What do the hashtags #IWontCompromise, #EffYourBeautyStandards, #DareToWear, #AndIGetDressed have in common? They are all ultra intersectional feminist, “body positive,” and have accumulated over 700,000+ tags and counting on Instagram. Oh, and they are also killing women.
Allow me to explain.
No matter how many ludicrous comments saturate pictures of these body positive heroines, obesity is still a massive (no pun) issue within the health system. £25,000 is being spent a minute within the NHS (the U.K.’s national health service) on diabetes alone. In total, an estimated £14 billion is spent a year on treating diabetes and its complications, with the cost of treating complications representing the much higher cost. That number is just scratching the surface, with heart disease, high blood pressure and a copious amount of other obesity related chronic illnesses that are crushing health systems across the western world.
When the inevitable happens, and the obese patient is told that it is now a matter of life and death, the NHS seems to be freely handing out bypass surgeries at the cost of a tidy estimation of £32 million. Yikes. How many nurses would that pay for? How many beds would cater for generally ill people? Imagine how well equipped cancer wards could be with that nice little bonus?
I know what you’re thinking, and it’s a theory that many people leap to when trying to fight against such a precipitous argument. What if the obese person we are currently critiquing has a health problem that causes weight gain? True, there are things that go wrong in the body that will cause unwanted or unprovoked weight gain. I myself suffer from hypothyroidism — which means lacking the function to create thyroxine and triiodothyronine, so my metabolic rate is constantly slow, which causes weight gain. I also have to take tablets that cause on average a 20 lb weight gain, and I also suffer from many joint and pain afflictions, that I will not bore you with the unpronounceable names of. Essentially, my point is I have every excuse in the world to have a weight problem, and be all “body positivity.”
A couple of years ago I did, being a former obese twenty something who was ashamed of her folds and rolls. Now, I am 55 lbs down and still going, I get frantically asked how I did it. No, not body positive but the fact of healthy eating and exercise. Yeah, those old chestnuts. Disappointing for those who were expecting some magical feel good story. Unfortunately, real life is much more prosaic. It’s a fight. Fighting is hard, and I think therein lies the problem. You don’t get fat by running, you get fat by over eating and not moving enough. Laze and greed to be mercilessly honest. Two genuinely appalling attributes that should not be revered, and is not positive by any means
Not convinced? Still cheerleading behind the big gals who parade in bikinis in train stations to convince people (and probably themselves) that it’s fine to be fat? Ok, how about another angle?
As I previously ran my own fashion label which was published in multiple international issues of Vogue, I noticed how these ultra-feminists attack the fashion industry. Models being too thin, companies not making a big enough selection of plus sized clothes, and designer labels not making plus size clothes at all.
The way these ladies will twist the truth to make it sound like they’re being victimized by the fashion industry is incredible. Of course reality is not as conspiratorial as these feminists would like you to believe. The majority of the time when a fashion brand uses bigger models for clothes that aren’t exclusively for bigger customers, the campaign loses money. The clothes don’t sell as well as ones that were used on smaller models. And whose fault is that? The consumer.
Chanel, Gucci, Givenchy etc. don’t have plus size collections because generally plus size women don’t spend hundreds of pounds on clothing. If these growing numbers of avid hashtag users were so happy with their shape, why isn’t the fashion industry changing? They’re excluding 24.9% of British who are obese from buying their products. Because that 24.9% aren’t buying them. Of course, I’m pleased we’re slowly crawling out of the heroin chic of the 90s, which was the other extreme of the spectrum, but it shouldn’t be replaced with the opposite end.
The most popular hashtag, #EffYourBeautyStandards, is headed by plus size model Tess Holliday, a 31-year-old American woman, and someone who is deemed by the health system as super morbidly obese. She absurdly believes that she can be healthy at the shocking weight of 280 lbs, a comment that she preaches to her 1.7 million followers on Instagram. In my opinion, that is not only dangerous, but outrageously irresponsible. Many of her followers are teenagers, being told their unhealthy lifestyle is fine, to carry on, not being given the warnings of the inevitable, of illness, pain, disability and eventually death. Even on her website’s front page, she describes herself as a body positive ambassador. What positivity is she speaking of?
#EffYourBeautyStandards is a misleading line, again, blaming the standards in which society and the fashion/beauty industries are making everybody envision what real beauty is like. I’m pretty sure we all have brains, and understand Photoshop/airbrushing etc., right? I don’t look at Kim Kardashian and wonder why I have a Buddha belly to match my big bum and she somehow embodies the most “perfect” curves without a sight of a stretch mark or a quiver of cellulite. This isn’t a question of beauty. It isn’t a question of standards. It’s an important debate that questions the seriousness of the damage this movement is causing.
