Latest news with #bodypositivity
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Courtney Stodden stuns in Baywatch-inspired red swimwear
Courtney Stodden showed off her jaw-dropping curves in a sexy Instagram post as she posed in red swimwear. The model, 30, channeled her inner Baywatch in the strappy number. She beamed as she seemed to enjoy the sun in Calabasas, California. In a bold statement accompanying the photos, Courtney wrote: 'PSA: I'm not taking this Baywatch bikini off just because some troll behind a screen has WiFi and opinions. 'Too skinny? Too curvy? Too much? Cool, I'll be all of it. I've spent years battling my body - now we're besties. 'No makeup. No apologies. Just vibes. If that bothers you, hydrate and scroll. 'To anyone who's ever felt 'not enough': you're already a damn masterpiece. Now go save a life - yours.'
ABC News
a day ago
- Health
- ABC News
Fat liberation vs body positivity: How brands and influencers are reshaping the movement
Tess Royale Clancy has made it their mission to "centre fat joy". The activist and advocate aims to reject the stigma associated with living in a fat body and encourage support, confidence and community for "fat babes" via advocacy work and social events. But changing the conversation starts with changing the words used to describe bigger bodies. For example, the word "fat", which has long been used as an insult, has been reclaimed by Clancy and other activists, who use it with pride. "It's a descriptor; it shouldn't have anything negative [projected] onto it," Clancy says. But for Clancy and others, it's a very different story when it comes to the much-touted phrase "body positivity". Widely circulated on social media, by celebrities and in the news, the concept is meant to encompass self-love and acceptance. But experts and advocates say it has been co-opted by brands and influencers who want to appear inclusive but fail to follow through. So, how did body positivity go from a radical movement to a marketing tactic? While body positivity is often thought of as a social media phenomenon, its history goes back half a century before the invention of Instagram. The first social and political movements about the rights of fat people began in the US in the 1960s. In 1967, fat activists staged a "fat-in" in New York's Central Park, during which around 500 people protested fatphobia, burning diet books and carrying signs. Two years later, also in New York City, a young engineer named Bill Fabrey grew angry at the fatphobia he saw directed at his wife, Joyce. Together with a journalist who had written about anti-fat bias, he formed the National Association to Aid Fat Americans, now the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. Around the same time, fat activism was gaining traction in Los Angeles. A group of feminists, many of whom were queer and women of colour, formed the Fat Underground and published their Fat Liberation Manifesto in 1973. "We believe that fat people are fully entitled to human respect and recognition … We demand equal rights for fat people in all aspects of life," it read. The manifesto denounced the "reducing industries" associated with dieting. It also aligned the struggle for fat liberation with those of "other oppressed groups against classism, racism, sexism, ageism, financial exploitation, imperialism and the like". By the 1990s, fat activists were protesting on many fronts, from picketing the White House to rallying against fatphobic advertising. Fat liberation movements began to form in other parts of the world, too. With the rise of social media in the 2000s, the concept of body positivity, which drew on the ideals of the fat liberation movement, began to emerge in hashtags, blogs, and magazines. Platforms like Tumblr and LiveJournal offered a safe space for plus-size writers, models, and commentators to share their experiences of fatphobia. Many of these conversations sparked change, from magazine covers featuring fat bodies to viral campaigns urging clothing brands to offer more inclusive sizing. Since then, celebrities like Adele, Lizzo, Mindy Kaling and Jameela Jamil have spoken out about authentically embracing body positivity. Studies have also shown that some exposure to body-positive content on social media can improve body image, especially to counteract idealised or unrealistic bodies depicted online. Yet the body positivity movement looks very different today from its early activist-led origins, explains Tess Royale Clancy. "I think body positivity is a very individualised approach to feeling comfortable in our bodies … [It] doesn't look at the systemic issues that discriminate against fat people," they say. "It kind of just leaves it up to the individual to be OK in their body, but how can you be OK in your body when the world is constantly discriminating against you? "I have experienced quite a lot of fatphobia and anti-fat bias. I may not feel as comfortable in my body as I'd like to be all the time, but I truly do believe that I don't have a hatred for my body, that that has always been put on me by people, by society and their views of what fatness is." A 2021 La Trobe University survey found that weight stigma is pervasive in Australia, with 38 per cent of respondents agreeing that "obese bodies are disgusting" and 29 per cent saying they would give up 10 years of life to be able to effortlessly maintain their ideal