Fat Activists, Body Positivity & Toxic Beauty Standards of the 2020s

#bodypositive #beautystandards #commentary
Let's discuss the toxic beauty standards from the 1990s to the 2020s and how fat activists & the body positivity movement AREN'T changing things for the better.

[@danguillou713]

My understanding of the few people who appear to be completely healthy despite a surprising amount of body fat, is that they're all young. Later in life, they experience the same statistical amount of adverse health effects as other morbidly obese people.

[@ericalarochelle3779]

I can't appreciate enough that my parents prioritized functional strength and flexibility. At the end of the day, even if I didn't fit the current body type trend, I could be secure in the knowledge that I was physically capable and that's why I looked the way I looked.

[@caramelvictim193]

I have to disagree with the notion that obese bodies were the antithesis to the heroine chic. Being fat was never and is still not socially acceptable, no matter how much certain groups of people like to pretend. If your chronically online (no shade, I am including myself in that) it might have seemed very relevant, but the fat acceptance movement was niche. The real antithesis of the heroine chic was the slim thick body a la the Kardashians and instagram models, fuller yes, but only in socially acceptable places.

[@JeffSherlock]

'antithesis ' is opposite.

[@joylynch5204]

Being a high schooler in the 90s sucked everyone I had lunch with was in a diet if they were a girl

[@wb2860]

I'm fat. For whatever reason I didn't have the discipline to eat healthy. It IS a moral failing and if you judge me for it you are right. Once I accepted it was all my fault and not society or the media or the sugar industry I was able to gain the discipline to lose. I accepted responsibility. Few seem to want to do that these days.

[@dyn01234567]

I don't think it has to be your fault, but it does have to be your responsibility. The modern world talks so much about rights and not responsibilities. It can be difficult to eat health in the modern world, for the reasons we all know. This is especially true if your parents didn't focus on healthy eating and you never were taught how to eat and cook healthily. But as an adult, it is your responsibility to learn, and to be better.

[@wb2860]

​@@dyn01234567 If it is your responsibility and you don't do it it IS your fault.

[@lisawise4204]

I disagree that it’s a MORAL failing, like somehow the choices us fat people have made that led us to be this size were unethical or somehow sinful. On the other hand, I recognize as a fellow person who has made poor choices that got me here - it wasn’t society, the sugar industry, or even my hormones that made me choose to finish that meal when I was already full, to eat sugary snacks when I know how sugar will affect me, to nap instead of taking a walk . . . The one thing that has made it positive for me to lose weight is admitting that it’s MY responsibility and my weight is within MY control. Being fat may not be a morality issue but it is a responsibility issue.

[@Vlad-bs1js]

@@lisawise4204 But it kind of is a moral failing as well, assuming you're overweight to the point of it negatively impacting your health on the long run: 1. You are failing all the people who care about you by knowingly increasing the chances of having serious health issues 2. Similarly, you are failing the rest of society by potentially putting a strain on the healthcare system 3. You are consuming more resources than required, all while supporting harmful industries (sugary drinks and snacks, for example) 4. You are setting a bad example to children. The more overweight people they see in their day to day lives, the more likely it is for them to think it's ok/normal 5. On average, you are a less productive member of society. You energy levels will be lower, any physical activities will take longer and so on Now this is definitely not an attack on you and trust me when I say that I truly have all the compassion in the world for people who are struggling with weight. I just disagreed with the point you made. As someone who also had to lose some weight at one point (not too much because I was fortunate enough to realize pretty early that I was on the wrong path), all I can say is that if you want to lose weight, don't rush it and don't beat yourself up. It's not about stupid diets or anything like that, but about changing your lifestyle and mindset, as well as having enough faith in yourself that this is something you can overcome. Have a great life!

[@DebDebbiesWorld]

As someone who used to weigh over 300 pounds, and now weighs 125 ish... its not a MORAL failing. Youre not a BAD PERSON because you allowed your weight to get out of control. Address the reasons WHY and work on developing better, healthier eating habits and a more active lifestyle (and it sounds as though you have!). Don't expect instant results. There will be times you lose quickly, times you lose slowly, and times the scale doesnt speak to you at all (even if you truly are doing everything 'right' - and not just saying you are- which can be another issue). Because, as I say, our bodies are stupid ;) Every pound lost is a win. :)

[@ryannewman4412]

You set an unfair beauty standard with that hair

[@NocandNC]

Aaah, ANTM... I used to really like it despite its messaging issues - it was so fun to see how they did the styling and different photo shoots... but eventually I felt like it was more and more about the drama and gimmicks rather than any sort of artistry and dropped it.

[@ringwe]

All this is a society problem. Sometimes North Americans don't realise it. I don't know why, but you guys love putting categories and labels in everything, you just have to belong someplace, and the categories change according to trends. Sadly this is slowly being adopted in Europe as well and I 100% blame social media for this. I didn't experience the 90s beauty standards as you did over there. Sure, there were articles, shows etc. about being thin to an unhealthy level, but it was clear to everyone that the average person was in a different category than models and actresses. It really was a simpler time. Having said that there will always be toxicity because it's part of human nature. Sadly there will also always be vulnerable people who will be hurt by that toxicity. It's also part of human nature.

