
“It’s a community that I’m a part of and trying to strengthen and bring attention to, but also I’m still learning from other people,” Tam said
Women are not the only ones who have faced unrealistic beauty standards. According to Health teacher Amy Pieper-Berchem, so have men, but they aren’t advocated for as frequently.
“It’s not only (affecting) women, it’s also (affecting) men, or people who fall anywhere really on the gender spectrum that are falling into these ideas of needing to look a certain way to be accepted,” Pieper-Bercham said. “Instead of getting better, it seems like now it’s crossing over where that pressure is really hitting more on the male gender, and it’s getting worse on this side.”