6
The History of Body Positivity
1969
It all started with a man named Bill Fabrey from New York . He was angry about the way his wife , Joyce , was being treated by the world when he couldn ’ t find a t-shirt in her size . Fabrey had previously read an article by Lew Louderbach about how fat people were treated in America . He handed a copy of the article to everyone he knew and later created the National Association to Aid Fat Americans . It is today known as NAAFA , or the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance , the world ’ s longest-running fat rights organisation .
1973
70 ’ s 80 ’ s 90 ’ s
Activists could be spotted on daytime talk shows demanding better treatment for oversized people . They ment the dieting culture was a scam . They talked about their own bodies to inspire others . If someone who looked like them could learn to love themselves , so could others in the same body . By the 90s , fat activists demonstrated outside the White House , protesting in front of gyms with fatphobic advertising and dancing alongside floats in San Francisco ’ s Pride parade . By the ’ 80s , fat liberation was beginning to spread further worldwide , and The London Fat Women ’ s Group was funded .
On the other side of America , a group of feminists from California were also angry about the treatment of fat people and formed the Fat Underground . What NAAFA called Fat Acceptance , they called Fat Liberation . By 1973 they had released their groundbreaking Fat Manifesto . It demanded “ equal rights for fat people in all areas of life .” It also called out the “ reducing ” industries ( aka diet culture ) and declared them enemies .
2000 ’ s
Today
Body positivity has come a long way since its roots in the 60s , but it has a long way to go . Although the thinner body positivity activists are doing a good job of highlighting issues , oversized activist faces more harassment , more account bans , and more pushback for “ glorifying obesity .” The women who wrote the Fat Manifesto ended it by saying , “ We commit ourselves to pursue these goals together .” If together doesn ’ t include the fat people and Black people who made Body Positivity possible and other marginalized bodies - it ’ s not Body Positivity at all .
The internet was one of the main places where body shame and love were spread in the early parts of 2000 ’. Anonymity led to bullying , but it also led to selfexpression . As ‘ 90s message boards and chat rooms gave way to social media , fat people who had first found community in activism continued to build that digitally . Fat activists moved from online forums to Tumblr and Instagram . Hashtags and Facebook groups helped people connect in new ways . A new generation was spreading vibes known as Body Positivity .
Illustrations by Elen Koss