I think it’s complex, because as someone with an eating disorder, who is “straight sized”, the idea of body positivity has an appeal to me. I also like the idea that it doesn’t have to just be about whether someone is “fat or thin”, but can include other ways bodies fall outside the mainstream ideal of beauty — e.g.:
- Skin colour
- Disabilities
- Scars
- Colostomy bags
- Acne
- Skin conditions (vitiligo, eczema, psioriasis etc)
- dwarfism
Etc.
That’s why I think there should maybe not be a conflation of the two terms: “body positivity” is a wide umbrella and “fat acceptance” is a more specific goal. Even if body positivity started as a fat acceptance movement, I find it hard to say, tell people with disabilities that they can’t use it themselves.
Note: I have not used “body positivity” as a hashtag for anything relating to myself, as I feel that as a straight sized person it’s not my place, and I think many influencers are indeed watering it down, but at the same time I think the idea of “all bodies are good bodies” is something helpful to not just fat people but other people whose bodies are outside the norm.
