Facebook Mistakes Need to End For Plus Size Women

Recently, there have been many Facebook mistakes when it comes to plus size women trying to share empowering messages. Numerous posts were blocked or banned because their content was deemed “inappropriate” by the website. For at least a little while, it seemed as if the problem had ended. That is until plus-size model and body positive advocate Melinda Parrish had her own message blocked for being “inappropriate.”

Love Yourself

In a post written for the Huffington Post, Parrish explains that on October 28, she did a Facebook Live post, discussing her thoughts on weight loss and how it is not the sole purpose of life. In it, she encouraged viewers to focus on living life to the fullest, without worrying so much about their size. The problem, however, did not start until Parrish tried to “boost” her post. So, you can find more people learn to love themselves—and had her request denied. The reason? A Facebook representative told her the request was denied because her ad was “offensive” since some users are sensitive when it comes to the topic of weight loss.

While this may be true, Parrish went on to point out the countless ads Facebook features that talk about the ways women can “improve” their bodies—through diet pills, detox plans, and special clothing—that could also be seen as offensive to people. Yet, you can see these ads everywhere on the website with no problems. How is it they consider a message about loving yourself to be worst than encouraging you to change your body? It is this double standard that Facebook has for sharing posts that is the root of the problem.

What Should We Do

As far as Facebook “mistakes” go, this is the first time a body positivity advocate be blocked from sharing messages. In May, Tess Holliday’s photo was banned for depicting an “undesirable” image, even though it was about body positivity. In June, Facebook-owned Instagram removed a photo of Aarti Olivia in a bikini. They also removed A Curvy Kate advertisement in August. Each time for similar reasons, and each time Facebook backtracked, undoing the ban, and claiming it was a “mistake.”

While Facebook may be a great way to connect with people from all over the world, it is an extremely fat-phobic platform, as Tess Holliday said earlier this year. They continually block plus-size women from sharing body-positive messages, while allowing other ads and companies to share their fat-shaming messages with no problems. It is time that the Facebook mistakes end and that the company takes a serious look at how they handle things because all they are doing is pushing users away. Still, advocates like Melinda Parrish refuse to let Facebook stop them from sharing their messages about body acceptance and positivity and continue to fight for a change in Facebook’s standards.