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Capitalism, Body Shaming, & Being Comfortable in Your Body as an Act of Resistance

I'm not sure that any of us could get through a single day without being told that our bodies need to change.Whether it is consciously spoken through the random man on the train (honey, you would look so much prettier if you smiled!) or within the millions of insidious messages we see every day (do this workout for the perfect tummy!); we are always being told that we must do something (and usually, buy something) to “fix” our bodies.Culture, capitalism, and a concoction of self-hatred.I can say pretty confidently at this point that, nothing, absolutely nothing, has ever been wrong with my body.Yet, I have spent the majority of my life believing the opposite-- and because I’ve spent the majority of my life believing so, this way of thinking still frames my every move and every step, making it almost impossible not to fall prey to the millions of messages that say my body is wrong for the way it exists; and therefore, I am wrong for the way I exist.From the ads that pop up as I scroll through social media to the the majority of messages in movies and TV, bodies are constantly being asked to be a certain way and look a certain way. And if they don’t or they aren’t: they are wrong, and the conversation ends.There is no… “wait, why is this body wrong?” conversation-- because there is nobody (literally, no body) to ask. There is no person behind the ad, letting you know who came up with these arbitrary rules about arbitrary things like body shape, body weight, and body hair. There is no real reason that you need to look a certain (very specific) way, to be seen as healthy, acceptable, and valuable in the world.Even more confusing, is these ‘standards’ are completely culturally based, change from country to country, from generation to generation, and can shift and be different in the blink of an eye.A brief history of body-shaming
tracing back the origins of body shaming is an interesting feat, because when did humans start to feel… self-conscious? When did we start to engage in behaviors that made ourselves and others insecure? I don’t really know the answer to that question, but I do know, however, that it probably goes back further than most of us think.So many of us have associated the idea of ‘body shaming’ as a modern invention, in particular, a technological one. There is an interesting presumption that bodies prior to the twenty-first century were not scrutinized and picked apart.It is true, that we have entered an age where we are all under an extreme and scary microscope (i.e social media, and media in general) that leaves us more vulnerable and easily accessible for scrutiny at any time of any day. There is more opportunity for us to see how we fall short according to the day's standards and more opportunities for others to pick us apart even from across the world.It is important, however, to note that technology was not the birthplace of body shaming.

Venus and Mmore by Paris Bordone, Artwork from 1545

The art of the Renaissance period is often referenced regarding how f*cked up modern-day beauty standards are. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the art of the Renaissance period. Women are naked, eating, loving, and simply… enjoying. It is a breath of fresh air, and I love to soak it up.However, with that said, it also does point to the culture of that time period, and how they saw bodies as valuable. Bigger bodies were idealized, because bigger bodies meant more wealth, and more wealth was everything; especially after a time period that is often associated with war, famine, and ‘the black death.’

An ad from a 19th-century magazine, selling devices to reshape one's face.

