In today's digital age, social media feeds are flooded with brand-generated inclusive and body-positive messaging. At first glance, this wave of representation appears empowering as every body type should be promoted and celebrated. However, when digging deeper into certain brand values, their motives for this body-positive messaging can be questioned.
As we have seen in previous examples, brands can rarely get away with promoting any form of social justice or activist messaging without getting further questioned. Brand activism is seen as a marketing tactic for brands to stand out among their competitors. (Vredenburg et al., 2020) However, it has become very apparent that many brands are catching on to this "activist messaging trend", so it can no longer be used as much as a tool to stand out. What does allow them to stand out is when their activist messaging manifests itself throughout all areas of the brand. We have seen examples of this in Patagonia and Reformation as they value sustainability and go much further to establish this commitment than just their social media messaging.
So, how does this relate to body positivity?
The body positivity movement is one that brands have strongly utilized in their marketing campaigns over the recent years. But, before we look at how exactly the movement has changed branding, let's start by defining what the body positivity movement truly means and where it comes from.
Body Positivity Movement
The body positivity movement can be dated all the way back to the 1960's, however then, the words "body positivity" were not used. In 1969, a man named Bill Fabrey was angered by the way fat people were treated, especially his own wife. He discovered an article written by a man named Lew Louderbach where he detailed this mistreatment. This prompted Bill to gather a small group of people to create the National Association to Aid Fat Americans, which is today known as the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. (Osborn, 2023) NAAFA today serves to change perceptions of fat and end size discrimination through advocacy, education, and support. (NAAFA)
This movement took off on social media in 2012 and has since gained more and more traction among users, influencers, celebrities, and brands. The movement serves to challenge mainstream beauty ideals and encourage acceptance and appreciation of bodies of all shapes and sizes. (Cohen et al., 2019) Through the movement, there has been increased representation of traditionally marginalized bodies whether that is through user-generated content or brand-generated content.
Before analyzing the prevalence of body-positive messaging among brands, it is important to acknowledge where some controversy has been raised.
Glamorization of Obesity
The first area of controversy can be found among individuals who feel that the body positivity movement glamorizes and normalizes obesity. Whether that is an appropriate reaction or not, it is important we are aware of these viewpoints. The video below provides some insights into this thought process.
Body Positivity vs Body Neutrality
Since the start of the body positivity movement, there has been a conversation regarding the differences between body positivity and body neutrality. Body positivity is, well, positive. The movement aims to redefine societal standards of bodies by promoting love, acceptance, and appreciation for all bodies. (Seekis & Lawrence, 2023, p. 2) Body neutrality is less focused on positivity and more focused on acceptance. This movement aims to shift the emphasis from beauty and appearance to function; not so much how a person looks, but more how a person feels. For example, practicing body neutrality would mean continuous acknowledgment of how hard your body works, and all of the things it is capable of, whereas practicing body positivity would mean continuous reminders that while your stomach might not be flat, you are still beautiful. (Seekis & Lawrence, 2023, p. 2)
In this video, we hear from Jessi Kneeland, author of the book Body Neutral, and her journey and discovery towards the concept of body neutrality.
Jessi acknowledges the fact that for some, being overly positive about their body image is not realistic, however, being very negative should not be the only other option, leading her to define the term body neutrality. She stresses that ever since she began practicing body neutrality, she has lived a richer and freer life.
Commodification of Body Positivity
Now that we are generally aware of the history and concept of body positivity, as well as the attitudes surrounding it, we can further explore its prevalence among brand messaging today.
As the body positivity movement has gained extreme traction on social media, brands have begun to realize its power and the opportunity of capitalization. Brands have jumped on this by posting make-up-free photos, launching plus-sized clothing lines, featuring plus-sized models in advertisements, etc. (Cwynar-Horta, 2016, p. 41) However, we will later discuss how these actions are not nearly enough to truly embody body positivity within a brand.
