Challenges of #bodypositivity: social media and hashtag activism

Abstract

ABSTRACT Fat liberation movements seeking to dismantle systematic discrimination against fat bodies have been active in the U.S for over 50 years. Body positivity specifically has gained immense traction in the last decade. Recently, body positivity has been used more widely to, supposedly, individually challenge general ideologies that value thinness and fitness. Utilizing 200 posts from Instagram and 200 videos from TikTok, we examine the ways that social media frames body positivity and is an important vector for sending messages regarding ideal bodies. We find that body positivity discourse on social media is fragmented. While messages of “self-love” abound, those who are afforded self-love are those who still maintain somewhat hegemonic body standards. Additionally, we find that body positivity is also often linked to bodily changes rooted in weight loss and healthism, appropriating the original meaning of #bodypositivity particularly through the use of hashtags to influence social media algorithms.