weight. Almost half of the people surveyed who identified as fat said they had changed their behaviour to avoid unwanted attention due to their weight. A 2024 ABC investigation into weight stigma found those who had experienced fatphobia, especially in medical settings, felt judged, neglected and victimised. Research has also found that societal stigma about weight leads to negative health outcomes, including high blood pressure, inflammation and increased levels of cortisol. For advocates like Clancy, this is all the more reason to highlight systemic fatphobia and return to the concept of fat liberation. They say that unlike conversations about body positivity, the Fat Liberation Manifesto sends a clearer and more vital message "that fat people are entitled to human respect and recognition". "That's something that we don't often have," they say. Jane Williams, a public health researcher at the University of Sydney, says body positivity puts the onus on individuals to monitor "the way you talk to yourself about your body", which is still ultimately spending time and energy worrying about weight. It's also more likely to drive people to unhealthy weight loss tactics, she says. "We all know that it is very difficult to change the shape and size of your body," Dr Williams says. "Encouraging people to make lifestyle changes without really supporting them … or understanding why that might not be possible or desirable — [that] becomes harmful." April Hélène-Horton, an advocate, model and 2025 ambassador for the Butterfly Foundation, says today's understanding of body positivity serves the beauty and fashion industries more than individuals. "Body positivity as most people know it is something that's being given to us as an antidote to feeling bad about yourself," Hélène-Horton tells ABC Radio National's God Forbid. "The phrase has been co-opted and misconstrued as the idea that we accept ourselves without any kind of nuance or inward [reflection]. "The body positivity movement was originally started by queer Black activists and not established for the purpose of making everybody feel better about the flaws that the beauty industry has told us that we have." One of the first high-profile branding campaigns to incorporate body positivity was Dove's Real Beauty campaign in 2004, which featured a photoshoot of six ordinary women (all slim) in their underwear. The campaign was hugely successful and inspired other brands to follow suit. Many of these campaigns have been criticised as inauthentic, especially as some of the brands using diverse bodies in their advertising did not make products designed for bigger bodies. At the same time, body positivity was embraced on social media — but not necessarily by fat people. Clancy says the movement has been overtaken by "thin white women" who want to "normalise that their stomachs aren't always flat all the time". "I see a lot of that on social media. We talk about body positivity a lot, but it's more about that individual view, rather than, 'Hey, what's happening in the world that makes people not like their bodies?'" While they encourage self-love in all bodies, they say that this shift alienates the people the body positivity movement was originally designed to help. Other advocates have spoken out about this too: singer Lizzo said in 2021 that body positivity had been "co-opted by all bodies" and had become about celebrating "medium and small girls". In a 2023 essay, UK writer, content creator, and body image advocate Stephanie Yeboah wrote "the mid-size movement has killed body positivity". Actress and body-positive influencer Georgia Sky told Dazed Magazine she felt "kicked out" of the movement and victimised by "TikTok's body shamers". Research has found that Instagram content labelled as "body positive" overwhelmingly features "lean, white, cis-gendered individuals" with a "remarkable absence" of people who are fat, queer, racially diverse or disabled. For Tess Royale Clancy, body positivity in its current state doesn't go far enough to support marginalised people. "I've gone away from body positivity and into fat liberation because it doesn't actually address any systematic oppression," they say. "Fat liberation is more of a community-mindset approach … It is more political; it is about changing the systems that oppress us and recognising that our liberation is linked to other liberations." April Hélène-Horton says the fat liberation movement represents "what body positivity was meant to be". "A fat body becomes political the minute that it stops apologising for itself and experiences joy," she says. "That is what I try to do: to allow people to see that I experience joy and that I have success and that my fatness isn't something that holds me back. I think that's resistance and I think that's political." Clancy also embraces fat joy, both in the communities they have established and in their personal life. "I get to float in the ocean. I'm so good at floating because I'm so buoyant — that's fat joy for me; being able to wear the clothes I like and have a style that I like is fat joy; my community is fat joy," they say. "I have a group of fat friends … and when we get together, we have amazing laughs and our bellies jiggle. It's so beautiful to have people in your life that have the same experience as you. "I really do see a lot of goodness in fatness, which I think in this world is quite radical."
