Modern movements to create inclusivity of certain groups starts out with good intentions, shining a light on something important to them. BUT with the echo-chambers of social media it can sometimes get a little over zealous in the message. Take body positivity (bopo) for example, this is a movement to welcome, encourage and embrace all body types particularly larger bodies. Why? because larger bodies have been demonized in Western Cultures for ages and people come in all shapes and sizes.

This is a great step to get us back to stop idolizing the very thin as the ideal body. Because most of the people in that category are thin because of genetics, just like a lot of people in larger bodies have genetics for that size. Like a lot of movements it’s rules for inclusion got a little rigid.

Some well known bopo advocates decided they wanted to change their body to be a smaller size through diet and exercise. It was their own decision based on their health goals AND the community was NOT down with that. It’s not like they were turning their backs on bopo or larger body sizes, they simply decided that their health required a change.

Why would a group of people that are all about inclusivity be so enraged? Ah, the human condition. We are community social creatures and when someone wants to be a little different from the shared values, our internal threats alarm goes off. Being a human is complicated as it is and in the U.S. we tout individuality to the max, while also seeking community that we can identify with. So when one says I’m an individual it’s difficult for others to accept that, it makes them feel like they are being rejected or that their identity with the group is threatened in some way.

Guess what, it’s reallllllly hard to know that is what you are doing in the moment - almost no one consciously in the moment is thinking - that person in our close social media orbit that has decided to lose weight is making me question my identity within the body positivity group so I’m going to post negative hateful comments to let them know how much I feel threatened. Nope. We just see the negative comments and hope maybe, just maybe, in the future they will be able to reflect back why they were so mad at that person they know through the internet.

Listen or watch as we talk about this on our podcast: here