One thing we have all heard for a long duration of our lives is the importance of loving ourselves just the way we are. Things are always easier said than done, especially in a generation where beauty standards have been highly unrealistic!
Gen Z has grown up in a time where the only possible way to truly love yourself and be accepted is if you looked exactly like models from runway shows and magazines. According to Nikita Johnson, it was not until 2010 that change was beginning to take motion in normalizing more diverse body types and encouraging body positivity.
Since the 50s, being thin and skinny was how everyone perceived true beauty which began to lead to unhealthy lifestyles such as eating disorders, anorexia, and depression. And then in came social media…
Social media began to play a big role in our society since the 2000s. This type of content started to receive much more exposure from the help of social media, and it led to creating feelings of self-doubt and anxiousness within many people.
After many years, these unrealistic beauty standards were starting to become called out as many different body types were becoming acknowledged and celebrated. “Body positivity” was not a common phrase back then, whereas it is now one of the biggest movements designed to promote acceptance of all bodies, no matter the size, shape, skin tone, gender, and physical abilities.
According to research done in 2022, there were 17.8 million posts with the hashtag #BodyPositive and 9.8 million posts with the hashtag #BodyPositivity. It continues to make a big impact to this day by enhancing positive effects on self-esteem as well as mental health.
“Real self-love is doing everything to ensure your body is as healthy and happy as possible,” is a beautiful quote by Veronica Sams, a well-known photographer in the beauty industry, that encompasses how true self-love should look like within each and every one of us.
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