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Selling Sunset's Chelsea Lazkani shows off her figure in a white co-ord as she addresses body shamers claiming she looks 'pregnant'
Chelsea Lazkani showed off her jaw-dropping figure on Friday as she hit back at cruel body shamers who claimed she looked 'pregnant'. The Selling Sunset star, 32, looked incredible in a stylish white co-ord as she posed up a storm in her lavish bathroom. The chic ensemble featured a skimpy white ribbed bra and a matching skirt, which hung low on her hips. Hitting back at followers who recently criticised her appearance, she captioned the post: 'Drew on some abs since y'all are bullying me and telling me I'm pregnant (crying emoji).' She added: 'I'm about to take the gym seriously and it's over for everyone. When my abs appear, I want an apology from all my uterus watchers.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The TV personality also shared several stunning snaps of herself in the same ensemble to her Instagram grid. Further emphasising her point to not comment on a woman's body, she captioned the sizzling snaps: 'Stop patrolling women's bodies, I'm just eating GOOD (love heart smiley emoji). What should I cook next??' Amongst the slew of snaps, she also shared a quote which read: 'If you wanna impress me with your car... It better be a food truck.' In the new snaps, Chelsea looked radiant as she applied a natural makeup palette and further accessorised with a pair of gold-toned teardrop earrings and a statement flower necklace. To complete her look, she toted her essentials in a cream-quilted Chanel bag as she prepared to head out for dinner. The post comes just a day after Chelsea hit back at fans accusing her of having fillers - insisting her new look is actually because she has gained weight. She lost weight after her divorce from her husband Jeff last year but is now back to a healthy 10 stone. She wrote in a series of Tweets on Wednesday: 'All this what did you do to your face nonsense… always had almond eyes, a tiny nose and full lips. I was just 40 pounds skinnier looking like a skeleton!' Hitting back at followers who recently criticised her appearance, she captioned the post: 'Drew on some abs since y'all are bullying me and telling me I'm pregnant (crying emoji)' She added: 'I'm about to take the gym seriously and it's over for everyone. When my abs appear, I want an apology from all my uterus watchers' Another said: 'I never touched my face!!! Please stop this, I added weight, stopped wearing heavy makeup, eyeshadow and lashes. If you don't like my natural face just say that!' Last week she gushed that she is happier than ever as she revealed she has gained three stone. The beauty said that she is pleased she 'no longer looks like a twig', in an X post last Tuesday. Chelsea admitted that she previously only weighed seven stone (100lb) before she put on the extra weight, now making her a healthy 10 stone. She penned: 'God forbid a girl decides she no longer wants to look like a twig. An extra 40lb does ALOT lemme tell ya. 'Chelsea you look so different' - yeah I was 100lb looking malnourished before xx'. The TV personality has been sharing her new body on Instagram and fans praised her for looking the 'hottest version' of herself and 'looking healthy'. They wrote: 'Oh that gurl got some happy weight; This is the hottest version of chelsea we've ever seen'; 'That weight gain looks beautiful on you'; Further emphasising her point to not comment on a woman's body, she captioned the sizzling grid snaps: 'Stop patrolling women's bodies, I'm just eating GOOD (love heart smiley emoji)' 'Thick love the weight on you'; 'You looking so healthy'; 'It's the getting thick for me'; 'Wooooooow. You look so voluptuous and gorgeous girl !!!'; 'Daaaammn. Mama got thick.. love it'; 'You look so much healthier and gorgeous'; 'Okay girl you know you ate down'; 'Girl I need the routine, I'm struggling to gain weight over here, you look amazing!' In December it was reported that Chelsea and Jeff whose divorce has played out in public on her Netflix reality series, had been declared legally single. However, the exes still had the potentially difficult task of divvying up their assets before their divorce could be finalized. Although Chelsea was the first of the two to file for divorce, the process was slowed down as they struggled to come to a swift agreement on a settlement. In his previous filing, Jeff reportedly told the judge that he and his ex would still settle custody and support issues regarding their children, as well as their asset split, once they were both declared single. Chelsea had previously requested joint physical and legal custody when she filed for divorce. The real estate expert and her ex-husband — who is a managing partner at the ad agency Icon Media Group, which was