It’s on day 3 of the quarantine that I’m scrolling through my Instagram feed full of body positive bloggers and influencers like Hunter McGrady, Kelly Augustine, and Rosey Blair, when a jarring image comes up. It’s a before and after of a barbie doll, but the after is her image with a double chin- and a caption about how she looked before the quarantine, and how she’ll look after it. It’s annoying, but I just keep scrolling. The memes don’t stop- I see them on twitter, Facebook. It dawns on me that these friends of mine are sharing these images because they simply don’t understand.

Memes like these harken back to a time when many of us were made fun of overtly on school playgrounds. I can recall three-way phone calls like the ones in “Mean Girls” where someone sat in silence on the phone, while unwittingly sharing personal details not meant for other’s ears. I can recall my biggest insecurities thrown back at my face during a recess or lunch break being called fat or a whale or an elephant. I can recall starving myself to the point of fainting, only to be congratulated for a miniscule amount of weight loss, not realizing I had an undiagnosed eating disorder the entire time

Memes like these circulate, and we forget what we’re actually fighting, which is the coronavirus. If one gains a few pounds because they haven’t been able to get into the gym for two weeks, but it saves someone’s life, isn’t it worth it? I am all for finding joyful movement on social media- tuning into a live yoga session, going on walks or hikes around the neighborhood, joining a workout-from-home Facebook community. These are the ways we can lift each other up during this strange, anxiety filled time. Tearing ourselves down with memes for a cheap laugh just isn’t it. 

Protect Yourself

If you keep seeing these triggering memes on social media, there are tools you can use to protect yourself and your mental well-being. Mute the images (or simply unfollow that person), so the algorithm will understand what you are not responding well to. You can also mute keywords that might cause you harm by going to your Instagram settings > privacy > comments > manual filter, then enter any words you aren’t comfortable with. This will keep your page the safe space that you deserve. Also, don’t forget to log out and take a break from social media every once in a while!

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay whatever size you are comfortable at. I think Sydney Grace said it best on her Instagram story, “If your biggest fear, during such a SCARY time, is having a body that looks like mine, I’d love for you to meditate on how your internal fatphobia probably affects the plus sized people in your life.”