Raffela Mancuso on the Body Revolution & Passing the Mic

“When it comes to intersectionality, it is also important to remember that body positivity is for marginalized groups. ”

Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and talk. First, let’s talk about you! 

I am a 24-year-old Psychology student in Alberta. I am a mental health advocate, although I’ve also been called a social media disruptor, and I used to consider myself a body positivity advocate but I don’t associate with that title anymore. I was only diagnosed five years ago [in regards to mental health] even though I have lived with it my entire life, and I decided to start using social media for advocacy two years ago after being turned away from mental health services on campus. I started speaking about mental health on social media, which turned into body image, because everything is so connected.

What are you proud of in your contributions to this movement so far, and how did you decide to make them? 

I would say sharing my own lived experience because talking about mental health is so heavily stigmatized. I am not the only one thinking these things but everyone is so afraid to speak up because of the backlash we will receive. It keeps me going when people message me and tell me they’ve felt the same way or experienced the same things, but never had the courage to say them until now. I don’t want to center myself within the body positivity movement because of the privileges that I do experience. 

I wanted my contribution to be about changing the way we think. Being part of a community feels good and everyone wants the sense of belonging, so I completely understand why people may get upset when I talk about redirecting body positivity back to its original origins…but what people are missing is that you can still love yourself while simultaneously acknowledging this term [body positivity] that we have stolen. We don’t need to steal another thing – we can use another term! A lot of people feel hurt that they can’t ‘join the club’…but you can still go through your own acceptance process and acknowledge what other people are experiencing. Your own self-acceptance journey should not erase more marginalized people in the process. 

Let’s talk more about the body positivity movement and why it is important to acknowledge its origins.

Many people think that being a body positivity advocate is synonymous with self-love or with plus size people in general. It’s important to realize that the body positivity movement was created for more marginalized bodies – especially fat people of color, Black women, queer people, trans people, and people with disabilities. Today the movement is all about self-love and being positive about your body, but originally it was intentioned for equal rights and marginalization. It’s critical to de-center the self when it comes to the body positivity movement and picking another term to incorporate your personal self-love and body acceptance journey. It definitely doesn’t mean you can’t be a part of the movement either – it’s not an ‘or’ situation, it’s an ‘and’ situation! You may face certain challenges and still benefit from other privileges in society that other people do not receive due to their bodies. 

You recently sparked a viral conversation on Instagram by identifying influencers and ‘body positivity’ leaders who are white and thin (or thin-passing) for taking up a lot of space in the body positivity movement. In your words, it was a call in, not a call out, and created powerful conversation with some of the subjects of the call-ins, such as Sarah Nicole Landry (@thebirdspapaya). However, not all high-profile individuals responded. What do we do when this happens? How do we continue supporting these women when it feels like they are ignoring this topic?

I feel like a lot of people feel powerless in this. Something we do not realize is how much power we have in who we follow. By following someone, you are amplifying their voice even more. My biggest thing is if you’re looking at an account and it doesn’t make you feel good about yourself, your morals, your values…unfollow. If you follow someone and you really like their content but maybe they haven’t spoken out on important issues…don’t be complicit. You’re still giving that person power. Vote with your support. These are people’s lifestyles…you’re just encouraging their behavior in that way.

Jameela Jamil is one of the specific high-profile individuals who has yet to respond. What conversation would you like to see from her? 

Honestly, I just wanted to work with her! I wanted a conversation with her to help amplify my own voice because I felt like I wasn’t being heard. We’re in a small corner of the Internet and she has the reach. Let’s get this out into society and make this a conversation that everyone is having. She has said herself that she doesn’t belong to body positivity and body liberation. Maybe we can still get her…

Passing the mic to amplify the voices of women who are not being heard as strongly, especially Black women and women who experience higher levels of discrimination, is an important initiative in this movement. How can people accomplish this?

There is a difference when it comes to people that have a massive platform, but people who don’t still play a huge role. When people are asking me what they can do, and how to pass the mic, asking the question alone is a great start. I comprised a list of people I admired and shared that as a start. Find these accounts and look through to see who you connect with. Don’t just blindly follow. Then share their content and make them visible. Your ideas can be great but someone else may be seeing them and they may have the actual lived experience. 

People who are successful from having ‘digestible’ and ‘palatable’ content –and people who fit into those categories – need to speak up for the people who won’t be listened to. Give THEM the platform, have them do a story takeover, share their posts directly…de-center yourself, and make it about them. A lot of people are concerned about aesthetic because they think that’s what Instagram is all about – everyone is trying to follow the same path – and while it’s been awesome to see people sharing content, it’s important to know that it’s on the backs of Black people, especially Black women. 

