International Journal of Educational

Science and Research (IJESR)

ISSN(P): 2249–6947; ISSN(E): 2249–8052
Vol. 10, Issue 2, Apr 2020, 1–8
© TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

THE REVOLUTION ON INSTAGRAM: THE BODY POSITIVE MOVEMENT

TABITHA KUMAR
Student, Department of English with Communication Studies, Christ (Deemed to be University), Karnataka, India
ABSTRACT

The Body positive movement is a movement rooted in the belief that all the human beings should have a positive
perception about their bodies as well as being accepting of everyone, irrespective of their body type. The movement did
not restrict itself to fat and thin shaming but it became a social platform for people being a shamed for whatever reason
that eventually came back to be mocked at, for their body type. The goal of this movement is the acceptance of all body
types, irrespective of their skin colour, skin tone and body flaws. The Body Positive movement does not restrict positivity
to fat and thin shaming, but allows those acne prone victims to find a place in the society and come out of their
insecurities through self- love. This research paper intends to explore how the Body Positive movement on Instagram,
has helped to increase the self- confidence of acne prone victims.

KEYWORDS: Body Positivity, Instagram, Self-Acceptance, Self-Love & Self-Confidence.

Original Article
Received: Jan 03, 2020; Accepted: Jan 23, 2020; Published: Feb 29, 2020; Paper Id.: IJESRAPR20201

INTRODUCTION

The revolution, Body Positive movement on Instagram has started in 2012, and it not only accepts the
imperfections of people, but celebrates it as well. Body positivity does not have an academic definition and has
recently been added to Wikipedia. The goal of this particular movement is - to basically look upon the unrealistic
ideals about beauty, building of self-esteem, self- acceptance and learning to love oneself to the fullest. The Body
Positive movement does not restrict positivity to fat and thin shaming, but allows those acne prone victims to find
a place in the society and come out of their insecurities through self- love. As this movement is a believer in
self-love, it is important to notice if people have actually started loving their natural selves through this
phenomenon. Furthermore, it is necessary to observe if this particular movement has benefited to those who are
being body shamed. In addition, if or if not through this movement, authenticity has become more important than
perfection. Lastly, we can give a keen eye into the theme of the “Ideal beauty” and how this movement breaks that
particular norm. This research paper intends to explore how the Body Positive movement on Instagram, has
helped to increase the self- confidence of acne prone victims.

Instagram might be seen as the social media app that is only used for photographs and the editing of these
pictures which result in a very aesthetic photo. But there are other activities as well, that one does on this app. One of
the most important aspects of Instagram today is the expression of body positivity. There are a number of celebrities
and a number of Internet icons whom have been a part in the self- love community and there have been number of
social media users who are benefited from it. In a world that we live today, perfection is what one strives. We live in
an imperfect world yet we look to be perfect, if not we are harassed and thus have to build our own wall of
insecurities. Also, considering how women are so often judged and criticized for various reasons till today, this
movement can be considered as a revolution. Body positivity can be expressed in so many ways, now on a social

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2 Tabitha Kumar

media site such as Instagram. Some use hashtags, some are just bold enough to come out openly and show their flaws, some
use sponsored campaigns, but at the end of the day, they are trying to throw an idea to the society, the idea being that it is
rather normal to have such flaws and it is important to love one self. There are many Instagram posts and accounts that
showcase Makeup- free selfies. These selfies actually show how comfortable a person is without any make-up, regardless of
the flaws. This not only helps on a personal level but it does justice to every woman, to show that beauty is not perfect, beauty
has flaw as well. There are some accounts on Instagram that are linked to the Body positive movement, who post pictures that
are empowering, encouraging and positive in nature. The account, @thebodyisnotananalogy often posts positive quotes that
show encouragement and support to those who are going through a terrible time facing their insecurities. There is another way
of showing oneself and that is through a full body selfie. When one posts a full body picture of herself, she is reminded that it
is her body, she is born with it and there is no reason for her to be ashamed of it. Posting of kind and warm comments when
the other is trying her best to express herself is a way of showing love in the body positive community. This is one of the most
important factor in this particular movement, to encourage others and show some love to those who are trying their best to
walk out of their closet of insecurities and shame. Through Instagram, it is rather startling to notice how people have begun to
love themselves and others, through a social media platform.

