“5 Reasons ‘Body Positivity’ Is Evil” – Guy Starts A Discussion About The Toxicity Of The Body Positivity Movement
Interview With Author
Body positivity is a touchy topic, even to this very day. While some fully embrace it for helping people accept who they are with all of their flaws, others are more careful about voicing their support because they believe that some use it as an excuse for unhealthy habits. Meanwhile, fitness expert Jack Bly sparked a bit of internet drama over on Twitter after sharing his 5 reasons why he believes that body positivity is ‘evil.’
Like you could have expected, this approach made quite a few people angry while others stood in support of Jack’s views. Have a read through his arguments below and let us know in the comments what you think of them, dear Pandas.
In reality, body positivity and fitness are very sticky and nuanced topics. They aren’t as black and white as people would prefer to paint them, whatever their views on the subject. Each individual case and the small details matter a lot. For instance, a personal trainer I’d spoken to earlier pointed out that body positivity greatly depends on the context of the individual and the movement can be “both extremely helpful and potentially harmful.”
Meanwhile, The Guardian notes that we need to have those unpleasant conversations about weight and health instead of “leaping straight to the friendly hashtag, complete with women detailing their own blessed journeys towards inner beauty.” Uncomfortable? Yes. Necessary? Also yes.
I reached out to Jack and he was kind enough to go in-depth about the thread and his views on body positivity. “When it comes to TRUE body positivity, I think it can be a good belief system for things regarding our appearance that may be out of our control,” he told Bored Panda, pointing out some examples where it works such as in the case of burn victims, people with disabilities, etc.
“But, it is a terrible belief system when it comes to things in your control,” he noted that, in his opinion, this doesn’t work with obesity. “Like I mentioned in my thread, a lot of misinformation has been thrown around due to this which is extremely detrimental to everyone.”
Jack shared the reasons why he personally believes that the body positivity movement is ‘evil’
Image credits: TheJackBly
Image credits: TheJackBly
Image credits: TheJackBly
Image credits: TheJackBly
Image credits: TheJackBly
Image credits: TheJackBly
Image credits: TheJackBly
Jack told Bored Panda that, overall, he received “an OVERWHELMING amount of support” that far outweighed any criticism that he got.
I wanted to get Jack’s take on what we should do if we’re looking to improve our level of fitness but we’re constantly finding ourselves without much energy to see things through.
“If you’re someone who is SERIOUS about making a permanent body transformation but feels like you’ve tried everything before, don’t want to do another miserable diet, or don’t have much time to commit… you need to invest in a coach,” he put it simply that the support of a professional helps immensely.
“Countless studies show the power of accountability when it comes to achieving any goal. And we know that where we invest our time & money reveal our true priorities. If you want an area to improve you MUST invest your resources there. And, just know that EVERYONE is capable of achieving the body they can be proud of.”
He added: “You can do this!!!”
There are plenty of perspectives on body positivity even among professionals. It’s a topic full of nuance
Earlier, personal trainer and physiotherapist Paulius Lipskis explained to me that we have to be completely honest about ourselves, our health, and our fitness levels.
“Somebody could potentially use the body positivity movement as an excuse for their unhealthy habits, however, if the movement encourages you to accept and embrace yourself, it’s something that you should strive to follow,” he told Bored Panda during an earlier interview.
“It’s also a problem if you view healthy living as something that you’re forced to do. If you’re constantly angry, tired, and you’re low on energy—it’s an issue,” the personal trainer said.
According to trainer Paulius, you can’t force someone to want to change; their desire to change their lifestyle must come from within.
“Usually, our unhealthy habits are a result of constant stress and our behavior that’s meant to protect us from it. If we would have an honest chat with ourselves, we’d clearly see that we’re dissatisfied with ourselves only when we feel that we’re using our bad habits to cover our emotions,” the fitness expert said.
“However, if we accept that we’re not perfect, we’re not pressured to change. That’s when you start developing a natural desire and curiosity to find out what the best possible version of you is.”
Meanwhile, Eva Wiseman shared in an article on The Guardian that the body positivity movement increases the pressure and guilt that overweight people feel. In her opinion, we’re better off finding peace with our bodies instead of loving ourselves as we are.
“‘Everybody’s beautiful, and all bodies are perfect!’ said 2019, to a small murmur from those pointing out that the workplace, Tinder, fashion, and health professionals disagree. The effect, then, was a feeling of isolation, and a doubling of guilt. Guilt both for living in a body that doesn’t fit and for wanting to change it,” Wiseman said that we ought to move toward body neutrality, not positivity.
