Body Activism () is an ideology-based movement aimed at countering restrictive beauty ideals and creating equal conditions for people with different body types.
Description The term appeared on the Swedish Language Council's list of new words in 2016.
Related concepts include body positivity and body acceptance. While these primarily emphasize a positive or accepting approach to all bodies, including one's own, body activism is about taking action to ensure that all bodies are seen, recognized, and appreciated.Sofia Rönnkvist & Amelie Svenstedt, "Watch Me Do This" En multimodal kritisk diskursanalys av svenska kroppsaktivisters innehåll och uttryck på det sociala mediet Instagram, Göteborgs Universitet, 2018.
Body activism is part of a movement that advocates for people's – both men's and women's – right to their own bodies. It encourages individuals to appreciate their bodies as they are. The activism seeks to promote new beauty ideals and visibility for all body types. The core belief is that all naked bodies are beautiful. A body activist takes control of their own body by displaying it on their own terms, regardless of how it looks or what others think about it. A common starting point is the well-known feminist slogan My Body, My Choice.
Body activism is often expressed on social media, in blogs, during events, in everyday life, or at places such as beaches.Mimmi Landin, Min kropp, mitt vapen: en kvalitativ studie om kroppsaktivismen på Instagram, Malmö Högskola, 2017.Elin Gunnarsson: Jag släppte sarongen – och badkläderna, Allas, juli, 2019.
In Sweden, body activism and body positivity gained attention in a debate initiated in 2015 by Stina Wollter.SvD 23 sept 2015: Stina Wollter till attack mot TV4. Since then, it has received increased attention, particularly in feminist research, and has been used to advocate for equal rights for both men and women. Other people who have been described as, or have called themselves, feminists and body activists include Mia Skäringer, Karin Adelsköld,Sofia Börjesson: Pappafeminist och kroppsaktivism – årets nya ord och uttryck, ELLE december 2016. Lady Dahmer, Linda-Marie Nilsson, Victoria Bateman, Beth Ditto, Arvida Byström,Mikaela Alex: Kroppspositiva kroppsaktivister som betytt mycket 2017, MåBra, december 2017. Peg ParnevikPeg Parnevik har fått nog – tar ställning mot hetsen, Expressen, 2018. and Julia Skott.Bröst – fotografier av Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin, Kulturen in Lund, 2016.
See also Body image Body positivity Dysmorphophobia Feminism Free the Nipple Nudity Naturism Fat activism
References
External links Kroppsaktivism – alla kroppar är bra kroppar