In 2012, Tess Holliday, a feminist and a plus sized model went on the name, @effyourbeautystandards on
Instagram. This particular account launched the campaign, #effyourbeautystandards, this campaign actually stood against
people who spoke negativity about the body of others. Once this was done, the model was signed to one of the top most
model agencies in Europe, Milk Management. She was actually their first model over the size 20, this made her directly to
land on the front cover of the People Magazine in the year 2015. The model’s personal account on Instagram shows her
chic and edgy sense of fashion. Then on, the movement expanded and became famous all over the Instagram. One of the
most common and popular feature on Instagram is the use of hashtags. Many of these accounts that is linked to the
movement use a lot of hashtags particularly in their captions in order to identify the multiple issues their images are
attempting to address. This phenomena, under the hashtag, #bodypositivity and #bodypositive, has three million followers
on Instagram, yet the hashtag #effyourbeautystandards is the one that is widely and commonly used by many as well.
Therefore, this movement empowers the acceptance of all body types, skin colour, skin tone and body flaws. “Body
Positivity is for every size, age, race and, gender. It’s more than hashtags. It’s about being POSITIVE that your BODY is
awesome and spreading that positivity to others. That’s what being body positive is all about to me.” Kelvin Davis, founder
of Notoriously Dapper, a body positive men’s fashion blog says. Body positivity does not include only weight for that
matter, it is about our entire body and how we are connected to the body and how our body is connected to the world.
“From the top of your head to the tip of your toes- every inch of us should be part of body positivity,” says Jill Andrew and
Aisha Fairclough, the co- founders of Body confidence Canada awards.

Instagram is known for its filters, basically making you look pretty, making you into someone that you are not.
But, standing against all of this, the skin positivity came into light. Body positivity does justice not only to the body size
but to the skin as well. Most of the body positive community with skin issues go under the hashtag, #acnepositivity
#skinpositivity and so on. Now, victims of acne prone skin have started to post their raw cystic, white head, black heads,
pale skin on Instagram, with no filter whatsoever. This was actually seen as a taboo. In 2015, Em Ford, under the account
@mypaleskinblog brought out a viral video showcasing the disgusting and demeaning comments that she incurred due to
the acne on her face, this video “You look Disgusting” went viral. This has collected over twenty-seven million views and
till date, Em Ford posts pictures of her raw, pale, acne prone skin and she is not ashamed of it anymore. There are more

Impact Factor (JCC): 6.7094 NAAS Rating: 4.16

The Revolution on Instagram: The Body Positive Movement 3

than six hundred posts that go under the hashtag, #skinpositivity. The community is growing as a part of the huge Body
positive movement. This particular community tries to tell one and all to embrace oneself and love their skin because the
texture of their skin should not make them feel less or insecure. Ford recently wrote an open letter to Kendal Jenner,
“Acne is a massive insecurity for people all over”. Once Ford paved the way, there were a number of women who came
about and took this massive step of moving out of the closet and declaring that they are flawed so what? “Acne is only
temporary. An important reminder, as this is something I often forget. It does not define who you are, unless you let it.”
Kali Kushner wrote this on January 6th. Kali’s pictures on Instagram are mostly make up free. She showed to the world her
journey of adult cystic acne and how she cured it, and how she is still striving to cure her skin. She also says that it is
nothing to be ashamed of. It is something that is temporary, but the world does not really let you fade those acne scars
because they keep reminding you of how horrifying your face looks.

Also, there are models who are said to be perfect in how they look, who are seen as perfectionists that have come
out into the open and showed their naked face, with no makeup. They showed the world that their skin does not define who
they are. Such models, with such scars encouraged those who are still living in their own world of insecurities and trying
their best to get out of it. These modes have paved the way for the rest.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The articles on Body Positive movement provide an insight about how this particular phenomenon has enabled women to
build an online community where everybody has mutual feelings about their experiences and, that this movement is increasing
their self- esteem by showcasing self- love and by spreading the message that, you are not the only one as every woman is
going through something similar or worse. Research has been conducted on how the movement works, how it benefits the
ones who are a community of it and how it has abolished the idea of perfection through speaking about fat, thin and any skin
type, being beautiful. The articles give an overview of the movement, but most of these articles deal with fat shaming and how
the body positive movement has dealt with it. Acne, is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that is actually curable, yet this
is considered as a flaw and many are body shamed because of it. The trauma that victims of an acne prone skin face are too
terrifying and may lead the person in taking serious steps in their life and may also lead them to depression. Acne is not a huge
concern, but the society makes it a big issue. A person with acne on any part of her body is said to be flawed and not,
“perfect.” The Body positive movement also shows us that acne is normal and there is nothing to be ashamed of.

