Ever since I was little I have struggled with my weight and accepting myself, so I think a space of online resistance that has repeatedly recur in my life would be the Plus Size is Beautiful/Body Positivity Movement. The Body Positivity Movement is a movement designed to help “people liberate themselves from self-hatred, value their beauty and identity, and use their energy and intellect to make positive changes in their own lives and in their communities” (http://www.thebodypositive.org). In addition to that definition here is a short video that will further explain and illustrate the purpose of the Body Positivity Movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tTmYmc6ubE. While this can be widely seen across all the social medias (twitter, tumblr, instagram, etc.), for this post, I want to mostly focus on the YouTube vlogger community and even more specifically the plus size acceptance sector of the movement. YouTube Vloggers from LoeyLane to LearningToBeFearless over the past couple of years have driven the push for body positivity and the acceptance of plus size body types in the media. They’re videos have racked up millions of views and have made them the face for accepting yourself at any size. (Here are their channels, check them out!: https://www.youtube.com/user/LoeyLane https://www.youtube.com/user/LearningToBeFearless) These communities showed me I was not alone and that other people, of every size, were feeling inadequate too. I suddenly felt like I belonged again and that’s what these online resistance communities aim to do. For me, an online space of resistance is a safe place for people to exchange and expand on their ideas without fear of judgement. While online resistance communities aim to accept all people they sometimes unintentionally shame others. For example, the plus size vlogger community has had a very positive effect on my life, this is not always a common view. While this is a place of acceptance for plus size women, it is often seen to “skinny shame” as well. The true intent is never to say that being thin is wrong, but some of the ways people express loving being thick is by putting down other body types. That being said this is a community that if you aren’t plus size, you’re feelings may be on the chopping block. I understand that that is a complete generalization of the community and they do so much more positive things, but like any online forum things can be taken out of context or worded wrong and that’s when trouble starts to happen. This space is liberating by saying “Plus size is beautiful.”, but it still perpetuates oppression because the term plus size is not an all inclusive term, it separates those who are plus sized from those who are not. It is for that exact reason I have since turned my attention more to Body Positive Movement and making everyone else feel comfortable in their skin rather than focusing on bettering one group of people.