The fact one needs to state something so obvious is itself ridiculous. It’s time to wake up. Obesity is not positive. It’s a dangerous plague that is being fueled by disillusioned women convincing themselves that they are happy, while leading a generation into early graves.
[…] Holly Ashe est en colère. Celle qui se présente sur son compte Twitter comme un « designer, poète et ancienne petite grosse désormais accro au fitness » n'apprécie guère l'explosion du mouvement body positif. Et elle a tenu à le faire savoir dans un article coup de gueule publié sur le site Areomagazine. […]
All I’m getting is that she’s anti-feminism
Let’s get real: an article which mentions the Kardashian’s is not offering much in terms of honesty about how most people go about their daily activities. Seriously, how many of us wake up every morning to an army of beauty specialists who choose what we wear, apply our makeup, cook healthy foods for us or teach us how to keep in shape? That is the life of a Kardashian told in media yet despite all expense generated back to their professional team’s help in creating their illusion as well as computer graphics and editing via photoshopping they all suffer skin breakouts, cellulite, and many other bodily imperfections other teams of experts surgically modify and sign documents to keep private from their many fans caught up in such superficiality. Ironically, no one seems to put down a Kardashian’s claim to fame: an inordinately large sized badonkadonk. It’s downright wow-freak and if… Read more »
obesity is caused by eating more calories than one consumes on a daily basis along with a lack of activity. no-one gets obese from stigma and eating healthy.
obesity is the problem.
obese patients are literally destroying the bodies of nurses in the health care industry. you may not be killing anyone right now, but you might end up ruining some poor woman’s shoulder and/or spine in a few years.
obesity is the causation of over 70 different diseases. thin people don’t end up losing limbs. it isn’t acceptable to be fat, you people are ruining your bodies.
obese patients are causing nursing to become one of the most dangerous jobs in the us.
Interesting read. I mean, I think there is a certain balance. This article does a good job of explaining both sides: https://mindfray.com/debate/body-positive-movement-means-healthy/
[…] they go straight to the hyped-up harbinger of death, like the (antifeminist in tone) article “Body Positivity is Killing Women.” The gist is basically that body positivity isn’t fighting “obesity,” that deadly disease! […]
I think people are misunderstanding what the author of the article is saying. Body Positivity is a movement indeed and an important one. However, having a positive reflection of your body, no matter what size you are while also taking GOOD CARE of your body is what the author is saying women are straying from. The people commenting are trying to debunk the truth by saying they’re fat and get a certain amount of exercise in a day and/or eat healthy. If that were true to the degree that these people commenting claim, then at some point they would see that their bodies would naturally begin to slim down. It’s not that hard of a concept to grasp: healthy diet+exercise (not even strenuous exercise, just get moving!)=weight loss. The point of this article was to debunk the bad rep body positivity is getting due to these women who literally remain… Read more »
I feel that people on these comments are projecting their own emotions surrounding their history of eating issues/weight and societal judgment onto this article. I believe the core idea behind body positive movement is beneficial for building healthy self esteem and a culture of acceptance in our world. However, this article brings up important points to consider so that this body positive core message stays balanced and healthy in a sensible way. Like with all philosophies/ideas, pushing it too hard toward one side is also deviation from the truth. Balance is the key here. What I agree with the writer is that it’s never good to use a movement as an excuse for maladaptive behaviors. The Body positive movement is ultimately for the purpose of fostering healthy mental health. And why is healthy mental health/self esteem important?–because it will allow individuals to live their full life and make it wasier… Read more »
Body positivity forces us to challenge the ideal, an ideal that in the end only profits companies in the diet and exercise industry. I write about this extensively on my health and fitness site. My own journey was driven by shame. I often think now, “how sad to be so consumed by diet and exercise.” Let’s face it. We will never look 18 again.
