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Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Body Positivity Is Only For Black Woman

A black female author, to borrow from the old Disney song, has a whale of a tale or two to tell us lads in her article, "Body positivity is for women, not lazy white guys with dad bods." The author begins:

In a world that is constantly telling us to be thinner, it can be hard to love our bodies just the way they are. But what if we stopped seeing our so-called flaws as imperfections and started viewing them as unique features that make us who we are?

Taken in moderation, it sounds good: we can't all look like supermodels or world-class athletes, after all. But feeling good about yourself, the author continues, cannot be countenanced when it comes to white people--especially white men. The author explains:

If you’re a white guy thinking you should “just embrace” your belly fat and jump on the dad bod positivity bandwagon, this article is for you. You need to understand that you are not the target audience for body positivity. This isn’t about you guys; it’s about us women.

But not just any women.

... The body positivity movement was created by women — specifically Black women — as a brilliantly sassy yet empathetic response to the unrealistic standards of beauty imposed on us by Western culture. It wasn’t designed for privileged white males who already conform to their own traditional ideas of masculinity (duh); it was meant for those of us who often feel invisible and unworthy because we don’t fit into patriarchy’s white supremacist definition of beauty.

 And:

Body positivity is for women — led by Black women — to celebrate our diverse shapes and sizes, and to finally feel like we belong in a world that has always told us we don’t. Body positivity is for women who have been systemically oppressed and told their entire lives that they’re not good enough. Body positivity is for women who have been taught to hate themselves because they don’t look like Barbie — not for dudes who can already pass as Ken.

 She includes a photograph of Alex Jones posing topless as an example of white men stealing body positivity, so I assume she is also talking about Jones as someone "who can already pass as Ken." 

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