Want to feel better about your body?

June 23,2020

You’ve heard of the body positivity movement, right? 

It’s all about critically re-evaluating our societal standards of beauty, promoting the idea that everyone deserves to feel positively about their body, and advocating for the acceptance of ALL bodies. 

But did you know that the body positivity movement was started by Black women? 

If you think about body positivity, the first women who come to mind are probably models like Ashley Graham and Tess Holliday, influencers like The Birds Papaya, and actresses like Lena Dunham. What do all these women have in common? They’re all white.

Despite the fact that Black women started the body positivity movement, they are often left out of the conversation. 

And body positivity has become primarily focused on weight, and has neglected some of the important issues it was originally created to address, including:

• Skin color (because light-skinned Black women are often favored over dark-skinned women)
• Hair (because natural hair textures and styling are often discriminated against)
• Facial features (because thinner, smaller features like noses and lips are “preferred”) 
• Different body shapes (i.e. not just hourglass)

I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been teaching body positivity in my courses for years, but I didn’t even know the history of the movement.

So today, as part of our ongoing effort to amplify Black voices and educate ourselves, I want to share some Black activists and educators to help you recontextualize the body positivity movement.

These women have amazing resources for helping you learn how to love the color, shape, size, and ability level of your body. 

Stephanie Yeboah

Stephanie describes herself as a “plus-size style blogger, fat acceptance advocate, freelance writer, public speaker.” 

Must-reads:

• “Fat” Is Not A Bad Word
• Learning To Love Your Body

Wear Your Voice

An online magazine for and by LGBTQIA+ BIPOC. 

Must-reads:

• How Mainstream Body Positivity Has Failed Us
• Ugly: How Beauty Was Built Upon White Supremacy

Jessamyn Stanley

A yoga teacher and body positivity advocate.

Must-dos:

• Listen: Body Politics In The Age Of “Body Positivity”
• Check out: Jessamyn’s online yoga classes

Grace Victory

An award-winning content creator. 

Must-reads:

• How Images In The Media Have Affected My Sense Of Self
• For The Woman Too Scared To Be Seen

Which of these resources had the biggest impact on you?