Also a research conducted by, Jessica Cwynar (2016) examined the Body Positive community in order to
understand how social media platforms actually enable women to self- present outside the traditional gender norms and
challenge ideals of feminine beauty, including demands to produce smooth skin, to adhere to body sized norms and,
contain body fluids. In a study conducted by Rachel Cohen et al. (2019), the participants were 195 young women (18-30)
years old, they were randomly allocated to view either body positive, thin- ideal or appearance, or appearance neutral
Instagram posts. The results showed that brief exposure to body positive posts was associated with improvements in young
women’s positive mood, body satisfaction and body appreciation. Such articles with a number of different ones show the
goal of the movement and how this particular goal is seen practically as well.

METHODOLOGY

This research paper uses empirical evidence, a way of gaining knowledge through direct or indirect observation. Therefore,
empirical methodology is used under which the observational method is taken to collect the data for this research paper.

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4 Tabitha Kumar

Analysis

The Instagram handle by Kali, a 21year old victim of adult acne, under the name, myfacestory shares through her caption,
how media tends to shape the way people feel about themselves. She says, that she has found this true when it comes to skin
as well. “It is unavoidable when we’re constantly bombarded with unrealistic imagery- from magazines you read,
commercials that come on during your favourite show, to shopping for makeup.” She says that for years the celebrities and the
media have shown skin in an unauthentic way, creating a stigma around skin conditions and how people should look, is what
she says. She goes on to say that through the skin positivity, people have started to see celebrities reveal their skin conditions
as well and wanting to make a change against traditional beauty standards. She says that whenever she looks at a celebrity or
an influential person’s post on Instagram about their skin condition, it makes her feel less alone in this particular journey of
self-love and coming out of the closet. She also says that when these celebrities share their acne journey online, it takes away
the feeling that acne is something that cannot be accepted in the society and makes it feel completely normal. Also, the fact
that money does not always buy you clear skin. “It can be a little frightening opening up about your skin (trust me I’ve been
there), I think more imagery we see of blemished beauties, the more acceptable it will become in society.”

“Be the woman you are meant to be. Not the woman you think you should be, or the woman they want you to be.”
Em Ford, (Figure 1) a public figure on Instagram, (does not mention her age) goes under the handle, mypaleskinblog.
Through this handle, she shows her pale skin that is covered with acne. Through this blog, she has come out into the world,
to say that, she is a public figure but she has acne and has faced its traumatizing experience as well. She fights for skin
positivity and as her caption says, she believes that a woman should be who she is and not what the society wants her to be.
A woman should not think about what she should be, rather a woman should be herself, someone that is meant to be
herself, her own self. This particular caption is bringing out a sense of self-confidence as the picture to this caption is of
herself, wearing a bikini showing off her pale, acne prone skin and feeling comfortable in her own body and her own skin.
She has come to the realisation that acne is a part of life and it is far better to be your own self rather than being something
you are not. This also shows that, in a way, she has found herself in the society as a unique individual.

Figure 1: A Photo of @mypaleskinblog.

Impact Factor (JCC): 6.7094 NAAS Rating: 4.16

The Revolution on Instagram: The Body Positive Movement 5

“I’ll be honest, I started this page for selfish reasons, to keep myself motivated through a course of strong
medication called Roaccutane to treat acne.” Ella Gorton speaks herself. She tells the world that she was being selfish, but
this community made her gain confidence about herself that now she says that through this selfishness, she gained so many
people who follow her and through her experience she has helped others feel better about themselves. She goes on to say
that one who does not face the problem of acne, does not understand how it makes a person feel, worthless, embarrassed,
self- conscious. She regards the Body Positive movement and the community, that she calls as her family. It overwhelms
her that a platform on social media is spreading such positivity.

Belle Lucia, who is a model and who’s feed is filled with her picture wearing a bikini, posing and dressing like a
model comes out into the world and shows her face not caring about what her life will be after these pictures are seen
publicly. She declares, “No one is perfect.” “I’m posting this to hopefully help those out there suffering with acne or
anyone worrying about the way they look, because when I was young I wish someone told me that your looks don’t define
you and even the “models” you see on advertisements aren’t perfect.” This shows us how even models have come to the
realisation that it is enough and it is high time that they have been hiding their flaws and showing the world a rather fake
picture of who they really are. This is definitely a very bold and strong move which is driven by a lot of compassion
towards oneself and others. These models have paved the way for other women to actually believe in their selves and for
those who are staying back and not going ahead to be a model just because of their flaws.

