More Than A Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament

by Lexie Kite

No amount of validation, cultural approval, attention, online engagement, or personal good feelings is worth the collective disadvantage you perpetuate by uncritically accepting the objectifying conditions you’re surrounded by. Every time we share something on social media about the harms of posting and viewing before-and-after weight-loss photos or complimenting people on their weight loss without knowing how or why it happened (among other topics that point out how objectifying ideals hold us back from actual health and happiness), we are hit with a barrage of people telling us to stop being jealous of women’s progress and to just let people celebrate their “wins.” We want people to understand that the harms of valuing and devaluing people based on their bodies still exist whether you personally feel the negative consequences or not. If we don’t want beauty and body judgment to break us down, then we can’t let it build us up either.