th3skinny:

I’m taking a break from work right now, and while doing some tumblr exploring I came upon a few posts talking about fatspo and thinspo and how the two tags are having some kind of battle. Here are my thoughts:

To me, I see “fatspo” as being about body positivity. I don’t see it as being literally about “inspiring people to be fat” but rather inspiring people to love themselves at any size. When I look at fatspo posts, what I see is a bunch of women who have to live every day with society telling them they’re almost less than human and instead of buying into that and hating themselves, they’re saying, “Fuck you, I choose to love myself and my body despite your negativity.” And to me, that’s a message that is positive for everyone, regardless of size. It’s the idea that there’s no one way to be beautiful, worthy or loved. That everyone deserves these things. 

“Thinspo” however is a different story. Instead of looking at other people’s bodies and saying, “These bodies are beautiful and since all bodies are beautiful, mine is beautiful too!” Thinspo says “These bodies are beautiful and since my body isn’t like these bodies, I am not beautiful.” It may seem like a subtle difference, but it’s actually monumental. In addition, many of the posts that are tagged as “thinspo” aren’t merely pictures of thin or underweight women, they’re actual tips on how to adopt disordered behaviors, personal posts glorifying disordered eating, posts full of self hatred, or body shaming others. 

I see fatspo as coming from a place of positivity, and thinspo coming from a place of negativity. That’s why, despite the fact that I run a weight loss blog, I’d choose fatspo over thinspo any day. Because until you learn to love and respect your body at every size, you’ll never be happy, regardless of your weight.