The pressure on us to fit a certain body ideal has never been greater, especially within the age social media which perpetuates this kind of rhetoric. This was an issue that actress and TV presenter Jameela Jamil noticed and decided to become proactive in changing the conversation when it came to how we look at ourselves and others. She created the ‘I Weigh’, a social media movement “for us to feel valuable and see how amazing we are, and look beyond the flesh on our bones”.
The campaign has been overwhelmingly successful, with the account amassing over 500,000 followers. Thousands have posted about the different things that they are grateful for, looking past the exterior. But how did this campaign come about? Jamil recounts scrolling through her Instagram feed only to find a photo of the Kardashians with each of their respective weights labelled underneath them that was published by a fashion blog. The post asked followers what they thought about the different weights of each Kardashian and asked “What do you weigh?”. What message this post is sending out is that we should value ourselves in accordance with how much we weigh.
But this post is just a drop in the ocean. Thousands of these kind of posts each day create a toxic culture that induces anxiety within women about something that shouldn’t even matter. Instagram is the most infamous for this. Where countless celebrities promote fitness detox tea to their followers, with the promise that purchasing this product will help them lose weight and gain a body like theirs. This is not the case.
Those detox products are in fact laxatives, which could have detrimental consequences on your health, that and other symptoms like constipation and diarrhea. Jamil has avidly attacked celebrities who promote these kind of products from Khloe Kardashian to Cardi B. She professed in a tweet, “GOD I hope all these celebrities all sh*t their pants in public, the way the poor women who buy this nonsense upon their recommendation do.” She goes as far as to post a video mocking celebrities who promote the detox tea by acting as them feeling the laxative consequences of it where she is stuck on the toilet.
Jamil’s activism comes from her personal experience with the toxic bodily expectations that the media and celebrity culture thrust upon us. At the age of 14, Jamil developed anorexia. She recalls living on 400 calories a day, not menstruating in that time and not eating a meal for three years. An experience which has led her to call out figures in the entertainment business for glamourising and making money from products which can perpetuate serious mental health problems like anorexia, bulimia, depression and many others.
The most important message to take from this campaign is that life positivity is just as important as body positivity. There needs to be less focus on the exterior and more on what we are grateful for and the achievements we are proud of.
Participating in the movement is simple:
- You choose a photo of yourself (non edited or airbrushed).
- Write down words or phrases on top of your image, these should be aspects in your life that you are graceful for and proud of.
- Then post your annotated photo to Instagram stories or as a post with the hashtag ‘I Weigh’ (#IWeigh).
Check out the I Weigh campaign here
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