founded by his mother — share two children: son Maddox Ali Lavon, five, and daughter Melia Iman, four. She wrote on X: 'All this what did you do to your face nonsense… always had almond eyes, a tiny nose and full lips. I was just 40 pounds skinnier looking like a skeleton!' The Selling Sunset star previously filed to divorce her estranged husband in March of this year, citing irreconcilable differences. A week after her filing, Jeff shared his own filing, which also cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split, though he accused Chelsea of being 'physically aggressive' in his documents. He accused her of hitting him in the face shortly before his filing, which allegedly broke his glasses and gave him a small cut. He also accused her of installing a lock on the master bedroom of their $2.9 million, five-bedroom Manhattan Beach home — which he said he is the primary owner of — and of remotely monitoring his visits to the home. Jeff claimed in his filing that his reality star wife had been 'exhibiting suspicious behaviour,' and he claimed that some of his personal belongings had disappeared from the home. Due to their conflict over the marital home, Jeff had requested that the judge overseeing their divorce prevent either of them from living full-time at the home. Instead, he requested that Chelsea only be allowed in the house for two hours at a time while under supervision. The two had been married since 2017, when they tied the knot at the Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, California.
The Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
From Coleen Nolan's ‘miserable' skinny stage to why Nadia Sawalha's WON'T calorie count – Loose Women diet secrets
THE Loose Women ladies are the stars of daytime TV and are known for their candid conversations. But many of the iconic panellists have also opened up about their weight loss journeys and relationship with food. 15 15 15 While many of them champion embracing your body and female empowerment, some have been honest about their diets and how they stay trim. Nadia Sawalha After years of yo-yo dieting Nadia Sawalha, 60, has ditched restrictive eating and learned to feel confident in her own skin – partly thanks to her Loose Women co-stars. The size-14 presenter now regularly strips off on social media to promote body positivity and favours 'intuitive eating' — an approach to food that rejects diets, meal plans and willpower. Nadia, who was a founding Loose Women member in 1999, says: 'You don't restrict any foods and go with what you really want, so one day it might all be bone broth soups, veggie juices and brown rice but the next it could be burger and chips. 'There are literally no banned foods, so there's no bingeing. I only eat when I'm hungry and stop when I've had enough.' She's previously opened up about doing the 16/8 intermittent programme, and said: 'Intermittent fasting is not a diet. 'It's a way of eating for life that works brilliantly for me. 'It's about more energy, mental clarity, freedom from the diet culture, oh yeah, and weight loss. And it doesn't cost anyone a penny!" She also had CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy] to break the pattern of negative thinking towards her body. However, Nadia credits a 2017 underwear shoot with her Loose Women co-stars Stacey Solomon, Jane Moore, and Coleen Nolan, for helping her to finally accept herself. She shared: 'When people ask me what the secret is, it's every single day telling the voices to, 'shut the f*** up'.' Jane McDonald A few years ago, Jane wowed fans with her incredible weight loss - and revealed the secret to her success is eating one type of bread. The TV star, 62, lost a whopping four stone transforming her body from a UK size 12-14 to eight. Jane signed up to ITV's Sugar Free Farm in 2017 – where she ended up shedding weight. While on the show she discovered a different kind of bread that would aid weight loss because it doesn't have any yeast in it. 15 On the TV show she met nutritionist Angelique Panagos, who gave her a bread recipe that changed the way she ate forever. Jane told the Daily Star: "The only bread I eat is one that I've got a recipe for from Angelique. "It's got no yeast in it and it's made with lots of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, wholemeal flour, oats and yogurt of all things. "It's literally 20 minutes and it's made – ready to put in the oven.' She also cut out 'white carbs', including crisps, white bread, pasta and flour. She starts her day with a green smoothie, and told the Daily Record: "I blend up a mixture of raw greens, flax seeds, chia seeds, spinach, kale, mint and a banana. It really is lovely." Coleen Nolan 15 Coleen Nolan, 60, who has been a Loose Women panellist since 2000, is known for her honesty and tackling difficult personal topics on-air, including relationships, cancer in her family, and body image. She previously shared how she did a juice diet to lose three stone in three months for her wedding. Speaking on the show, she said: 'I've done every single diet on the planet, one of which was just pure liquid diet. Did it work? Absolutely. Three stone, three months - that's what it said it would do and that's what it did. 