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The Authentic Eclectic
Body Positivity Is Not the Inclusive Term Most People Think It Is
Let’s stop stealing the spotlight and adopt new language
It’s 1960. A crowd of people — 500 to be exact — gather to protest in New York’s Central Park, holding banners that read “Fat Power” and “Buddha Was Fat.” They’re burning diet books and photos of supermodels, challenging antifat ideas, and demanding a change to overcome the discrimination those living in large bodies face daily.
This is the fat acceptance movement, where the phrase “body positivity” originated.
The “Fat-In” illustrated above was put on by WBAI radio artist and author, Steve Post, and is only one of many demonstrations to be organized in the ’60s and years following.
We need accurate words to spread the — already — incredible action
Today, if you search the hashtag #bodypositivity on Instagram, 9.7 million posts appear…and that number that is growing daily.
Before I dive into why this is an issue, I want to start off by saying how amazing it is to see men and women across the globe aiming to accept their bodies regardless of their shape, size, and appearance. We need people like this to fight…