Any person with no memory of that corny old song is not to be blamed in the least. The point that needs making is whether you call a belief system by the name of body acceptance, fat acceptance, body positivity, healthy at every size, or use some other terminology, it’s still the same old starchy vegetable.
Apparently, the whole subject kind of took a backseat with the arrival of weight-loss drugs on the open market. This is the conclusion offered by an AI source that was consulted just for fun, but it sounds about right. When asked how it formed that impression, AI referred us to a perfectly respectable publication, Psychology Today.
As journalist Mia Barnes reported,
The movement isn’t gone, but it’s not the cultural force it once was.
Many former adherents of the body positive philosophy have disappointed their fellow rebels by turning to the popular and increasingly affordable GLP-1 drugs, in the hope of cultivating a different sort of body to accept and feel positive about. Sadly, many true believers feel double-crossed just because some former comrades have reordered their priorities. The amount of mental energy used to express those emotions could be better employed elsewhere. Barnes goes on to say,
For some, it feels like a betrayal of the movement’s core values, while others argue that body positivity should include supporting people in making choices that align with their well-being — whatever that looks like for them.
She suggests that a healthy response to the debate is to adopt a philosophy of body neutrality, which includes protecting your sanity and emotional health by abandoning the destructive habits of self-criticism and comparison with others. Appreciation for one’s organs and limbs when they perform their jobs correctly, without causing pain, is an attitude that many disabled people would love the opportunity to experience just once in their lives.
But they are unable to escape; while at the same time, morbidly obese people, individuals who theoretically could transform themselves just by deciding to, roam the earth.
Some spiritual and mental-health schools of thought promote the idea that gratitude for the good we receive is a prerequisite for acquiring more psychological benefits. A “Sixties” quotation has probably stuck with a lot of people as they aged — “Praise all that you see, and more will appear.”
Ugly truths emerge
As previously mentioned, American landlords and employers are allowed to discriminate on the basis of weight — and this holds true in all but one state. But the ignominy worsens, because an organization that looks into these matters, the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination, has done enough research to state that “Fat people are even more prejudiced against fat people.”
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “So, Is the Body Positivity Movement Still a Thing?,” PsychologyToday.com, 01/23/25
Source: “Insight: America’s hatred of fat hurts obesity fight,” Reuters.com, 05/11/12
Image by RobinHiggins/Pixabay
FAQs and Media Requests: 
