Throughout the Paris Olympics, it felt like I couldn’t escape body positivity edits centered around the female athletes. It was refreshing to see such positivity and acceptance of all body types. However, there are others who want to spread negativity.
We absorb the things that we see and hear. In the case of body representation, if we can’t identify with the bodies we see online or on the TV, it can become an internalized issue of ‘Why don’t or why can’t I look that way?’
The online responses from the Paris Olympics highlight how important it is for people to feel represented.
Let’s look into some of the responses.
What Healthy Looks Like
“Healthy” has often been promoted as “slender” — at least in the case of women.
To this day, some still claim that women lifting heavy weights will result in them looking masculine and undesirable.
Meanwhile, certain fitness influencers and online programs promise to help you burn fat in 2 weeks if you do five exercises.
A particularly popular video promises to define your abs in just 2 weeks.
”The promotion of the fat burner workouts online are a negative influence on the younger generation. We saw this during lockdown with the Chloe Ting workouts which caused an uprise in eating disorders and body dysmorphia. Claiming that people will be able to achieve those results is unhealthy and unrealistic, especially when the influencer is already on the slimmer build side. Whereas with the Olympics, it displayed that you can be in sports and work out consistently and still have curves.”
Answers from questionnaire for this article
Unrealistic body standards thrive because of social media. As a result, if you do not fit the criteria for a ‘perfect body,’ it can negatively impact your self-esteem.
People hold weight differently; thus, they will look different physically.
”Health takes different shapes with certain people. It’s important to not discourage people from staying healthy but not through the use of unrealistic body standards.”
Answers from questionnaire for this article
Olympics athletes are demonstrating that there is not one mold for health — just by showing up.
The Positive Impact
There has been an influx of social media content highlighting the female Olympians this year.
Big and small creators alike are creating content to show their support and pride for the women and young girls competing.
One such video by thesaiyankiwi has garnered 34.3 million views on Instagram, with an accompanying 3.4 million likes.
Likewise, numerous creators are making edits of female athletes from different sports, highlighting the different physiques they all have and the variety of toned, stocky, short, tall, slender, and muscular bodies.
There are even some Olympic athletes who actively promote body positivity and acceptance.
One such Olympian is the USA 7s Rugby player Ilona Maher.
The Olympic medalist has now garnered over 3 million Instagram followers, and it’s pretty clear why.
Her platform is a mix of hilarious and relatable videos ,as well as spreading body positivity. She encapsulates femininity and strength.
From powerful weightlifters and lean runners to youthful skateboarders and nimble tennis players, the representation at the Paris Olympics is one for the books.
”To show diversity is to show acceptance. Society often puts out a saying that certain body types are considered ‘ugly’ or ‘unhealthy’ but that’s not the case. And showcasing different body types can help different people with their confidence and put out a more positive vibe for everyone in general.”
Answers from questionnaire for this article
However, with anything that appears on social media, there are those who aim to infuse neegativity.
The Negativity
Myriad topics on social media produce opposite or negative views. That said, the negativity in the comment sections of athletes’ social media posts can be a head-scratcher.
Some dampen the excitement of these videos by stating that ‘women have been in the Olympics for a while.’ Others take it a step further and declare that women in the Olympics are nothing special, thereby taking a jab at feminists for simply wanting to celebrate the female Olympians.
There was also body shaming.
Trill Mag conducted a questionnaire as part of a study on the impact of female Olympic athletes regarding body positivity. The participants revealed that they believed the negativity online was coming from a place of insecurity and projection.
”Body positivity is a new theme, for so long it’s been pushed that ‘slim is the in’ and anything else that doesn’t fit into that is demonized. [Gen Z] is changing these outdated beliefs. Change will always be met with resistance, however with time, it’s possible.
Answers from questionnaire for this article
My Observations
In an era of Photoshop, it is refreshing to see real bodies.
Various articles have been written about how damaging social media is for self-esteem. It is even more so for those growing up alongside it.
Children are impressionable. (We can see this with the Sephora kid epidemic from a couple of months ago.)
Being able to see and identify with people who look like you from a young age helps create a sense of belonging. If people edit themselves to look different and you don’t look like them, it breeds insecurity and self-doubt.
Negativity will always exist — it is the way of the world. However, the more we focus on the positives, the better.
This is why athletes are the current poster children for body representation — even if they didn’t mean for it to happen.
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