A body-positive internet?

Until we have the technology to live as brains in jars, we will continue to be forced to exist within human bodies, these often unruly vessels that are annoyingly subject to the judgments of others and ourselves. And like everything, the internet only makes that reality worse. Specifically, as Rebecca Jennings [captures beautifully]( this week, social media makes having a body more complicated. She takes a look at the rise of body positivity on Instagram and TikTok and the concurrent onslaught of diet promo and before-and-after photos on those same apps. The algorithm, as she explains, only learns what we teach it, and while we might want to like ourselves and see and celebrate bodies that don’t fit the socially mandated definition of beauty, there’s a natural tendency for negative personal comparison. When our apps throw this tangled mess of our most hopeful and base selves back at us, it can be deeply, deeply confusing. —[Meredith Haggerty](, deputy editor for The Goods The paradox of online “body positivity” [a collage of Instagrams, before and after photos, thin women pushing out their stomachs]( Rebecca Jennings/Vox In the beginning of 2020, Morayo Ogunbayo was aware that the vast majority of women did not look like Kendall Jenner. As a 19-year-old college student, she knew that to meet American culture’s body standard was to either hit the genetic lottery or have enough money to fake it convincingly. She knew that this ideal was rooted in sexist and Eurocentric beliefs about femininity, that most women fell far short of achieving it, and that that was perfectly normal. Then the pandemic hit, and she began spending a lot more of her time scrolling through TikTok. “Every person was stunningly beautiful,” she says. “It seems like everyone had an hourglass figure, and I just felt really weird about not having one.” [Read the full story ]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( How random people have managed to get leftover coronavirus vaccines It’s probably not how you will receive your shot, though. [Read the full story ]( A running list of corporate responses to the Capitol riot Corporate America wants to distance itself from Trump. Is it too late? [Read the full story ]( Eater Wine Club One delicious, drinkable box full of bottles handpicked by Eater’s favorite wine pros, delivered to your door each month. [Join today](. More good stuff to read today - [Inauguration week could turn violent, so Airbnb canceled all DC reservations]( - [Insurrection merch shows just how mainstream extremism has become]( - [Why corporate America’s ban on political donations isn’t all that it seems]( - [Kamala Harris’s Vogue cover controversy, explained]( - [Online shopping has boomed in the pandemic. But what about all the packaging?]( - [Why brands are weighing in on the Capitol insurrection]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.