What the Body Positivity Movement is Missing

I'll start by saying that the body positivity movement is absolutely necessary and does many great things. In a culture that highly sexualizes and commercializes women's bodies, it is absolutely necessary to have a movement to celebrate bodies as they are. We should acknowledge, accept, and celebrate the parts of our bodies that the media and capitalism have told us are shameful, imperfect, and need fixing. And this extends beyond body size and weight.

As the movement has grown, we've seen in begin to include, celebrate, and discuss topics including curves, stretch marks, tummy rolls, body hair, makeup, and breast size. We've seen, and could still stand to see more, women of color, queer women, trans women, Muslim women, and women with disabilities speak out about their unique bodies. These intersections of race, class, ability, gender, and sexuality need to be further explored in the body positivity movement. We still need to continue to dismantle eurocentric beauty standards. Not all the models and faces of the body positivity should be white, cis, straight women. We need to speak out on and celebrate trans bodies, butch bodies, femme bodies, men's bodies, old bodies, bodies with disabilities and/or chronic illness, bodies that adhere to religious beliefs/attire, bodies of those who can't afford braces or acne treatment.

Yet, while I see these critiques of the body positivity movement, while I see the call to action to make it more diverse and explore these intersectional issues, there is consistently one thing I see missing. I do not mean to say that this missing thing is more important than those other intersectional issues. We still have much work to do within the body positivity movement regarding diversity. However, this topic needs to be addressed in these critiques, as well.

And that is STDs and STIs.

Some may argue that these issues belong to the sex positivity movement. And they do. But they also belong in the body positivity movement. STDs/STIs are so intimately linked to the body and they need to be addressed. We need to dismantle the negative stigmas, prejudices, self-hatred, and abuse surrounding STDs/STIs.

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STDs/STIs are so intimately linked to the body and they need to be addressed. 

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We are taught from a young age that STDs/STIs are dirty, scary, shameful, embarrassing and only low class, "slutty" people get them. Certain STDs/STIs are the brunt of classist, sexist, racist jokes about sex workers, promiscuous women, women from the "hood", etc. The fear-based method of teaching about STDs/STIs often translates into hatred, loathing, and fear of one's body after they contract something. 

The negative stigmas around STDs/STIs often make people feel like their body is disconnected or foreign to them. It makes people feel like their body is dirty, tainted, or ruined. But STDs/STIs do not make your body unlovable, unworthy, dirty, or shameful. It is hard to remember these things when society treats STDs/STIs with such negative, prejudicial stigmas. It's also hard to remember these things when you're newly diagnosed, having an outbreak, or experiencing an increase in symptoms that directly affect your body. 

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When we say "all bodies are beautiful," 

we need to include the ones with STDs/STIs.

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So while we expand the body positivity movement to include intersectional issues of race, gender, sexuality, ability, etc., we need to remember to include discussions about STDs/STIs. They directly affect the body and the way people relate to, treat, and view their own bodies. We need to dismantle the toxic stigmas that STDs/STIs are indicative of a dirty, unlovable body. Love, accept, and celebrate the body through battles, experiences, and lifelong relationships with STDs/STIs. When we say "all bodies are beautiful" we need to include the ones with STDs/STIs. 

Does My Depression Affect My Activism?

Sometimes people argue with me about my activist work and my constant talk about social justice and equity. I'm pretty terrible at laying out a persuasive, logical argument (so much for being an English major) specifically around social justice issues because I get so emotional. In my mind, it completely baffles and deeply saddens me that power differentials exist and that people have lived and continue to live with the detriments and real effects of this oppression. In my mind, it is completely ludicrous (I've been spelling this as "Ludacris" up until about a week ago - again, so much for being an English major) that anyone would argue against this, that anyone would argue against my work which is simply to increase empathy and equity for those who have suffered a long, systemic, institutionalized history of oppression, marginalization, and violence.

So how do I explain to others how I am able to step back, check my privilege, not react in anger or denial, and then try my hardest to love, empathize with, and advocate for others who are less privileged than myself?