Sam, a personal blogger goes by the name, confessions of skin on Instagram. One of her caption says, “She
doesn’t give up. She fights for the truth. The truth being that her worth is not at all defined by the clarity of her skin.” She
fought to love herself in a society that defined beauty according to skin type, the texture of the skin. But she says that
someone’s worth is not defined by the way a person looks, rather, by who that person truly is, from the inside. She also
says in bold letters, “SHE FOUGHT TO LOVE HERSELF IN A SOCIETY THAT TOLD HER SHE DIDN’T DESERVE
IT. I love her. I love her a lot.” She believes in breaking the stereotypical idea of beauty and loves herself, her imperfect
self. This caption brings us to a conclusion that despite the way she looks, she has begun to love herself, and she does not
deserve the experiences she encountered for who she is.

A research conducted by Anni Emilia Alentola (2017) says that the body positive phenomenon is an individual
based movement, active on social media. This movement can either be self- developing, political or both. For all the
women who were interviewed, this movement is a positive factor for them in terms of self- esteem, body image and
identity. This article also says that this movement is actually changing the way women are portrayed. Women are always
portrayed as flawless in the male gaze and in feminine poses, but this movement shows the world that women can have
flaws as well, after all, they are humans too.

The page on Instagram, my skin matters is the Body Positive community for those who are suffering from any
skin condition. When this community page was opened, their first post said, “Welcome to #Myskinmatters! We’re itching
to show the world that people with skin conditions have nothing to hide.” Alexandra Sastre (2016) examines that Body
positive movement challenges the entire culture of exclusion and encourages in empowering body images and advocating
the visibility of bodies that do not fit mainstream, beauty norms. This is exactly what the community page on Instagram is
executing. There are so many human beings that cover their face with makeup, just to hide their scars, redness, acne and
any kind of blemishes. But this community says that it is completely normal to have a skin condition and that there is
nothing to hide, just show off. The account, @confessionsofskin is an example of what this article is trying to tell us. Here,

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6 Tabitha Kumar

we see how she is developing herself, in terms of loving herself, respecting herself and building her self – confidence. We
also notice how this article, brings the woman out of the male gaze to say she is flawed as well and it is alright to be
flawed. Well, @confessionsofskin also says that she fought to love herself in a society that was not accepting her. This
shows that the community and movement is breaking the stereotypes of the Ideal Beauty and is also, letting those who are
flawed have a place pf their own in a society like ours.

DISCUSSIONS

Through all the accounts mentioned above, the conclusion shows how the Body positive movement is actually attaining its
goal of increasing a community that helps one live. Also, the entire notion of self- love, throwing away insecurities and taking
a bold step to face the society with their flawed body is seen through these accounts. From the descriptions given above, it is
clear that the movement is fulfilling its purpose. Through these insecurities women have learned to actually cover up their
acne, stretch marks or any skin issue for that matter. Also, the existence of skin surgeries (plastic surgeries) somehow, instilled
the notion that there is skin correction needed and flawed skin cannot be accepted. But it is definitely time for a change. There
is no need to be surrounded with the entire notion of photographic lies that will lead to our discouragement of self- worth and
self- love. We are actually exposed to a kind of perfection that is not even real. The perfection that the world is looking for can
be attained by edits and a good editor. Therefore, the entire community and the movement is playing a vital role in banishing
an impossible perfection, promoting self- acceptance and trying to make the world a place where everybody can at least
breathe and live with their own bodies.

As stated in the New York Times, “Through models such as Tess Holliday and Lena Dunham, the Body positive
movement is carving out a digital space where everyday people find affirmation for their appearance.” This phenomenon
has become a very strong and fast growing force on Instagram, acting as a counter action to those that body shame the
other people who are victims of such abuse. Instagram allows us to, “cultivate our own experiences,” says Ms. Tess
Holliday. She also says, “Prior to Instagram, you saw whatever online. Now you can follow people that are into body
positivity, feminism and radical body love artists. People that inspire me.” A recent study that was conducted showed that
Snapchat and Instagram were the worst social media platforms for body image. Yet Instagram has good remarks for
self-love, self-expression and self-identity. Also, Instagram has taken much effort in building communities that share and
love each other and express well-being.

SCOPE

There are many organizations that promote body positivity, now that it is on a social media platform, these organizations
have an ally as well. Also, this particular movement has been criticized for portraying only women, a women led
community. But, now a number of men have stepped out and are also posting self- acceptance pictures as well as, the
acceptance of all body types. Kelvin Davis, the creator of a body positive men’s fashion blog, Notoriously Dapper, recently
posted a photo on Instagram. A picture of a pool party where he is only wearing shorts and is shirtless and he says, “when
you give zero effs about the summer body standards.” In future, this particular topic can be analysed from a male’s
perspective of what the movement actually means to them and how many are a part of this community, who face shaming
on a regular basis. The Body positive movement has also had a broader shift, in terms of plus sized, acne prone victims and
so on, taking a toll on the fashion and modelling industry as some of these women are seen on the front page of a magazine
or are seen in different kinds of offline platforms.

