THE POWER OF BODY POSITIVITY

Whether it’s fetishising thin bodies or appropriating the African-American Vernacular English term ‘thicc’ in the current craze for curves, society is relentless in its pursuit of body ideals.

Trying to fit your body into everchanging trends can be exhausting and dangerous – from extreme workouts to diet pills, waist trainers to implants. Luckily, there’s a countermovement, which emphasises embracing the skin you’re in. With roots in the fat acceptance movement of the 1960s, the #bopo, or body positivity, and body neutrality movements push for acceptance and inclusion of all bodies, particularly those that have been marginalised due to their size, race, sexual orientation, gender identification or access needs.

Body positive influencers are spreading the message on Instagram, from eating disorder survivor Charli Howard, who left her modelling agency after being told she was too big