'At the time I had a goal and it was for my wedding and I thought I'm never going to get this weight off.' After battling to keep her weight under control for years, Coleen cashed in on the celebrity fitness DVD craze, releasing four of her own between 2007 and 2009. With a gruelling diet and workout regime, she had shed 4st and dropped from a size 18 to a 10 - but it was an unhappy time for her. 'I looked amazing, actually,' she says. 'I would say that's probably the best I've ever looked. 'Funnily enough, I got offered a lot more primetime jobs.' But the 5ft 7in star says the constant exercise and dieting made her miserable. She revealed: 'As a person, I was probably the unhappiest I've felt. I lost me somewhere,' says the mum-of-three. 'I lost my personality and didn't know who to be any more.' The presenter's weight has fluctuated over the years, and admitted in 2021 she was told she needed a gastric band and to lose weight if she wanted a successful career on the box. Coleen said: "I have had a head of a big TV company saying: 'if you want to get in prime.' Now she has switched to a vegan lifestyle which has helped her lose two stone gradually. Denise Welch 15 15 Long-serving panellist Denise Welch, 67, who has delighted fans with her no-filter honesty since 2005, has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade. She lost over two stone with LighterLife and kept it off for more than 10 years - although admitted giving up alcohol made it worse. The LighterLife programme includes shakes, snacks, and carefully-measured daily meals, along with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which educate clients about emotional triggers for overeating. She admitted: "When I gave up drinking 10 yrs ago I gained a sweet tooth and very quickly one addiction was in danger of being replaced by another. "I'd put on two stone and was aware that my knees were aching and my breathing was impaired. "With the help of @lighterlife and working with a mentor, I changed my relationship with food. I lost two stone in two months and use those tools to this day." Linda Robson 15 15 Linda Robson changed her diet and lifestyle habits following a health scare in 2018 and lost two stone. Linda disclosed to a fan at the time that she had cut out on sugar, along with limiting her carbohydrate intake and alcohol. She had vowed to change her diet in January 2017 after she was warned by doctors that her drinking habits - which at the time was almost a bottle of wine a night - could put her at risk of diabetes. She dropped three dress sizes in a year with her healthy overhaul, and said: "I've stopped weighing myself but I think I've lost about two and a half stone. I've gone from a 16 to 18 dress size down to a 12 to 14." Brenda Edwards 15 15 Earlier this year, Brenda Edwards, 56, who has been on Loose Women since 2019, revealed the truth behind her jaw-dropping weight loss after dropping three dress sizes. Brenda said: 'Every time I seem to come off the show recently, I do get lovely viewers saying to me you've lost a lot of weight, are you on a well-known jab. 'I'm just working, very busy, just relooking at how I treat my body, and swimming!'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Cheryl Burke defiantly addresses scrutiny over her physical transformation
Cheryl Burke wants to change the conversation about her appearance. The Dancing With The Stars pro, 41, opened up about the scrutiny she has been facing over her physical transformation in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. While she is aware she 'signed up' for the attention by virtue of being famous, she still feels gaslit when when hit with comments about her physical appearance and would prefer to focus on all the work she has done from herself 'from the inside out.' She told the outlet: 'Let's talk about mental health, let's talk about like what I've done as far as the last few years when I haven't been in the spotlight but I have done so much work on myself from the inside out. 'And for me, you know, I'm proud of that work and I wish the conversation would be more towards and geared towards that instead of "She is on Ozempic, she got a whole face lift and everything about her has changed"... gaslighting. 'If I were to say it doesn't affect me, I'd be lying. But does it affect me as bad as it did when I was on the show? Not even close!... I know I've signed up for it, I understand, I'm a public figure, I'm not trying to stop anything from happening. