The Last Frontier of Justice-Oriented Body Positivity

Representation matters: Full-figured, aesthetically challenged male bodies should be celebrated, not shunned

Andrew Stiles • May 21, 2022 5:00 am

In case you missed it, there was a fleeting internet controversy involving Yumi Nu, the conventionally attractive plus-size model who graced the cover of this year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, and Jordan Peterson, the based high priest of Generation Incel.

As is often the case with internet controversies, both sides behaved insufferably and wasted the opportunity to have a constructive dialogue about justice-oriented body positivity and representation in the fashion industry.

It’s time we address the elephant in the room. (No pun intended.) Full-figured, aesthetically challenged male bodies continue to be woefully underrepresented on the covers of magazines and other platforms that claim to promote “inclusive” beauty standards. That needs to change.

Representation matters. Have we not learned anything from the incessant social media outrage of the past decade? And while it’s true that media outlets have come a long way in terms of driving inclusive change and widening the aperture of body-involved diversity initiatives, the industry continues to ignore demands for increased visibility of healthy, aesthetically diverse male bodies. This is tantamount to violence.

Sports Illustrated would like us to applaud it for letting a conventionally attractive blonde woman flaunt her “beautiful” C-section scar in a string bikini. That is a far cry from the holistic approach to body positivity Americans must embrace if we want to be on the right side of history.

We at the Washington Free Beacon believe achieving inclusive justice in America will not be possible until society is ready to acknowledge that all bodies are beautiful.

We’re ready. Are you?