To help us understand consumer views towards body-positive messaging, Kyla N. Brathwaite and David C. DeAndrea have conducted a study to do just that. Within this study, they explore how morally appropriate users view body-positive messages when they are in a user category, a self-promotional category, and a promotional advertising category. After giving consent, participants viewed 10 mock Instagram posts in line with one of the conditions previously discussed, with captions that reassured the condition. After they viewed the posts for 10 seconds, they were asked to fill out a questionnaire that displayed how they felt about the posts they had viewed.
After the results of the survey were analyzed, it was concluded that users viewed body-positive posts in the self-promotion and corporate-sponsored advertising section to be less morally appropriate than those that weren't. This study proved that as soon as users recognized the presence of advertising, it led them to question the motives behind the posts made, deeming them less morally appropriate. (Brathwaite & DeAndrea, 2020)
What does this mean for brands?
The findings of this study pose a difficult predicament for brands as they reveal consumers will immediately form an opinion on body-positive messaging generated by brands before looking any further. However, this is almost inevitable. As discussed in my previous post on woke-washing, some consumers instinctively believe that brand activism utilizes wokeness to exploit consumers, similar to the immediate skepticism seen in Brathwaite and DeAndrea's study regarding the motives behind body-positive messaging. Where the dilemma lies for brands today is discovering how they can alter these initial consumer perceptions, or if this is even possible at all. If this is possible and they can successfully shift initial negative perceptions to positive ones, they must also make sure these perceptions remain positive as consumers dive deeper into the brand.
So, how exactly does the body positivity movement intersect with woke-washing?
Well, as discussed previously, woke-washing can be defined as a misalignment between activist messaging and established purpose and values. (Vredenburg, et al., 2020) In the context of this discussion, we will call the activist messaging any content related to body positivity produced by brands. From here, we can then explore brands who endorse this body-positive messaging and look deeper into their brand, analyzing whether or not there is an alignment between their messaging and values or other actions. If there is an absence of alignment, it can be concluded that those brands have implemented body positivity strictly to increase sales or win over new customers. However, if there is an alignment, these brands can hopefully gain some consumer trust.
How can we measure this alignment?
Determining brand authenticity is difficult to do in this situation, as it isn't an easy process to discover if a brand truly cares about empowering and accepting all bodies; it is not a quick Google search. To do this, we can look at multiple different areas of the brand. These areas include mission and vision statements, body representation in models, size ranges, in-store size availability, body diversity among staff, CEO thoughts and opinions, etc. All of these areas are about going beyond just messaging, and really digging deep into the core values and opinions of the brand.
So, what now?
Now that we have defined the body positivity movement, explored consumer attitudes towards it, related it to woke washing, and identified some areas where body-positive commitment can be measured, the next step is applying all of this to real-life brand examples. Please read my next blog posts as I select brands who are leading the way in the realm of body positivity, and those who are missing the mark.
References
About Us. naafa. (n.d.). https://naafa.org/aboutus
Brathwaite, K. N., & DeAndrea, D. C. (2022). BoPopriation: How self-promotion and corporate commodification can undermine the body positivity (BoPo) movement on Instagram. Communication Monographs, 89(1), 25–46. https://doi-org.goddard40.clarku.edu/10.1080/03637751.2021.1925939
Cohen, R., Fardouly, J., Newton-John, T., & Slater, A. (2019). #BoPo on Instagram: An experimental investigation of the effects of viewing body positive content on young women’s mood and Body Image. New Media & Society, 21(7), 1546–1564. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819826530
Cwynar-Horta, J. (2016). The commodification of the body positive movement on Instagram. Stream: Interdisciplinary Journal of Communication, 8(2), 36–56. https://doi.org/10.21810/strm.v8i2.203
Osborn, T. (2023, March 3). What is the history of body positivity?. BBC Bitesize. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z2w7dp3
Seekis, V., & Lawrence, R. K. (2023). How exposure to body neutrality content on TikTok affects young women’s body image and mood. Body Image, 47, 101629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.101629
Vredenburg, J., Kapitan, S., Spry, A., & Kemper, J. A. (2020). Brands taking a stand: Authentic Brand Activism or woke washing? Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 39(4), 444–460. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620947359
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