Here's a list of things I came up with that helped guide me to the path of activism:

• Education - being exposed to different people, lives, experiences, etc. in college; getting involved in organizations that served and empowered marginalized groups
• Reading - through literature I learned about different life experiences and histories that mainstream education and textbooks don't teach 
• Love - possessing a genuine love and empathy for other human beings helps with activist work 
• Depression???

Wait, what?

I try to be hyper-aware of the impact my depression has on the lives around me and on those I love. I try to mitigate this impact as much as possible by being self-reliant, seeking professional help, and healing myself. So naturally, with such awareness, my depression came up in my meditation on what affects my activism. My depression probably affects everything in my life, but here are the ways I believe my depression may be impacting my activism: 

1. I value others over myself 

This may be blatant and perhaps triggering, but for the sake of being honest, I will admit that I often value others' lives over myself. My depression makes me think I'm a piece of crap and won't amount to much in life. Everyone else is more worthy of empathy, empowerment, and justice than me. With this mindset, of course I'm able to set aside my privilege and advocate for others. I sure as hell don't want to advocate for myself. I wonder why everyone else can't do the same? Just recklessly disregard yourself in order to promote and empower others; it's easy.

So how can we mitigate this? 

Activists with mental illnesses, especially depression, must work to realize that they are valuable assets in the fight for social justice. By valuing ourselves less we are valuing our activism, our empathy, and our power to do good less. It is painfully difficult, but we must start viewing ourselves as worthy, capable, and critical members of the social justice movement. 

2. I focus on the negative impacts of oppression 

I often find that when I'm engaged in activism through writing, conversation, etc. I focus a lot on the horrific long history of oppression and violence that many peoples have faced. I focus on their continued oppression by these systems. I focus on the terrible detriments that racism, homophobia, transphobia, colonialism, etc. can have on an individual and groups of people. Again, with this mindset, how can't I or anyone else help but get involved and advocate for others?

So how can we mitigate this? 

Activism is just as much about fighting social injustices and promoting equity as it is celebrating and empowering marginalized peoples. Marginalized peoples have been surviving, creating, learning, leading, building, and innovating for all of history. We must not ignore this. We must tell the stories of success, of love, of skill, of overcoming obstacles of oppression that mainstream history tries to erase. 

3. My depression compounds my white privilege 

As a white individual, I have the privilege of checking out of conversations about and fights against racism, colonialism, islamophobia, etc. I can take a day off; these systems don't affect my life. I can choose to pass on certain issues because I'm tired and I participated in the last one. This laziness and apathy are compounded by my depression. With my depression sometimes I'm hardly able to get out of bed to shower or do laundry or eat let alone participate in social justice movements and activist issues on a daily basis.

So how can we mitigate this? 

Self care helps! Yes, self care doesn't cure depression or any other mental illness but it may help you feel a little better and more ready to get out there and fight. By healthily addressing your depression, showing yourself compassion, and developing safe and healthy habits, you can be a better person and a better activist. Self care won't get rid of your mental illness, but it may help mitigate some of the symptoms. Develop a community of activists with mental illnesses to connect with for support and best practices.

Also, as a person with certain privileges, challenge yourself! We have a responsibility to empower marginalized peoples and to use our privilege to create a more equitable and just world. Yes, it is difficult, frustrating, and heartbreaking at times, and it can be compounded by mental illness (especially depression), but the world and people facing life-threatening oppression need you. If it helps, make tangible goals for each day. If you're feeling like your mental illness won't allow much for the day, make small goals - write a Senator, post an article, make a small donation. Just keep the momentum going.

All this being said, I don't place any blame on activists with mental illnesses. I personally know the struggle of mental illness getting in the way of or hindering your activism. It can be frustrating and disheartening. But your work is critical and so are you. You are necessary and valued in the movement for social justice and any effort you make, even on your bad days, is beneficial and has an effect.