[@JeffSherlock]

We thought the Punk, New Wave, Fashion industry of the 1980s was terribly ugly. Today (2024) is far uglier. People continue to volunteer to create more ugliness, more negativity.

[@stateofgrace0368]

I don't really think comparing the heroine chic to body positivity would be precise because the people who are embracing the obesity glorification are obese themselves, which is a relatively low amount of individuals compared to the heroine chic which was an actual trend. Everyone wanted to be skinny and "anorexic" looking, while the body positivity thing is solely fat people embracing themselves, not the general public embracing them, absolutely no one wants to be obese (unlike heroine chic) body positivity is obese people justifying their lifestyle and feeling better about themselves, it's not the ideal beauty standard, it's just a comfort zone for bigger people

[@suiinside]

social engineering is a multi year game , every so many years there are changes in ideals, and when you go through history you will see this in society and art, the engineering part is a more modern thing when government, food, media and pharma industry got together and created a way to drain not only health but also money from the people by creating insecurity and lack of personal responsibility. do not read this as a blame, most in those industries did it with the idea of doing something good, not seeing the longer term side effects, but the real side effect is as old as politics, the removal of personal responsibility and the creation of an illusion that some one else can take care of you. your exterior DOES define you as you are the one who is responsible for the exterior, and not any one else, and it is not what others think of you, but what you think of you and your peace of mind with you being you, insecurities in that regard are what make people ugly in the end, as they never find peace, which will ruin the inside and the outside. and do not worry about being young and thinking of what you look like compared to others, as a child i as a boy thought my body was not good enough, and that was back in the eighties, every child goes through that at some point, and the outside world tries to exploit that, only if you give in to that outside world demand and ideal you suffer. in dutch we have a saying, "those who want to be pretty have to suffer", meaning you can not fulfill the desires and demands regarding looks that the outside world places on you unless you endure the pain and suffering of the ever changing standards, removing you from creating your own standards and values and thus suffering even more. to get a firm grasp of this social engineering mechanic you only have to look at old paintings and statues, from rubens ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Paul_Rubens ) to ancient greek ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_sculpture ) up to the modern era from the '50's "60's etc. up to today and to make it more complex socially non western cultures to be included and you see how "beauty" is defined not just by what is healthy, but WEALTH, social status symbols and projection of wealth. and all that is rooted deep in our consciousness which cause internal conflicts when we listen too much to the outside world. i could go into the social engineering part of it and the WAR on the people by the governments and social elites, but i think when you see the pattern in history it becomes self evident how this mechanic is exploited. great talk from you and thank you for bringing this up.

[@jizzaymz]

I grew up in the 80's & 90's. Overall people were much healthier and most had "ideal/normal" body weights. Every few weeks in gym class they performed "body fat% tests" and used this tool to literally measure the body fat percentage. It was classified in different ranges and was part of your grade. Having extra fat would cost you points towards your phys ed grade, thus motivating those who had more fat to try harder to lose it 🤷🏼😁 They phased it out in the late 90's but I can see why so many modern day kids are very unhealthy. They're told that any size is healthy despite the overwhelming amount of scientific evidence that clearly proves otherwise

[@FriendlyBatDoom]

Why did she win Miss Alabama? I'm out of the loop on this one.

[@JoeeyTheeKangaroo]

Diversity

[@mcollins1401]

As man I say between 1990, 2020 I would pick you because the other two don't look real and take away all the makeup and the "glamour" clothes and you might not recognize them. I would choose reality every time..

[@allistertheeldritchmemegod3537]

Agreed. Men don't want massively obese and we don't want skin and bones. We want a woman. A sweet femenine obedient woman. Is it sexist? You bet. Men and women are different and want different things and I say thats a good thing.

[@JonSpink]

You are hotter than Miss Alabama. Although to be fair so am I and I'm a 50 year old bloke.

[@allistertheeldritchmemegod3537]

True.

[@mygoogle1482]

just focus on being an active, useful, resilient human, who focuses on who they are NOT what others have to say. Personally I don’t find very fat people attractive, those who are really obese need to wake up. Those overweight too it’s all your call, your relationship with food your addiction tendencies you need to confront. Body positivity started off as being inclusive it’s now a smoke screen for those who don’t want to confront their own responsibilities. We all eat too much due to social programming we all eat the junk that now dominates our food chains. Why is it someone else’s responsibility ie societies to deal with your mental issues. Shaming folk into this isn’t good, certainly eating disorders have underlying causes just like drug addiction. Now we are expected to lie to Underpin the mental issues of others and pretend the underlying problems dont exist. Therefore I find obese folk as those who can’t overtly deal with their issues. We all have e issues we struggle with, some have learnt humility, resilience and personal Pride and mental Fortitude. These standards have been abandoned in favour of half truths. I’m 56 lost 77 lbs by changing my life, hard work focus and all about learning to love myself without crashing bad food into my mouth, I wanted to feel healthy and be healthy and look forward to the next however many years it was. Couldn’t give a fig what other people think beforehand, truth is I did and I knew the truth. it’s about me and how well I could feel, surprisingly being over 5 stone lighter really really helped. Don’t glorify folk for being the shape they are glorify them for their behaviours and values.