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'But I just am here to hopefully influence anyone who is in a similar position as me or who can relate, especially young women, that, you know, there is more depth to a human being than their outside physical appearance.' Cheryl - who was married to Boy Meets World star Matthew Lawrence from 2019 until 2022 - has suffered from body dysmoprhia for most of her life, and admitted that it reached its peak when she had to undergo regular fittings during her time on the ABC dance competition and she became obsessed with her weight. She said: 'I do suffer from body dysmorphia... especially as a dancer in front of mirrors. Constantly. Since I was a little girl, and this was even before my Dancing with the Stars career. 'My weight has always been an issue but I think what people sometimes don't understand is it is a lot of work, it takes a lot of work, it takes a lot of self-care... In the height of my insecurity and my body dysphoria was weekly fittings on the show. 'And I don't blame the show by any means; but it's just the name of the game... squeezing into these costumes, and it is what it is. But it would affect me to the point where I would weigh myself constantly. I would travel with a scale. That's crazy, that is definitely on a whole other level and I knew this could no longer continue. The number would affect my every day, just would dictate how I feel.' She attributed her weight loss to the food program Zen and shifting her eating habits. Her interview comes after Cheryl slammed social media critics commenting about her appearance. The Dancing With The Stars professional dancer took to her TikTok page last week to dispel rumors that she was using weight-loss drug Ozempic. 'Let's just address the elephant in the comment section. I'm not on Ozempic. I'm not sick. I didn't get a face transplant, and no, I didn't get a brow lift,' she said in the TikTok video as she took her makeup off. 'The level of projection that is happening and that I'm witnessing is wild,' the star said, referring to the countless comments fans have left under her videos regarding her changed appearance. 'This is not Cheryl Burke,' one person wrote under her previous video, which featured the star dancing, while another said: 'GLP1 Final Boss' and someone else said 'Ozempic Cheryl.' The way some of you guys talk about me, it's like you think I'm a headline or a filter, not a person. But what really gets me, "We miss the old Cheryl."' 'Suite Life of Zack and Cody Cheryl. Back in 2006, Dancing With The Stars season two when I was 21 years old. Or the three years ago Cheryl when I was going through a divorce. Because I hate to break it to you, but that Cheryl doesn't exist anymore,' she said as she wiped off her makeup. Adding: 'The assumptions are just exhausting as hell. The accusations are completely cruel and the fact that so many of them are coming from women - that's what's so shocking and hurtful to be quite honest.' Cheryl went on to say in the TikTok: 'I have been in the public eye since I was 21 years old. My body has changed over the past 20 years. My face has changed because I have changed. I've experienced so much trauma, divorce and this is by no means a pity party, sobriety, burn out, reinvention, I've healed, I've lost, I've grieved like anybody else and yeah, maybe it shows but I'm not sorry for it, not one bit.' 'Do you want to know what's really changed? My passion, my purpose, my commitment to using this platform for something real. But what's been so challenging honestly lately is this pressure to prove that I haven't done something. To convince people that honestly my healing is valid, simply because it doesn't come with a before and after label they approve of,' she said. 'I'm still the same person that advocated for mental health and body image for years' noting that she does it different now,' adding that 'this is me at 41. I'm still healing, still growing and still choosing to show up.' The star noted that if 'you're here to speculate, compare, or demand answers that you're not entitled to, you're not welcome' in her space that she created. She added the caption: 'I'm not on Ozempic. I'm not sick. I didn't get "a new face." Stop dissecting women's bodies like they belong to you. This is YOUR reminder: I don't owe you an explanation for my healing or for anything quite frankly. Let this be the last time I have to say it,' adding hashtags: '#stopbodyshaming #realtalk #mentalhealthawareness.' Cheryl got a divorce from actor Matthew Lawrence in 2022 after they were married for three years. He went on to date TLC singer Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas. Cheryl became a household name on Dancing With The Stars, which she appeared in for 26 seasons until her retirement from the show in 2022.
