The body positivity movement is incredibly problematic. That’s the message that TikTok content creator Talia Lichtstein, from Los Angeles, wanted to get across in her viral video. She shared that we should be focusing on body acceptance and neutrality, instead of body positivity, many aspects of which she utterly despises.
In the video, Talia lists all the reasons why body positivity isn’t as positive as it looks from the outside and shines a spotlight on the pressure women face to conform to certain beauty and body standards despite being told that they’re perfect as they are.
Check out Talia’s full video below and let us know what you think, dear Pandas. Do you agree with her message? Do you think body positivity or body acceptance is the better way forward for society? You can share your insights in the comment section at the bottom of this article; we can’t wait to see how you feel.
I reached out to Talia and she was kind enough to answer my questions about her views on body positivity and acceptance. She told Bored Panda that the emphasis on body positivity rather than acceptance "reflects an internet-wide shift towards toxic positivity", which has can have a very detrimental effect on our mental health.
"I remember first noticing this obsession with the 'glass half full' mentality in the days of Tumblr and it’s grown way bigger recently—probably because the world has been extra dark and scary in recent years. Being optimistic in dark times is important, but why is it suddenly a bad thing to admit I don’t like something? Why am I constantly being told to counteract every negative thought with a positive one? Wouldn’t it be easier to just feel what I’m feeling and move on?" she mused. Scroll down for Bored Panda's full in-depth interview with Talia.
Talia listed the various problems with body positivity and explained why it's toxic. Check out her full TikTok video right over here
I have written about body positivity, acceptance, and normalizing normal bodies extensively and tackled the topics from a variety of different angles for Bored Panda. Talia isn’t the only one who sees issues with body positivity as it currently stands. Body acceptance (aka ‘true’ body positivity) appears to be the more grounded approach because it deals with the reality of how one is, instead of creating the illusion that absolutely everything is 100% perfect.
Talia told Bored Panda that she believes we all need to be far more realistic and honest both with ourselves and each other. "Having negative feelings is human and bottling them up or forcing yourself to find the bright side of everything is not productive. We just need to stop lying to each other on the internet to seem happier to everyone else. We all have negative thoughts and bad days. Either you have them and pretend you don’t, or you talk about them," she noted and I completely agree with her. Ignoring or repressing certain feelings is far from healthy. What's more, you end up completely sidelining an entire aspect of the human condition (I'm a bit believer that we should embrace sadness when we feel sad, instead of running away from it).
According to Talia, body acceptance and neutrality are better alternatives to toxic positivity
Image credits: talialichtstein
Image credits: talialichtstein
Image credits: talialichtstein
Image credits: talialichtstein
The TikToker noted that, in her experience, the current discussion about body positivity hasn't helped her form a healthy relationship with food or her weight. "There are times I love how my body looks and times I don’t. If someone’s telling me I should love my body all the time, I’m thinking, well I guess I need to maintain a weight of 135 because that’s when I love how I look the most. That’s just the truth. Everyone has a number on the scale they like the most," Talia opened up to Bored Panda.
However, she pointed out that she doesn't want to keep on chasing that ideal number all the time. "I personally would rather accept that the number on the scale is gonna go up and down, sometimes I’ll like it, sometimes I won’t, and that’s fine because my body isn’t the most interesting thing about me," she said. "However, to each their own. You can go ahead and convince yourself to love every inch of your body if that’s what makes YOU feel good. But don’t force that mindset on me."
Meanwhile, I also wanted to get to know Talia's journey as a content creator on TikTok. She told me that she started to consistently post videos just a couple of months ago, in June 2021, right after graduating college.
"I was beginning to apply for jobs in digital content creation—I’ve always wanted a career as a host or correspondent in comedy entertainment. I figured I should start creating my own content to show employers why they should hire me to make content for them. But then my account blew up, and it’s become my main focus. I’m trying to use it as a stepping stone for a career as an entertainer," Talia told Bored Panda about her ambitions in life.
"I’m a very outspoken and highly critical person; I’m a big believer in 'agree to disagree' and love to debate. So I get on TikTok and share my opinions and it seems to be inspiring a lot of people—especially women—to share their thoughts without fear of being perceived as mean. If my TikTok were to teach anyone anything, I hope the lesson would be that there's a difference between being opinionated and being an asshole."
She added: "You can be a critical person and still a happy, upbeat person."
Here's how some internet users have reacted to Talia's viral video
