Moving Our Identities Toward Body Liberation

Though many folks stuck in Diet Culture aren’t much interested in it, Body Liberation is meant for everyone: all sizes, shapes, races, sexual orientations, genders, abilities, ages, etc…. The more our bodies do not comply with Diet Culture’s narrow beauty standards, the more often we feel that we do not deserve Body Respect, Body Kindness or Body Acceptance.

This week, make a list of all of the identities (or positionalities) you identify with or that are identified with you. Make a note after each identity about what Diet Culture tells you about that identity — within that identity, how have you been pressured to show up in order to be acceptable or valuable or lovable? Consider what you have done in order to comply with Diet Culture’s standards AND/OR consider how Diet Culture’s standards have made you feel about that particular identity.

If you are active on social media, try to find at least one new account to begin following or one new group to join this week that is an example of someone (or many people) within at least one of your identities breaking free from diet culture and moving toward Body Liberation.

If you are not active on social media, try finding a book about, website dedicated to or a local group of people who share… an identity with you and are actively breaking free from diet culture and moving toward Body Liberation.

This exploration is based on one of the cards in Judith Matz’s and Amy Pershing’s The Body Positivity Card Deck: 53 Strategies for Body Acceptance, Appreciation and Respect.