Stop the body hate, a revolution is afoot
I know what it’s like not to like your body. I’ve learned that has more to do with the toxic messaging we’re bombarded with from so many angles every day than how my body actually looks. There’s no one right way to have a body. But how do you learn to love your own?
What I do is seek out some amazing people to be inspired by, and learn from (and if you’re used to scrolling through an instagram feed full of thin women in bikinis, you could probably use some variety).
And that’s what I have for you today: a long list of incredible, smart women (mostly) that are fighting to build up body positivity, promote self-love and tear down diet-culture.
But first let me clarify… Body positivity is much more than feeling positive about your body. Body positivity is about equal rights, representation and treatment of fat and otherwise marginalised bodies.
Yes, body positivity can help you learn to feel good about or bodies, but we can’t forget that society treats people of different sizes differently, and therefore fat acceptance, regardless of your own size, is a cornerstone concept.
Sounds confusing? Maybe.
But we’re here to learn (including me!). And these people are some of the best to learn from.
Now I’m not an expert on body positivity and issues relating to it, and I won’t pretend to be. Therefore, I think one the best ways I can support the movement is to amplify the voices of people who do, including actually fat people (who, ironically, too often are excluded from the mainstream conversation on body positivity).
Books to browse
- Body Positive Power: How to stop dieting, make peace with your body and live by Megan Jayne Crabbe
- The Body is not an apology – The power of radical self-love by Sonya Renee Taylor
- Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls: A Handbook for Unapologetic Living
by Jes Baker (and I’m sure her second book, Landwhale, will be interesting too) - Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
- Health At Every Size – The Surprising Truth about your Weight by Linda Bacon
- Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight by Linda Bacon
- The Not So Subtle Art of Being a Fat Girl: Loving the Skin You’re In by Tess Holliday
- Big Girl: How I Gave Up Dieting and Got a Life by Kelsey Miller
(Fat) folks to follow
- Your Fat Friend @yourfatfriend
- Dani Adriana @iamdaniadriana
- Megan Jayne Crabbe @bodyposipanda
- Grace F @gracefvictory
- Micelle Elman @scarrednotcared
- Body Positive Memes by Michelle Elman @bodypositivememes
- Jes Baker @themilitantbaker
- Clare @becomingbodypositive
- Jessamyn @mynameisjessamyn
- Halle @___halle__
- Stephanie Yeboah @nerdabouttown
- Eff Your Beauty Standards @effyourbeautystandards
- Tess Holliday @tessholliday
- Sassy @sassy_latte
- Chloe Elliot @chloeincurve
- Jada Sezer @jadasezer
- Kenzie Brenna @kenziebrenna
- Sofie Hagen @sofiehagendk
- Aarti Olivia Dubey @curvesbecomeher
- Valerie Sagun @biggalyoga
- Dana @dothehotpants
- Troy Solomon @abearnamedtroy
- Simone Mariposa @simonemariposa
- Jovanna Radic Eriksson @drawnbyjovanna
- Callie Thorpe @calliethorpe
- Melissa A. Fabello @fyeahmfabello
- The Body is Not an Apology @thebodyisnotanapology
Websites to watch
- Everyday Feminism
- The Unedit
- The Militant Baker
- The Body Positive
- Body Image Movement
- I am Dani Adriana
- Linda Bacon
- Your Fat Friend
Podcasts to play
- Food Psych by Christy Harrison
- Don’t Salt My Game by Laura Thomas
- Love, Food by Julie Duffy Dillon
An anti-diet, weight inclusive approach to health
- Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program that Works – book by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
- Laura Thomas @laurathomasphd
- The Rooted Project @rooted_project
- Nicole @theembodiedjourney
- HAES (Health At Every Size)
- Fiona Willer
- And the podcasts mentioned earlier!
Who do you go to for body positive learning?
Since you made it to the end, you may as well follow me on Instagram – but their algorithm is a bit of a mystery, so you can sign up to the newsletter to not miss out on the best posts! β¨