There is a constant spew of hate from online trolls and uneducated people who are OK with continuing a hurtful and harmful narrative. How do you manage this? How do we respond to this while simultaneously not becoming overwhelmed by all of the disgusting negativity? 

I’ve cried. There were some massive fitness accounts who posted about me and their followers came for me…at first, I tried to rationalize and have conversations, knowing these are humans, but now I have less patience if people come in with their claws out and I just block and delete.

It really depends on my mental capacity. I had someone who was really upset about my post who struggled with ED. I sent them a voice memo and acknowledged their experience and explained my point further…and that person listened. They came at me with so much hurt, and upon hearing that I recognized them, we started talking and realized that we had the same values…it created something really beautiful.

When it comes to this kind of content, it’s important to ask, “What is your mental capacity at?” If I’m drained, it is so harmful. It really needs to be a matter of what you’re capable of engaging with.

Some people may have a hard time balancing advocacy for the body positivity movement while simultaneously wanting to change their bodies, such as wanting to lose weight or undergoing cosmetic procedures. How should they approach this dichotomy?

That’s in the gray area. I’ve had people say that they would never judge someone in a bigger body but yet recognize their own fatphobia. I still have a lot of days where I feel negativity towards my body but then other days where I don’t. We can start by acknowledging that we’re not perfect and continue learning – especially the more we listen to other’s experiences. This is not a me problem, it’s a societal problem. I’m not alone. If someone is in the self-love realm but still has issues with themselves, start with, “Who profits off of these thoughts and feelings?” If you want weight loss, who profits? Diet culture companies, gyms…there is so much profit off of physical insecurities. 

What do you think is the most important thing for individuals to understand when it comes to intersectionality and its importance within body positivity?

I think people need to learn to sit in their discomfort a little bit. They’re being challenged. Things can be in the gray. You can love your body, you can struggle with your body, and at the same time another person can be harmed because of their own. Someone with thin privilege might experience body shaming and yet they can always fit in an airplane seat comfortably. Your struggles are valid but acknowledge the differences when it comes to actual systemic oppression. There are layers to discrimination and oppression. Thin, white women – ask yourself, who is not being listened to? Remind yourself that your experience is not the only one out there. This is not about shutting down or shutting people up – it’s about bringing more people to be the table. The body positivity movement is currently so filled with white people, and unless they step aside, it won’t benefit those who really need change. 

I had a highlight [on Instagram] called health journey, I thought I was trying to be ‘healthy’. People messaged me and brought it to my attention how harmful this could be, and I deleted it so it didn’t trigger someone else. I sat with the embarrassment and that period in my life and then reflected and committed to learning and moving on and doing better. Having the intention to change is so important. It’s the intention that begins change. 

When it comes to intersectionality, it is also important to remember that body positivity is for marginalized groups. For everyone else, there’s so many other terms to use – body confidence, body acceptance, body neutrality…there’s options!

What are the main problematic assumptions surrounding fatphobia that people can actively start to address? 

I think most importantly, body size does not determine health, and health does not determine worth. A thinner body does not mean better. You are just treated better by society, but it does not mean worth.  Identify where these messages of worth tied to our bodies are coming from, and who profits off of them. Body image is engrained. People need to sit in their discomfort and that will not kill them. 

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Anna Luo is an American traveler/writer currently teaching English in Europe. Her writing portfolio can be found here. She am fairly new to freelance writing and am most passionate about writing on feminism, reproductive health care access, vulnerable feelings, and environmental responsibility. Her Instagram can be found here.

On Unlearning

 Body Image and Identity Crisis in the “Love Yourself” Era

In the age of relentless visual stimulation from applications constantly vying for our attention, it is refreshing to see that one particular movement has finally gripped the masses – the message of loving yourself as you are, and that beauty comes in every shape, size, and form. It was only a matter of time, but stuffy middle-aged men (and some women) still gaped at the viral results, sincerely shocked on finding that women respond better to images of real women. In a world where money talks, the beauty and fashion industry quickly picked their jaws up off the floor and unleashed a slew of campaigns responding directly to this phenomenon. The start of the new decade has brought more inclusive models, less retouching, and arguably best of all, the slow-burn demise of Victoria’s Secret, cannibalized by brands that promised more variety, more realness, and less push-up bras that gave football pads a run for their money. 

