Commenting on people’s bodies has been treated as acceptable in the past few years, which is such a drastic change from 2020, when body positivity was at its peak. What changed?
Although the body positivity movement gained attention in 2020, the outcome of the movement seemed to have gone in the opposite direction.
One of the most prominent reasons for the regression of body positivity is the rise of weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic. In an article by The Guardian, “Ozempic has won, body positivity has lost. And I want no part of it,” by Rachel Pick. “The Ozempic movement neatly lays bare exactly how much our society still hates fatness and fat people, and the extreme measures people who are already physically healthy are willing to put themselves through to be just that much leaner.”
The promotion of Ozempic by celebrities, advertisements, and even your social group is unknowingly setting back the small amount of body positivity we got back in 2020.
It has become so normalized to click the comment section of a person’s post and see other people comment about how they think that person’s body should look, and it is most affecting celebrities.
Celebrities like Ariana Grande and Lizzo can’t get a break from people judging them, and although it might come from a place of concern, it is never someone’s place to talk about someone else’s body.
“Placing your own insecurities on a celebrity that has gotten thinner or bigger is kind of insane considering you don’t know these people, and they don’t know you,” stated Senior Sedra Deeb.
You should never be commenting on someone’s body; it does not matter if you’ve noticed a change. If it were the other way around, you would be just as hurt as the person being judged.
One of the most significant things about this new body shaming era is the popularity of diagnosing people with eating disorders, when they don’t even know what a person is going through.
“The message is that celebrities struggle too, and the degree to which someone needs to idealize or idolize the life of any celebrity reveals the degree to which that person is likely dissatisfied in their own life,” stated Judy Sheel in her article “Celebrities and Eating Disorders?” on Psychology Today.
By spreading false rumors that a celebrity has an eating disorder, it can also start the promotion of pro-eating disorders because people will idolize a celebrity so much that they will do anything to look like them. And commenting on the change of someone’s body doesn’t only affect the person being judged, but it can also spark insecurities in the people who resonate with the celebrities to be comfortable with their own bodies.
One of our Seniors, Samantha Rendon, stated something that was all too true, “If anyone comments on your body, you will always be self-conscious, and feel like you need to get skinnier, thicker, thinner. This affects everyone’s mental health; celebrities are people too.”
The most important thing to remember is to have empathy and always think twice before commenting on someone’s body.