Tech

These Instagrams by fat activists are changing how we think about dieting

Leanna Garfield

2016-04-09T17:39:00Z

12362862_1121802614504040_5425138794763163563_o — Virgie Tovar, a fat activist, scholar, and fashion icon. Virgie Tovar

Virgie Tovar remembers running down the long hallway at age 4 in her childhood home. At the end of the hallway, she would stand — completely naked — and jiggle her chubby body.

"I had a belly that poked out but I hadn't learned yet that this was a negative thing in our culture, so I didn't think of it as a bad thing," the activist and author, now 33, tells Tech Insider. "I was really curious and excited about my body."

In middle school, like many girls her age, she started to hate how she looked. So she starved herself, eating only lettuce and toast with barbecue sauce and exercising three hours daily for an entire summer.

Tovar has come a long way since then, coming full circle to her body-love mindset. She now runs an ongoing social campaign called #LoseHateNotWeight, which strives to eradicate fat shaming and highlight how harmful American diet culture can be.

Along with many other activists, Tovar is posting photos and selfies online as a political act, leading to more meaningful media representation of fat people.

Here's how Tovar and her fellow activists are changing how we think about dieting.

Diet culture harms everyone regardless of size, because it leads to anxiety around weight gain, Tovar says. It's especially harmful to women, who often learn from a young age that their bodies are socially unacceptable.

With #LoseHateNotWeight, she is challenging people to let go of traditional beauty standards. Over 26,700 posts live under the hashtag on Instagram.

Questioning being online again so I took ridiculous photos 👻

A photo posted by Rachele Cateyes (@radfatvegan) on Apr 4, 2016 at 10:50am PDTApr 4, 2016 at 10:50am PDT

Rachele Cateyes is a body positive and feminist artist and activist from Portland, Oregon.

"We are taught that thinness equals love, happiness, and respect," Tovar says. "The truth is everyone of every size deserves love, happiness and respect, and weight loss will never really give us those things."

Bleu #ootd #psootd #fashion #fatshion #effyourbeautystandards #bigandblunt #losehatenotweight #model #blogger #vintage #pop #retro #bleu #blonde #girlswithtattoos #girlswithpiercings #artist #feminist #honormycurves #thick #thickthighscrushguys #diva #plussize #noapologies #nobs #bodylove

A photo posted by Kit (@coquettewonkette) on Apr 6, 2016 at 12:34pm PDTApr 6, 2016 at 12:34pm PDT

The body positive feminist, who blogs under the name "Coquette Wonkette" posted this photo with #LoseHateNotWeight.

But now, there are tons of blogs and Instagrams devoted to the movement.

🌊Happiness is ocean air and salty hair 🌊

A photo posted by Autumn (@auaulynn) on Apr 4, 2016 at 12:31am PDTApr 4, 2016 at 12:31am PDT

Body positive activist @auaulynn posted this photo with #LoseHateNotWeight.

"If you want a snarky hip fat feminist you can find that," Tovar says. "If you want a gorgeous plus size woman who's going to give you make-up tips for a round face without shaming you, you can find that. And if you want both you can have that too."

Got my face beat by @patricestory_makeupartist for #thelegendaryawards and i love it. #tcfbeauty #atlbloggers #atlevents #atlanta #beat #makeup

A photo posted by The Curvy Fashionista (@mariedenee) on Mar 6, 2016 at 6:40pm PSTMar 6, 2016 at 6:40pm PST

Marie Denee (above) is the fashion blogger behind "The Curvy Fashionista."

Selfies give visual control back to the person who takes them, says Tovar. People don't have to diet it if they don't want to.

Looks like I super imposed myself but this is what where I live looks like ALWAYS 🌴 #fromwhereyoudratherbe #paradise #palmtrees #palmcove #cairns #ChooseLifeWarrior

A photo posted by Dani🍷 YT: chooselifewarrior (@chooselifewarrior) on Apr 2, 2016 at 6:47pm PDTApr 2, 2016 at 6:47pm PDT

Danielle Galvin (above) is a YouTuber and body positive activist.

Jessamyn Stanley, a yoga teacher, says you don't need to be thin to be happy, or even healthy. "Fat doesn't mean being unhealthy — it just doesn't," she wrote on Instagram.

If you're practicing poses like #downwardfacingdog (like my @codyapp love, @heyescapist) you might spend the entirety of the pose trying to figure out why everyone keeps yapping about the magic of yoga when there's obviously nothing more to the practice than fiery nightmarish bullshit. However, that kind of moment is very important in your practice, & anyone who has fully committed to the eight limbed path will inevitably tell a similar story from their own life. It's part of the process. For one thing, it's a common misconception that the pursuit of yogic mindful bliss is always relaxing and calming. Nah- that ain't it, homie. I know clever yoga marketing makes it seem as though everything is always smooth sailing, but that's frequently not the case. Second of all, trying poses on your own and feeling your way through it solo instills the necessary confidence to trust your own judgment. I cannot tell you how many times my students have asked "Am I doing this right?" while practicing yoga. It can become an obsessive internal battle where the student relies on the judgment of the teacher in order to judge their own practice. I'm not saying that the guidance of an instructor isn't important, but self-respect and self-guidance are WAY more important. You need to find confidence in your own judgment, and feeling through yoga poses on your own is one of the best ways to establish a positive relationship with your psyche. There are a number of people (maybe even someone reading this post right now) who fully rely on the judgment of their teachers and fellow students in order to determine the worth of their practice. Disagree if you want, but I think a lack of self-confidence on the yoga mat resonates very strongly in other parts of life. Be confident in your judgment- believe that you know what feels good/bad in your body. Give yourself an opportunity to be confident in your own decisions without requiring someone else to sign off on your self-guidance. Trust yourself more than you trust anyone else. Top+Bottoms- @vonscher_active Fingers+Toes- @yogapaws Photo by @lydiahudgens

A photo posted by Jessamyn (@mynameisjessamyn) on Feb 10, 2016 at 7:07pm PSTFeb 10, 2016 at 7:07pm PST

Jessamyn Stanley didn't post under #LoseHateNotWeight, but takes a body positive approach to yoga and runs a yoga lifestyle blog.

"It's unclear to me what we mean as a culture when we use the word 'healthy,'" Tovar says. "We are absolutely not all on the same page about what this word means."

virgie lolo — Virgie Tovar. Virgie Tovar

In January, she asked 60 undergraduate kinesiology students to write down a definition of "healthy."

The answers differed widely, she says.

"Some said that health was determined by weight, some said it was determined by a lack of pain, others said that mental health was the primary indicator of wellness," she says. "And these are students who study the body."

Tovar almost became a professor, but decided to move her work online instead. "This conversation is evolving faster than traditional media can keep up," she says.

Virgie Sister Spit — Virgie Tovar. Virgie Tovar

"I think of myself as a public intellectual and the internet is absolutely my stomping grounds," she says. "I get to take my scholarly training in critical analysis to the internet and make it funny, make it accessible and interesting."

12316611_1121855534498748_3921909344830902505_n — Virgie Tovar. Virgie Tovar