People reacted to Jack’s post in a lot of different ways. Some were completely in favor of his view…
Image credits: smithhmackenzie
Image credits: AmboJedi
Image credits: HominemDad
Image credits: TJPhoenix3
Image credits: mir_and_a
Image credits: MedusaMetacast
Image credits: Tsavagemofo7
Image credits: Life_of_Slamb
Image credits: foles03
…others had a different opinion and were much more critical of Jack’s approach
Image credits: jaygby
Image credits: WeHateDiana
Image credits: Natasha_Langa
Image credits: stedfastt
Image credits: dearest_fawn
Image credits: Musmu1203
Image credits: miggycox
Image credits: Aidan816104182
Meanwhile, some Twitter users pointed out that body positivity and the health industry are all about making money
Image credits: ghostenomics
Image credits: IssaWangai
Image credits: DavionTheDN
Image credits: wing_ng80
Image credits: MrJPearce
I may be wrong but I have thought body positivity is about loving yourself no matter how you look. And this self love means that you take care of your mind and body. A person can definitely be slightly overweight or underweight but still healthy. But willingly going beyond that means self destruction and needs to be addressed.
That's indeed how body positivity started out. Love your healthy body despite it's "imperfections". It was a reaction against the magazines telling people to get plastic surgery for no good reason at all. Today it's changed to: "Love your body even when you're unhealthy overweight and you're uncomfortable and miserable not being able to do what you want to do."
Load More Replies...
Body positivity is not meant to be about promoting obesity, or accepting that it's normal. Body positivity is about self esteem. So many people obviously just don't get it. Articles like the Cosmo one doesn't help though. Often poor self esteem coincides with mental health issues that also coincides with lack of motivation, emotional eating etc. It's also about teaching people that just because some are obese does not mean they don't deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. We are obese, not stupid so we know what effects it has and health issues. People picking on overweight/obese actually make things worse, not better. Bullying, teasing etc rarely helps anyone. Plus obesity is not always caused by poor diet and lack of exercise. There are many factors to take into account. How about you mind your own damn business since you have no idea what the individual is going through. It's between the individual and their doctor.
I think the best point that was made in this article was the person who pointed out that no one complained about unhealthy body standards when it was underweight people being praised, but now that it's overweight people being praised, everyone's freaking out. I think that neither extreme is healthy, and if you are not at a healthy weight you should work to resolve that issue. Also, praising people who are underweight and praising people who are overweight has happened before. In the Roman Empire, for example, a voluptuous body was viewed as a good thing. It's possible the cycle is repeating itself. On the other end of the spectrum, underweight bodies have been praised up until the body positivity movement. And I completely agree with your point that it might not actually be a person's fault for having an unhealthy weight.
Load More Replies...
I had a friend who was curvy, but she went to the gym and she ate well. Yet people still lectured her, berated her and made fun of her because she was still curvy, even her mother told her that she only had a pretty face. Did this help? Did this make her work harder? No. She tried but she eventually gave up because she could see no point in continuing. Body positivity doesn’t mean accepting obesity, it just means loving yourself.
By "curvy", do you actually mean overweight? I'm overweight and I'm not curvy. In fact, I'm shaped like a candied apple.
Load More Replies...
I may be wrong but I have thought body positivity is about loving yourself no matter how you look. And this self love means that you take care of your mind and body. A person can definitely be slightly overweight or underweight but still healthy. But willingly going beyond that means self destruction and needs to be addressed.
That's indeed how body positivity started out. Love your healthy body despite it's "imperfections". It was a reaction against the magazines telling people to get plastic surgery for no good reason at all. Today it's changed to: "Love your body even when you're unhealthy overweight and you're uncomfortable and miserable not being able to do what you want to do."
Load More Replies... Body positivity is not meant to be about promoting obesity, or accepting that it's normal. Body positivity is about self esteem. So many people obviously just don't get it. Articles like the Cosmo one doesn't help though. Often poor self esteem coincides with mental health issues that also coincides with lack of motivation, emotional eating etc. It's also about teaching people that just because some are obese does not mean they don't deserve to be treated with respect and kindness. We are obese, not stupid so we know what effects it has and health issues. People picking on overweight/obese actually make things worse, not better. Bullying, teasing etc rarely helps anyone. Plus obesity is not always caused by poor diet and lack of exercise. There are many factors to take into account. How about you mind your own damn business since you have no idea what the individual is going through. It's between the individual and their doctor.
I think the best point that was made in this article was the person who pointed out that no one complained about unhealthy body standards when it was underweight people being praised, but now that it's overweight people being praised, everyone's freaking out. I think that neither extreme is healthy, and if you are not at a healthy weight you should work to resolve that issue. Also, praising people who are underweight and praising people who are overweight has happened before. In the Roman Empire, for example, a voluptuous body was viewed as a good thing. It's possible the cycle is repeating itself. On the other end of the spectrum, underweight bodies have been praised up until the body positivity movement. And I completely agree with your point that it might not actually be a person's fault for having an unhealthy weight.
Load More Replies... I had a friend who was curvy, but she went to the gym and she ate well. Yet people still lectured her, berated her and made fun of her because she was still curvy, even her mother told her that she only had a pretty face. Did this help? Did this make her work harder? No. She tried but she eventually gave up because she could see no point in continuing. Body positivity doesn’t mean accepting obesity, it just means loving yourself.
By "curvy", do you actually mean overweight? I'm overweight and I'm not curvy. In fact, I'm shaped like a candied apple.
Load More Replies...
156
297