Jameela Jamil, star of The Good Place, took to Instagram to help share a strong body positivity message to her followers who were struggling during COVID-19. She’s been receiving quite a bit of attention because it’s precisely what many of her fans – and likely many people who aren’t her fans – need to hear at the moment.
Body Positivity is Sliding During Pandemic Lockdowns
With many people around the world stuck at home due to various forms of coronavirus lockdown orders, people are feeling quite a bit of stress and anxiety. As a result, we find ourselves eating more than we usually would. Moreover, we’re eating junk food we typically wouldn’t eat in quite the quantities we’re currently consuming. At the same time, we’re not getting as much exercise as we would if we were getting out into the rest of the world and moving around.
As a result, many of us are gaining a bit of weight. This is harmful to many people’s sense of body positivity. This is precisely the trend that Jameela Jamil addressed in her post. The performer took to her Instagram account to urge anyone who read her message to focus more on getting through this tough time than to think negative thoughts about their bathroom scale readings.
Looking at the Bigger Picture
Jameela Jamil used her official Instagram account to remind followers that our main focus isn’t about the way we look. It’s about keeping ourselves and those around us healthy.
“Lots of DMs about body image s—t. Lots of toxic influencers showing airbrushed photos and perpetuating weight loss rhetoric, as well as freaking people out about their weight gain from no exercise and dietary changes,” she said.
Jamil went on to challenge her followers to “just love your body for what it does, not for how it looks”. She added that it’s too difficult for us to love how our bodies look when we have years of self-hatred built into ourselves. Instead, “think of it as an amazing machine if you can.” She encouraged body positivity by allowing ourselves to be awed with the way our bodies work and keep us going.
Moreover, she added that even when our bodies won’t work the way we’d like them to, it’s important to love them for what they can do. Though this body positivity message would be meaningful at any time, it is particularly poignant right now.
