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Commentary: Why the Body Positivity Movement Risks Turning Toxic
Channel News Asia ^ | 19 Sep 2022 | Viren Swami

Posted on 09/18/2022 4:31:39 PM PDT by nickcarraway

Body positivity content may have a negative impact on viewers because it does little to challenge the underlying idea that people are valued primarily for their appearance, says this psychologist.

You define beauty yourself. You are more than a number on a scale. Love yourself the way you are. Body positive messages like these seem to be everywhere from social media to TV ads.

But while some find the body positivity movement to be uplifting and helpful, others have begun calling the movement “toxic” and suggesting it may be time to move on from this way of thinking.

Body positivity has its roots in radical fat activism that began in the late 1960s. Alongside activism among ethnic minority women, these groups protested against structural biases and discrimination, especially from the fashion and beauty industries that profited from making people and communities feel inadequate.

(Excerpt) Read more at channelnewsasia.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Health/Medicine; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: bodypositivity; health; weight
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To: nickcarraway

The toxic part about body positivity is that it will do nothing to help, and probably do things to hinder, progress against obesity-related problems like diabetes, heart disease and so on. That’s what’s toxic about it.

I’m about 20 pounds overweight myself, and by no means do I feel positive about it. That belly fat is not doing me any good. Hopefully, I will slowly continue losing it, and become simultaneously more handsome and healthy.


21 posted on 09/18/2022 5:59:15 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (FBI out of Florida!)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Ask Aunt Jemima how that worked out for her...
I thought all inequity was solved by pulling her off the syrup bottles!


22 posted on 09/18/2022 6:02:39 PM PDT by outofsalt (If history teaches us anything, it's that history rarely teaches anything.)
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To: Robert A Cook PE
"“Ugly fat women don’t want be be considered ugly fat women.”

Well, now a days, there's always ugly fat men as an option...

23 posted on 09/18/2022 6:05:10 PM PDT by outofsalt (If history teaches us anything, it's that history rarely teaches anything.)
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To: nickcarraway

And then I’m reminded of El Rushbo’s Ultimate Truths...

#24: Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women access to the mainstream of society

Toxic?


24 posted on 09/18/2022 6:06:36 PM PDT by hoagy62 (DTCM&OTTH)
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To: nickcarraway

How many fat people were killed by “body positivity” zealots scaring doctors out of telling them honestly that obesity is one of the top factors in determining who dies of COVID? Or dying in general? Since mourners always lean over coffins at funerals and say, “Doesn’t s/he look good?,” at least they’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that people will still be lying about how good they look even after they’re dead.


25 posted on 09/18/2022 9:44:24 PM PDT by HHFi
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To: 17th Miss Regt

Well, no good looking healthy white people...


26 posted on 09/18/2022 9:52:29 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: nickcarraway

Science has already shown that most physical beauty attributes are generally universally hardwired into people. Babies pick more symmetrical faces more and smile more at them. Babies respond better to people regarded with more attractive features. Babies have not developed societal biases to blame this on.

There are objective standards of beauty.

Womem are far more judgmental on physical beauty. Women find approx. 80% of men unattractive. Men, on the other hand, find about 50% of women not attractive as a potential date.


27 posted on 09/18/2022 10:00:16 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: House Atreides
Maybe now, but there was a time.

28 posted on 09/19/2022 2:49:34 AM PDT by jmcenanly (You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.” ― Winston)
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To: nickcarraway

When I look back at modeling from the 1960s into the early 90s, it seemed they wanted women to look like 12-year-old boys!

Then in the late 90s and early 2000s they had normal-looking women, you know ones with actual curves.

Then starting in the late 2000s, through today, they have decided to go all the way opposite of the 60s-80s and turned on the “overweight is beautiful” mode!

I didn’t like the 12-year-old boy models of the 60s-90s and I don’t care for the hippos-are-hip models of today!!


29 posted on 09/19/2022 4:00:27 AM PDT by ExTxMarine (Diversity is necessary; diverse points of views will not be tolerated.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Exactly!


30 posted on 09/19/2022 4:00:54 AM PDT by ExTxMarine (Diversity is necessary; diverse points of views will not be tolerated.)
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To: outofsalt

Oh so true.


31 posted on 09/19/2022 5:05:25 AM PDT by Robert A Cook PE (Method, motive, and opportunity: No morals, shear madness and hatred by those who cheat.)
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