IT’S PERFECTLY OKAY TO BE NORMAL
Almost everyone can relate to logging on to Instagram and feeling disheartened at the number of tonedlooking influencers. In fact, a 2019 survey conducted by the Mental Health Foundation found that one in five adults (22%) said images on social media caused them to worry about their body image. Over a third (35%) said they had felt depressed because of their body image.
While the body positive movement is working hard to combat these stereotypes, there’s a growing feeling among social-media users that normal-sized bodies — that fall somewhere between “gym-honed” and “curvy” — are being left out of the conversation.
This is where the #normalizenormalbodies movement comes in. Set up by writer and entrepreneur Mik Zazon, the Instagram hashtag aims to empower women who don’t see their body type in the media.
In an interview with Shape magazine Zazon said conversations about body image, self-acceptance and self-love aren’t always geared towards women with “normal bodies”.
“I want women to know that if you don’t fall into the plus-size, athletic, or straight-sized categories you deserve to be a part of the body-positivity movement, too,” Zazon said.
The movement is already popular with the Instagram community. The hashtag has 22,686 posts of women proudly showcasing wobbly waistlines, hip dips, cellulite and all. But it is still small in comparison to the #bodypositive hashtag and the #skinny hashtag. The body positive movement continues to thrive. Recently singer Lizzo was praised as a role model for plus-sized women