While body inclusivity has progressed leaps and bounds within the last decade, the movement brings with it remnants of the same problematic mindsets of the past. The body positivity movement desperately wants to be the end-all solution to the body dysmorphia that plagues women – but it’s not, nor can it be in its current state. Brands seeking to capitalize on profit-inducing marketing campaigns including plus-size models and promising more inclusive size lines have wholly missed the point, and more dangerously, they may be unintentionally contributing to the greater problem. In 2018, Madewell attempted to aim high on the body positivity revolution and announced an extension to their denim sizes – up to size 20, when originally they stopped at size 14 – but failed when customers realized the size 20 was essentially just a size 14 with a new label.  Madewell managed to survive the controversy fairly unscathed, but they still haven’t repented entirely for their mistakes. Shopping for denim on Madewell’s site today still includes the extended size run but is separated into its own section (“Curvy Denim”). The separation of size runs is a fashion crime committed by far more brands than just Madewell, stemming from the tiresome idea that larger sizing needs to be singled out and put into its own special corner. It’s no surprise that brands would opt for a lazy, haphazard effort when it came to tapping into the body positivity movement, but it is nevertheless disappointing that the lack of effort has largely been accepted by consumers and, regretfully, has become the norm in women’s fashion. The most concerning message being reinforced by Madewell and other brands attempting to be more inclusive is the idea that being curvy and larger is a bold statement against the status quo, which allows them to applaud their half-assed efforts at creating a more dynamic size run as groundbreaking and an instant fix to the industry’s most complicated offenses. 

On another front, the body positivity movement has found burgeoning success on Instagram, the application queen that has single-handedly transformed the marketing industry in less than a decade while simultaneously making us all her loyal subjects. If Instagram had a royal court, it would be filled with her powerful and ad-wheeling influencers. While most of Instagram’s most-followed accounts are celebrities, there is an epidemic of normal and mostly talentless individuals who harnessed the power of Instagram to their advantage, reaping millions and producing more ads of weird teeth-whitening lights and mint-colored gummy bears than we can stomach. Instagram has become a hive of perceived authenticity, and within it are influencers who provide small snippets of their lives, pawning off messages of self-love, confidence, and body positivity. While it sounds idyllic, how can we possibly find satisfaction in our own boring bodies and our own boring lives when constantly flooded with images of happier, healthier, sexier people? Consequently, how can we ever find self-satisfaction when we are then made to feel bad for not radically loving our own imperfect, non-influencer bodies? 

The problem is not us, it’s the subliminal messaging behind the images flooding our feeds. While we are seeing more images of real women and real bodies, it is covered in a thin veil of societal expectations. Having a large derrière would have been frowned upon in the early ‘00s and is now highly revered, but mostly when combined with a 25-inch waist. Being flat-chested is in, but only to wear lacy bralettes. Being “thick” has been revolutionized by women with real thighs and real curves but still maintains that a certain level of sex appeal be upheld. Another mold has been created, and while it may be different from its predecessors, we’re still falling into the same ugly snares of ideal body image, sending the masses running towards the welcoming arms of “fitspo”, waist trainers, and detox teas. The age-old question then becomes: Are we really revolutionizing the beauty and fashion industry, or did she just put on a new guise that we have an easier time stomaching? After all, in the sovereignty of Instagram, the law of posting a thirst trap instills that the subject is desirable.

This is not to say that the progress of the body positivity movement should be ignored. Many of the leading messages behind the movement have brought about healthier and more promising mindsets for women to consume, and it seems inevitable that the movement would resort to uplifting, repost-friendly sound bites in order to stay relevant. Body positive accounts such as @hi.ur.beautiful, which hails 408 thousand followers, offers square-sized remedies to the toxicity of the female experience with sweet notes such as “Am I too ‘wide’ or is your mind too narrow?” and “Don’t value your body over your being.” Actor and activist Jameela Jamil’s @i_weigh community has now amassed 1 million followers and offers more action-based solutions, such as a book club and a self-reflection challenge that encourages women to redirect their weight into descriptive words that better encompass their being. The conversation surrounding the body positivity movement is expanding, and more importantly, it is beginning to highlight the importance of intersectionality in regards the female experience. With any kind of social movement comes missteps and faux pas and the body positivity movement is certainly no exception – but it can recover by continuing honest and empathetic discussions on women’s bodies in general. This is where the dirty work begins: talking about female empowerment in a genuine light requires talking about female pain, something that will necessitate far more effort than a few aesthetically pleasing quotes on an Instagram grid.  