[…] Body Positivity is Killing Women […]
This article is ridiculous, and absurd. Not to mention it’s poorly written with unprofessional wording. Being skinny doesn’t guarantee a bill of health or a healthy life style. Being skinny doesn’t keep people from doing drugs, over eating, eating fast food, not exercising etc You have no idea what is happening in said person’s life. You do not know if they have a health condition that has lead to weight gain. You do not know if they’re on a journey to being healthier. I eat very healthy, I do not over eat, I don’t even eat meat. However I personally gained weight from multiple diseases. So I don’t deserve to have my body appreciated? I should be ashamed until I lose weight? Body positivity isn’t just about full figure women. Body positivity is embracing all forms of beauty which means people shouldn’t be shamed for their differences. That includes breast… Read more »
[…] “Боди-позитив», а именно тенденция гордиться своим телом с десятком, а то и с сотней лишних килограмм убивает женщин. Об этом пишет англичанка, дизайнер-модельер, автор статей о моде и стиле Холи Эш в журнале Area Magazine. […]
It should read “…love and accept MY BODY”. Yes, loving your body as it is HERE and NOW allows you to find ways to honor it and take care of it better. YOUR BODY not KK’s body or some idealized version of the female body. Love and it will go a long way towards true health and healing!!
I have lost a total of 60 pounds since finding a way to love and accept my body. To put it simply “you can’t hate your way to loving yourself”. If obese people can’t find anything beauty and worthy in themselves, why would they be motivated to change? Explain that to me… I HATED myself to the point that I didn’t care. And no amount of shaming or health scaring tactics could have changed that.
I have lost a total of 60 pounds since finding a way to love and accept my body. To put it simply “you can’t hate your way to loving yourself”. If obese people can’t find anything beauty and worthy in themselves, why would they be motivated to change? Explain that to me… I HATED myself to the point that I didn’t care. And no amount of shaming or health scaring tactics could have changed that.
[…] My previous post on how Body Positivity is killing women, went viral, thanks to Areo Magazine kindly republishing it. […]
Yeah, what you’re trying to do here is mostly discrimanotory, not helpful and perpetuating the problem: https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-integrationist/201405/weight-labeling-is-harmful-and-linked-later-obesity%3Famp
I don’t hate fat people, but I feel pity for them. It’s obvious many factors have contributed to their present state. Ingrained, unhealthy habits from childhood – e.g. parents/ caregivers who allowed them snacks without control, to a lack of knowledge about exercise and basic physical laws (more in, less out = accumulation of matter), to a food industry that churns out addictive junk, and now “body positivity” i.e. denial of reality. I grant that there is a small minority who have *real* medical conditions who predispose them to being overweight – but the vast majority do NOT. Just look at crowd photos from the 50s – how many overweight or obese people can you actually find? However, I believe the solution is not shaming, but education and empowerment – by this I mean self-education and self-empowerment. Instead of wallowing in the woolly rationalisation of each others’ real weight problems,… Read more »
This kind of ignores the fact that the movement is largely about letting fat people feel pretty and to stop stigmas about fat people. Fat people are less likely to be given jobs, be considered good romantic partners, receive proper medical treatment, and the list goes on. The average overweight person does want and/or try to be healthier, but a lot of eating problems are reinforced by negative emotions. In short, when everyone views and treats fat people as subhuman, this solidifies the cyclical process of feeling bad, eating, feeling bad, etc. Nobody needs to let everyone be unhealthy, but that doesn’t mean that fat people can’t be confident in their looks. Especially when there are SO many people nowadays who are “fat on the inside,” as some doctors call it. Most people in our culture are eating bad. I was diagnosed with blood sugar problems and nearly got Type… Read more »
I don’t think it is anyone’s business. If someone wants to be happy in their large size, let them. Overweight people are not all lazy people who eat too much; a lot of times there is a totally different story. I think the campaigns are more about not judging other people. No one is asking Givenchy to come out with a plus size line, they are just asking that there be some brands that understand women of all shapes and sizes should have access to all types of clothing. Don’t concern yourself with someone else’s journey unless you are bringing peace, understanding, and joy to the situation. We are all fighting our own battles.
[…] I came across an article today that I wish I didn’t see: “Body Positivity is Killing Women” (https://areomagazine.com/2017/04/20/body-positivity-is-killing-women/). […]
Americans and likely the British fat because we consume many more calories than we burn and are sedentary. The medical “conditions” that lead to obesity are mainly a myth. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/basics/causes/con-20014834
Obesity, being fat, overweight or whichever term you prefer is primarily due to an unhealthy lifestyle. Society “shamed” smokers to the point where it is banned and most public places and the public health costs are largely accepted. Nobody started a smoking positivity campaign to normalize smoking again.
The same should hold true with excessive eating and obsesity. Love yourself, have self-confidence and then use those attributes to change your lifestyle. Don’t use body positivity as coping mechanism to justify your fatness.
