As anyone living in the 21st century knows, we are bombarded with excessive amounts of media every single day. A lot of that media comes in the form of advertising, and especially for women, these ads often push specific, Westernized beauty standards, which can wreck the confidence of anyone who doesn’t fit that exact mold. However, more recently, many of us have found blessed relief in the surge of “body positivity” campaigns that promote self love regardless of weight, body type, or any other physical characteristics. The opposing messages posed by the media and movements like these make many feel like they have to choose a side – do I need to work to attain this ideal body, or do I change nothing and appreciate myself just the way I am? Obviously, the latter should be everyone’s first choice, but there are those who are dedicated to working out and even losing weight, for health or personal reasons, that still wish to take part in the body positivity movement.
So how does this mindset work? How can we rationalize unconditionally loving our bodies, and yet aiming to change them? Anna*, a college sophomore, explains her reasoning. “I think a lot of people have the idea that because I work out and want to lose weight that I hate my body, and that’s just not true. Personally, I’m trying to lose a bit of weight for health reasons, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love my body now!” The idea of celebrating our bodies in every stage of their existence is incredibly important, and a message that seems to overshadowed by popular culture.
Even in movies and television shows, weight loss is seen as a transformative tool. The nerdy girl loses a bit of weight, gets contacts, puts on some makeup and a prom dress, and immediately gets noticed by the popular guy she’s been secretly pining over. Even more importantly, she suddenly gains a sense of confidence, and spouts witty one-liners instead of tripping over her words. Her body makeover has somehow also improved her mindset and attitude. While this isn’t to say that weight loss (or gain!) can’t have a positive impact on your self esteem, the idea that changing your body automatically changes your mind is bulls**t. “Some of the most body positive people I know have bodies that aren’t considered conventionally attractive, and I know people that exercise day and night to have the perfect body that are so unhappy with themselves,” Anna* says.
The message we should gain from this, if anything, is that positivity comes from the mind before anything else. Wanting to lose weight is not always an unhealthy or negative goal, but wanting to lose weight with the idea that it will solve all your self esteem problems is incredibly unrealistic. So yes, you can love the version of you that weighs 10 pounds less. But you also have to love yourself at your current weight, and you’d have to be able to love the version of yourself that weighs 10 pounds more. After all, body positivity isn’t loving yourself in spite of your body, it’s loving yourself because of it. And that’s something we can ALL strive for.