As we moved into the modern ages and began to industrialize, having access to food, shelter, and healthcare was not as difficult as it was before the 18th century. Being bigger-bodied was no longer associated with being wealthy, and instead, the narrative began to shift into thinness being the ideal.
Especially within the last century, it has become much more difficult to be thin in a world where fast food, desk jobs, and industrialized neighborhoods exist. So investigating this idea further, we can conceptualize that the ideal 'body image' for the time period, as seen in the last few examples-- is what rich people can do. And what rich people can do, is often what the hardest and least accessible thing is to do.The myth of thinness and health
I happen to live in a relatively mid-sized body, and I have my entire life. My weight has fluctuated pretty enormously, with my highest being relatively concerning to my lowest being absolutely red alert status as far as ‘health’ goes.
When I was at my highest weight (though I will note, I was unhealthy for completely different reasons at the time) and I saw a doctor, the very first thing they asked, without any context, was what kind of diet/exercise plan I was on.
At the time I was mortified, because I had never had anyone come out and comment on my weight/body in such an abrasive way, and even worse, do so in the name of ‘health.’ I realize now that this is the reality for most bigger-bodied people in the United States, especially women.What is even more concerning, is that when I was at my lowest weight, I was by far the unhealthiest I have ever been. Yet, every person, including every doctor, would comment on how great I looked and how healthy I must be.The myth of thinness being ‘healthy’ has somehow implanted itself into every single one of our psyches, and in doing so, we have demonized fatness to the very depths of human darkness. Somehow, it has become standard routine to believe that being fat equals being unhealthy (which also equals invaluable and unworthy, in the eyes of today's world) when that is simply just… incorrect. Quite literally not even a sliver of truth.But isn’t being healthy important?If you try to research what is “healthy” the amount of conflicting ideas and theories you will find on the internet (yes, even peer-reviewed) is so unbelievably confusing. If you look back over the last three decades at what diets are the healthiest or what foods are the most nutritious, the paradox of information is wildly concerning.
Yes, of course, there are certain things we all agree on: go on walks, be outside, sleep well, drink water, reduce stress, and don’t overdose on sugar every day. Focus on vegetables a little more and don't eat fried foods every day. But as far as a sure-fire plan to be "healthy," there are more conflicting arguments than there are agreeable ones.Even so, what does this have to do with being thin or being fat? What does eating well, and taking care of your body, have to do with how much weight you have on your body? I am definitely not an expert, but through my own experience and what I’ve read and heard from others, it is mostly arbitrary, and it differs greatly from person to person.Yet, we still place so much value on being thin, and even more specifically, on being ‘lean’ and ‘toned’. Not even just from a social status standpoint, but also down to how many clothes we have to choose from to what jobs will be offered to us. There is so much value placed onto being thin, and so much devalue placed onto being fat in a world where being thin (to societies standards) is next to impossible.What does capitalism have to do with it?The reason standards of beauty and idealized bodies are set by what rich people can do is because they are expensive, and require consumers to buy products, hire people, and place rent (buy memberships, gym passes, etc) on things and exercises and destinations that have promised them the ideal body.The ‘ideal body’ is made up by the current cultural standard. There have been time periods where being ‘curvier’ was seen as the ideal, and there have been time periods where being a literal size zero was the ideal.None of this has to do with a persons morals or values, it has to do with their ability to be able to buy a product, and their bodies ability to morph and change out of whatever thing at the time is being demonized.This doesn’t just show up in the latest makeup trend or fitness plan that will get you rock hard abs. It’s also not always in the messages of what bodies are the most valuable (and absolutely unreachable) in movies, tv, and media that creates the push for plastic surgery. It also shows up in messages that push organic plant-based foods, doing yoga to make you feel good and having a spa day for self care. It is also in the trends and movements that want to make you feel like you are loving yourself, and caring for yourself, and going ‘against’ the modern day beauty standards.(disclaimer— I am a person who has fallen so hard into all of the above messages. it has both helped and harmed me in numerous ways. What is important is that every single person is different, and that though there are substance to these ideas, the absolute nature of these statements is often misguided and harmful if we do not recognize humans as the diverse and unique beings that they are, all needing varying things)In short: it isn’t just the ‘normal’ market that we have all sort of universally recognized as being misogynistic, fatphobic, and body shamey. It is also the ‘self love’ and/or wellness culture movement that often stems from neoliberal entrepreneurs (whom may have innocent and genuinely good intentions) that are pushing these ideals for the ideal body, but in a much more subtle way.book your 1:1 wellness coaching sessions with me for only __$!
come on this 3000$ yoga retreat in bali to ‘find yourself!’
buy my new vegan cook e-book for only _$!"
see what i eat in a day as a high carb low fat etc etc etc veganOkay, so maybe not always that subtle. But there are still often so many messages that creep into our psyche, without us even realizing it. even under the guise of ‘wellness’ and ‘self love'.’So, what do we do about it? how do we know what is real and what is not?It is important to name that literally every single person is different. I have been through so many phases with my body, and I still continue to learn new things, and I fail constantly.It is a constant work in progress. there isn’t a ‘right’ or a ‘wrong’ way to do anything.Our bodies are our bodies.We can dress them up, play with them, put them on showcase, or hide them from the world in any way we want. And I sincerely, sincerely mean that.There is nothing ‘wrong’ with following trends. However, I do think it is powerful to be aware of how they affect us, so we can get curious about what that means for us and how we think about ourselves— to start resisting the ways it does not serve us.Resisting the ways it tells us to be smaller when we don’t want to be.
Resisting the ways it tells us to look ‘prettier’ when our version of beauty is something else.Resisting the ways it tells us women should be mothers when as people, we want to be PEOPLE.Resisting the way ‘self love’ culture tells us to love our body, and if we don’t, to do something about it (buy something about it).Resist the way it tells us to be anything that we are not.Being comfortable in our bodies is an act of resistance.Because you can’t sell anything to someone who is okay with who they are.

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Capitalism, Body Shaming, & Being Comfortable in Your Body as an Act of Resistance

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