Why You Are Not "My Sisters"

As I prepare to join the National Women's March on Washington, I'm reminded by fellow activists that we as white women have failed other women. We have failed women of color, trans women, queer women, Muslim women, undocumented women, Native women, and others. It is our long history of comfortable activism that has aided in perpetuating systems of oppression. We march when the marches are national, we post on social media when there is a hashtag, we share articles on Facebook, we wear shirts when they are trendy. But what we NEED is to be more active, more sustainable, more radical, and more intersectional.

In thinking about ways to make my activism more intersectional and of better use to other more marginalized women, I started to develop a rhetoric of inclusion and unity which started to become a rhetoric of homogeny, erasure, ownership, and white supremacy.

I started to think of women as a whole. I thought about "my sisters" and "our sisters" and how to use those phrases to motivate other white women to reevaluate and strengthen their activism and feminism through more intersectional methods. After all, we're all women. We bond over periods, motherhood, breasts, sexual violence, sexism, right? White women should all feel an innate bond and connection to other women because of these things, right? We're SISTERS, right?

WRONG. You are not "my sister" and this rhetoric used by white women is toxic, racist, and erasing.

First off, you are not "mine." This rhetoric implies ownership which is quite honestly disgusting and a perpetuation of white supremacy and colonialism. I think white women use this rhetoric to motivate each other into activism but it's actually doing more harm than good. We want to claim some sort of involvement and responsibility to the feminism and social justice movement but we cannot do so by claiming ownership over other women and their lives.

Secondly, you are not a "sister." I don't know anything about your life experiences as they are influenced by racism, homophobia, transphobia, colonialism, islamophobia, ableism, slut shaming, fat shaming, etc. I cannot claim some shallow bond of "sisterhood" in order to include myself in your fight for social justice and the dismantling of oppression. If we were truly sisters I would not have abandoned you in times of need. I would not be a come-and-go activist. I would not have the option to take a break from activism and pick and choose what I want to be involved in.

As white women we need to find a better way to involve ourselves in social justice movements. We have failed a lot of other women for centuries. They have fought and thrived without our help but we still have a duty and responsibility to humankind to fight for equity, social justice, and the dismantling of systems of oppression. To do so, we must reevaluate our methods to include and empower marginalized women. We must reevaluate our rhetoric and how we effectively get other white women involved in social justice issues.

As a white woman, I vow to the following:

• To actively seek out activist tactics and methods that are intersectional and empower marginalized women 
• To LISTEN to other women and act on their advice for social justice matters 
• I will admit to and apologize for the failures I, and my race, have made 
• I will not pick and choose what social justice issues I fight for; I will not "pass" on certain issues because I am tired or am not personally affected by them 
• To view other women as autonomous human beings with immense strength, capabilities, and knowledge 

Marginalized News Sources

One of my New Year's resolutions is to actively try harder to hear the voices of others, specifically those of marginalized individuals/groups with which I don't identify. I hope that by seeking out the voices of others, I can increase my own awareness and empathy as well as, educate those around me thus standing in solidarity with these individuals/groups.

Listening to marginalized individuals and spreading their stories, experiences, and histories will not make me a perfect activist and my work should surely not end there. However, it is a start. And it is an easy start for those who wish to educate themselves and become more aware of the diversity and power differentials that exist in our world.

So I've compiled a list of online news websites/resources that focus specifically on the news and voices of various marginalized groups and here they are:

Indigenous News

Native Times

Native News Online

National Indigenous Times

Intercontinental Cry 

African American News

The Root

Atlanta Black Star

Good Black News

The Black Report

News One

Latino/a News

Latino Rebels

News Taco

Latino Journal

Latino Decisions
Latino USA

API News

Asia Times

The Diplomat 

Asian Correspondent

Asia News Network

The Japan Times

Asia Sentinel

Pacific Islands Report

Pacific Islands News Association (PINA)

Pacific Scoop

Muslim News

Muslim Matters

Islamic Voice

Muslim Mirror

Islamic News Daily

The Muslim News

Peoples with Disabilities News

Disability Scoop

Disability News Service

My Disability Matters

Disability Horizons

Queer News

LGBTQ Nation

Advocate

Out Magazine
Elixher

GLAAD

Undocumented Peoples News

My Undocumented Life

National Immigration Law Center