To all the people arguing that obese people are healthy, I have a question. Why do I so rarely see any obese people at the gym or walking, jogging, and hiking? I do these activities several times a week and I very rarely see them. How are they as fit and strong as they claim?
Body positivity isn’t about telling people not to change, not to lose weight, and not to fix their health issues, etc, it’s telling them to love themselves while they do it
Name calling, fat shaming, and general insinuation of disgust has proven to make things worse – make people more likely to fall into depression and binge eat.
The body positivity movement is about turning that around and telling people it’s okay to love yourself, and that other people should love you too, on your journey to get healthier
Very, very few people see the message as ‘being unhealthy is good’ – 99% of the time this is ‘understanding’ of the movement is just spouted by people who just hate fat people
It’s true people. Open your eyes. Big people are not safe from life threatening illnesses. Science has proven this at last. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39936138
Guess what! We all become wormfood in the end either way. If a person likes their fatness let them have it. A lot of guys like chubby girls anyway. This obsession that somehow eating kale and chia seeds while doing crossfit workouts suited for olympic athletes will keep a person out of the morgue is also a big fat delusion.
[…] Body Positivity is Killing Women […]
Why is this article focusing on the largest plus-sized model and calling the body positivity bad? What about Ashley Graham. She is plus sized and a healthy weight. What about Jennifer Lawarence, she was called curvy and pulsed sized. There are so many plus sized models and actresses that are healthy weights pushing for acceptance of regular women. I am sorry but a size xxs is just as extreme as a xxl just two sides of the same coin.
Let’s talk about the benefits of walking. It’s not crossfit but it will keep you healthy, anyone with working legs can walk.
How about the 80/20 rule 80percent of food intake is fresh whole food and 20percent of food intake is whatever you want. Why can’t we talk about attainable solutions and the importance of self-esteem. What makes supermodels eat healthily and excercise their self image.
This is rubbish. You know nothing. Diabetes is not caused by being fat. It’s genetic. Type 1……children are born with. Type 2 can happen to ANY body size……especially if there is a family history. My 95 pound (soaking wet) mother is pre diabetic. She eats healthy and exercises never drinks pop and guess what both of her sisters inherited type 1 genetically so she is at higher risk for developing type 2. She doesn’t mow down chocolate and sugar and junk. Her pre diabetic state isin’t due to being “body possitive”. Idiot fashionistas like this writer should stick to modeling and butt out of issues that are too complex for the remaining 2 brain cells that haven’t been destroyed in thier heads by anorexia and bulimia to understand. We get it. You hate fat people. You are making up “facts” so other people will blame them for thier health issues.… Read more »
Body positivity isn’t about promoting obesity it’s about promoting confidence. It doesn’t say that it’s good to be obese and you should stay obese, it actually is very involved in the health factors because the goal into be healthy and happy. The point if these hashtags is to destroy the image the media promotes of what women should look like. Body positivity actually leads a lot if women to lose weight if they are obese because it helps women see where they really want to be and what they actually want to change. The whole point is to not shame women into feeling bad about themselves and to be comfortable in your own skin. It’s good and as long as the women are healthy and happy then it doesn’t matter. Healthy doesn’t mean thin.
Major study finds that you CANNOT be fat and fit.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39936138
I’ll weigh in a bit, being someone who has battled…fat, body image, health and self esteem my ENTIRE life and then did it publicly on the biggest loser 5 years ago!! I was over 200 pounds by the time I graduated high school, honestly I do think not talking to our high schoolers about the dangers of obesity for fear of other eating disorders is a huge disservice…I do wish someone had genuinely, loving talked to an unhealthy high school about her body and health…. we need to start talking openly about all eating disorders, I do see a food addiction counselor now. But I think the bigger problem we have put too much into making your weight who you are… IT IS NOT! We need to stop assuming that if someone’s body is fat, that makes them unhappy automatically. Fat does NOT equal unhappy/lazy/disgusting/unworthy. This is something that I… Read more »
[…] (https://areomagazine.com/2017/04/20/body-positivity-is-killing-women/) […]
How can society expect women to want to treat their bodies to healthy lifestyles if they hate themselves? The “body positive” message can only encourage women to respect their bodies and live healthy, happy lives. This article is upsetting and dangerous.
Imagine… loving your body no matter what size WHILE living a healthy lifestyle, like eating better and working out…THATS BODY POSITIVITY AND THAT AINT KILLING NO ONE. THIS ARTICLE IS PROBLEMATIC AS HELL. EDUCATE YOURSELVES.
Half of the public debate is made by lobbyism http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/840994