The Body Positivity Movement has made huge strides in the twenty-first century. The movement was founded in 1966 to disrupt the standards of tall, anorexic women as the only definition of beautiful. Now, young girls can see themselves represented in body-positive advocates like Ashley Graham, Barbie Ferreira, and Jameela Jamil. The message of loving your body for what it is is becoming more popular thanks to social media.
But girls, let’s be honest, we have our own standards for Prince Charming. Hence the ever popular tall, dark and handsome archetype. Or should I say the tall, dark, skinny, muscular, and handsome? We cannot pretend that for men there isn’t a certain image as to who is considered attractive.
Which begs the question: do men have a place in the Body Positivity Movement or is the movement for body inclusivity actually gender exclusive?
I argue the latter.
Search “body positivity” on Google. Immediately, articles and images of plus-size women, women with acne, and other women, all beautiful, taking their bodies back from the unhealthy expectations society has projected upon them since childhood. Even toy companies have started to embrace body positivity. Mattel, an American toy company, recently started producing the Curvy Body type Barbie Fashionistas to reflect greater diversity. The new model has received high praise and promotion, while the new selection of Ken doll body types was apparently lost in all the excitement. The difference in response is hard to ignore.
Media is a huge perpetrator of the toxic male body image. Too often, the film and TV industry inserts broader, plus-size male characters to serve as the comic relief or wise guide so that their slim, ripped best friend gets a happily ever after.
Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame is a great example. In the final film of The Avengers series, the depressed god of thunder subsequently gained some pounds. Throughout the film, the audience was told to laugh at him — a fallen king — because gaining weight is apparently so hilarious and so we should make fat jokes that were rarely (if they ever were) funny. The almighty Thor lost all respect we had for him when he was fit and shirtless simply because he had lost control of weight. Since he was no longer a “pirate angel” he served as a caricature to mock and ignore. Without his abs and biceps, it seems that we’re no longer supposed to believe Thor to be who he still is: the god of thunder.
Needless to say, I didn’t laugh much watching a film that showed women empowerment while simultaneously degrading the male body to a one-dimensional cliché. In the end, Thor received no happily ever after and ended up renouncing his power because increasing the numbers on the scale diminished all power and attractiveness he wielded.
If we are going to forward as a society aspiring for gender equality that doesn’t mean we can dismiss men. The hope, after all, is inclusivity and that includes men in all shapes, colors, and sizes. In such a world, anyone and everyone gets a happily ever after.
Full disclaimer: I am cisgendered woman with no eating disorders and I have never been harshly discriminated against because of my body. However, I am a dancer, so my more muscular frame and curves have invited ridicule in the ballet studio and onstage. Not to mention that the Black female body is constantly hyper-sexualized and ostracized. I still struggle to love my body in spite of (what I consider to be) flaws, both visible and invisible. I recognize the importance in loving myself because body positivity is for everyone. We all deserve to love ourselves and be loved for who we are.