It is inevitable that social media is and always will be a stage upon which fantasies are portrayed. The body positivity movement faces a unique challenge in the need to balance the power of the aesthetically pleasing versus the less enchanting, dully complicated reality. Overly optimistic, ra-ra body positive cheerleaders posting before and after photos of weight loss journeys (sorry Kayla Itsines, but this one is on you) and sultry bikini pics captioned with paragraphs describing their journey to self-acceptance are genuinely fine, but they have become problematic by taking the mic from women who don’t fit the influencer mold that deserve the movement to recognize the validity of their existence. The movement needs to realize that pressuring women to “just love yourself!” without providing realistic tools on how to get there is unrealistic and, frankly, annoying. Adding a lengthy caption on body positivity underneath a photo of a glamorous, conventionally beautiful woman will never be a bad thing, but it can be counterproductive if it sends the message that the body positivity movement can only be accessed by a specific kind of spokesperson. Body positivity will look different for every woman, and while that can be a daunting task for the movement to tackle, it can veer towards a more productive direction by acknowledging that its solutions will need to have variety, openness, and intersectionality. 

Several Instagram queens have already spurred necessary conversations to tackle the complex existence of the body positive movement on social media. Mental illness advocate Raffela Mancuso (@raffela_mancuso) used her platform to critically reflect on the phenomenon of “thin bopo” and the amplification of thin women who still experience a fair amount of privilege that have enjoyed success as leaders in the body positivity movement. Mancuso celebrated the success of these women and the importance of their stories, but also stressed the necessity of using their platform to pass the mic to more marginalized voices and acknowledge the privileges they do enjoy. Mancuso’s message resonated immensely with her 20 thousand followers and garnered a collaborative response from Sarah Nicole Landry (@thebirdspapaya), whose own account has 1.3 million followers. Mancuso’s observation was frank and may have felt uncomfortable to hear for those who benefit from thin bopo, but she managed to get her point across gracefully and with the opportunity for open, honest, and empathetic conversation. Sometimes the movement will need to hear uncomfortable truths in order to bring about positive growth, and as long as leaders within it are willing to accommodate its growing pains, the outcome will create a community that can be more inclusive, loving, and understanding. 

Deeply engrained in the psyche of women and our relationship with our bodies is a powerful and persistent emotion: shame. Shame can stem from a variety of different experiences, be it inherited from our mothers, acquired through trauma, or reinforced by constant objectification.  For almost all women, disrobing in front of a mirror brings with it a critical eye ready to channel the feelings of shame into specific parts of the body, and while we can rattle off a list of the things we dislike about our physical appearance, we almost never talk about why we feel ashamed of them in the first place. Here’s where the body positivity movement can put the ra-ra optimism to good use – by acknowledging that working through feelings of shame is a personal, intimate process that will look and feel different for every woman, but the burden can be carried collectively to ease the discomfort we’ve carried throughout our lives. Not everyone is going to feel the motivation to unearth deeply rooted trauma and transform it into something positive, nor should they feel the pressure to, but the movement should still keep a space open for these women anyway. It is necessary to acknowledge that participation in the body positive movement is not obligatory in order for women to start feeling better about themselves. Sometimes, shame will never go away. Some experiences will have left wounds too deep to heal entirely, and spaces must be reserved for women who need a safe haven to lament the fact that they may never feel completely comfortable existing in their bodies. 

Radical change will need to start at the foundation, namely, by revolutionizing the idea that women’s bodies are just that – bodies. They are and can be non-sexual. They are and can be small, big, round, flat, scarred, differently-abled – they can be anything and their existence does not and should not have to coincide with a scale of sexual attractiveness. Nor should the expectation be that everyone must radically love their bodies. Behind the glittery idea of self-love comes the harsh reality for many: it’s hard work, and it takes time. Progress that has been gained can be more easily lost, making us reluctant to start over. After generations of learning what is and what isn’t beautiful, it requires bitter work to weed through what should and shouldn’t be kept, and no filter can make the lifetime of grunt work required more glamorous. It has become second nature to hate certain aspects of ourselves and it is going to require double the effort to unlearn the deeply engrained prejudices against our bodies. The end result might not even be love – it might just be acceptance, or even yet, it might just be tolerance – and that has to be okay in order for us to feel motivated to even begin. The most disliked parts of our physical bodies are intimately intertwined with deeper traumas and beliefs about our identity – aspects of our true selves that no one wants to reduce to a few posts on social media. And really, no one should. The body positivity movement has the ability to amplify productive conversations about the female experience and where we go from here. It can start by passing the mic. 

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Anna Luo is an American traveler/writer currently teaching English in Europe. Her writing portfolio can be found here. She am fairly new to freelance writing and am most passionate about writing on feminism, reproductive health care access, vulnerable feelings, and environmental responsibility. Her Instagram can be found here.