#BoPo Mvmt: How social media influencers are creating shifts (or are they?)
Lizzo. Remi Bader. Mik Zazon. Katie Sturino. Jonathan Van Ness. Alok. Meg Boggs. The list goes on, and on, and on, and. . .
These social media influencers have catapulted the “Body Positive” social media movement (#BoPo) into the spotlight it lives in currently, whether they meant to or not. Each of them exist in a corner of the internet that embraces the non-traditional beauty standard for all genders. On their pages, they post raw and real content about the lack of inclusivity in popular clothing lines, the hateful comments and messages they get for showing their bodies, and unedited photos and videos of them showing their bodies exactly how they exist in this moment. The most inspirational part to me is that they are not trying to change their bodies. They don’t showcase their bodies as a “before” stage in some cringey Jenny-Craig-esque progress post. They exist exactly as they are, and they embrace themselves fully.
And that makes some people mad. Like, really mad.
This movement has been inspiring folx all across social media to embrace themselves, too. My generation, somewhere between a millennial and a Gen Z, have been brainwashed to believe that the ideal beauty standard is the traditional one — a long and lean woman, with soft skin, and symmetrical features. And if you don’t look like that, you should be doing everything in your power to get there.
These influencers challenge that.
What they introduced to these platforms is a community of people who accept, celebrate, and acknowledge the differences we all have in our bodies. They have created a space where it is truly okay to have cellulite, body hair, acne, scars, and everything else that can show up on a regular unedited human body. They challenge the status quo that brands and clothing lines have established and in some cases, have actually created a change in those brands.
The questions I’d like to explore in this research are:
- In what ways has the emergence of digital technologies allowed this movement to spread?
- What is the goal of this movement?
- How do we measure results? How do we know this movement is actually helping or hurting people?
In previous units in this class, we’ve explored the early stages of the body positivity movement, particularly with the Dove ad about “real” beauty. With the widening grip social media has on our society, and in particular our younger generations, I’m curious as to how this movement has grown from ads on TV and magazine covers, to influencers that make a living off being body positive. One Vox article sites body positive influencers that have experienced a boom in followers and higher engagement since the Covid-19 pandemic — so this could be a very recent development.
So, what’s the actual goal of pushing this movement forward and getting people on board? Many influencers will argue that they aren’t even trying to push the agenda of body “positivity”, but more so body acceptance. You don’t necessarily have to love the body you’re in, but you should practice accepting it. And even more-so, society and brands need to accept that there are many body types that exist across the world, not just the straight sized (2, 4, 6, 8, etc) woman.
There is an overarching theme of awareness within this movement, which may make it difficult to actually measure any results. The goal might not be to create a tangible change, although many brands have created more inclusive sizing options and employ models who represent what the body positive movement stands for, like Aerie. And, even though there are many faces to this movement, what makes it even more difficult to understand is that there is no singular organization or group that steers it in one direction or another. I think this is true for many social media movements we see today. They have a theme woven throughout, but each person who claims to be #bodypositive has their own narrative (which is what can make these movements dangerous or harmful).
This semester, I’d really like to get a comprehensive overview of this movement. I’d like to dig deeper into when it moved to the digital platform of social media, and how that shift changed it. I’d also like to explore the general response to this movement and if it really is helping anyone at all. Social media influences us every day whether we like it or not, and whether we mean for it to or not. It doesn’t matter our age, our social status, or our gender — body image talk is present on every digital platform. When the narrative changes to a body positive one, how does this effect us?
If you have any experience with coming across this content online, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Does it make you roll your eyes? Does it make you feel hopeful? Do you follow any of the influencers I listed, or do you have any others to recommend? I know depending on our own searches and interests, social media brings us to different corners of the internet. . . do any of you live in this corner? Thanks for reading!