Impact Factor (JCC): 6.7094 NAAS Rating: 4.16

The Revolution on Instagram: The Body Positive Movement 7

CONCLUSIONS

Thus, through the above analysis and the research conducted, it is seen how the Body positive movement is a strong
revolution and has brought about a change irrespective of the criticism it has faced. This particular movement has broken
the stereotypical notions and has finally changed the concept of beauty. It has most definitely built a strong community
who have learnt to accept oneself, be of good encouragement to others and has also spread love, in a way that this love will
make a person feel that nothing is wrong with their body and everything is simply just fine. In order to accomplish these
goals, the phenomenon indeed has proven that it has helped a number of women to increase their self-confidence through
self-love. With respect to acne, there is an increasing number of women who are coming into the light and talking openly
about their skin and there are others who are helping them build each other. Skin is rather a very sensitive issue and it is
enthralling to see a number of people in the community who are no more ashamed of what they wear, their own skin.
The Body positive movement, inclusive of all body types and just as the name suggests, it does bring about a positive vibe
and is definitely a change that the world needed. Growth of each individual, self-confidence, acceptance of oneself and
self-love is what the Body positive movement strives for, and achieves it as well. Therefore, through self-love, each human
being who is a part of this community is growing with confidence and self- worth as well.

REFERENCES

1. Alentola, Anna. Changing the narratives of marginalised bodies - a study about body positivism., 2017.

2. Cohen, Rachel et al. #BoPo on Instagram: An experimental investigation of the effects of viewing body positive content on
young women’s mood and body image. Sage Journals., 2019.

3. Kassem, T. Civil Society Organizations in Post Revolution Egypt: Search for Identity.

4. Cwynar-Horta, J. (2016). The Commodification of the Body Positive Movement on Instagram. Stream: Inspiring Critical
Thought, 8(2), 36-56. Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/stream/index.php/stream/article/view/203

5. Firman, Tehrene. “A new wave of Body- Positive Instagram accounts wants you to celebrate acne.” Well Good, February 27,
2018.

6. Figure 1. A photo of @mypaleskinblog. Instagram, 2018.

7. Adeboye, A. B. (2015). Effects Of Industrial Revolution On Ecclesiastical Architecture In Nigeria: A Case Study of Faith
Tabernacle At Ota. International Journal of Management, Information Technology and Engineering (BEST: IJMITE), 3(2),
27-34.

8. Khutoretsky, Malkie. “The perspective on the Body Positive Movement.” THE PERSEPCTIVE, June 3, 2017.

9. Malacoff, Julia. “Where the Body Positive movement stands and where it needs to go.” SHAPE, July 30, 2018.

10. Rassi, Natalie. Empowerment, Control & The Female Body: Is Instagram a Platform for Change?2016, MA dissertation.

11. Kassem, T. Democracy in Post Revolution Egypt, A Step Forward: An Assessment of Public Opinion. Assessment, 18(2), 10.

12. Sastre, Alexandra. Towards A Radical Body Positive: Reading The Online Body Positive Movement. Publicly Accessible Penn
Dissertations., 2016.13.

13. Jadhav, N., & Deshpande, T. Hadoop: The Next Big Thing in India! The Big Data Revolution. Salam, Maya. “Why Radical
Body Love is Thriving on Instagram.” The New York Times, June 9, 2017.

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8 Tabitha Kumar

AUTHOR PROFILE

Tabitha Kumar. She completed her schooling days in Bengaluru as she studied in Bethany High, she went on to study her
higher secondary education at Jyoti Nivas College and continued to finish her under graduation in the same college. She
studied Communicative English, Optional English and Psychology, a triple major course in her under graduation and then
moved to Christ (Deemed to be University) to study her Maters in English with Communication studies. Right now, she is
finishing her last semester of her Masters course and is going to pursue her career in the field of teaching. She has
presented a paper in 2018 in a university in Kerala about Fake news and its impact. She has been the student of the year in
her school and has produced many short films and advertisements as her interest lies in making movies and inematography.
She is very passionate in speaking openly about the Body and Body shaming as it is an extensive topic that leads to
traumatic experiences. Thus, her research paper as well delves into the Body Positive Movement and its implications.
Apart from academic interests, she is also a drummer and a bass guitarist, very interested in writing stories and poetry.

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