Body Positivity

One of the legacies of colonialism is trying to attain a Western ideal of beauty that is shrouded in White Eurocentric features. Products such as skin bleaching creams and diet pills stay relevant in the twenty-first century because of the emphasis placed on looks over health and well-being. Media representations and fashion industries participate in furthering this legacy, creating a perception of a desirable body physique and a “normal weight” that is unattainable for many people. However, there have been worldwide shifts to eradicate these ideas. In an effort to battle low self-esteem among girls and women, actor Jameela Jamil started the “I Weigh” campaign to highlight people’s accomplishments rather than their weight (“Jameela Jamil”). In South Korea, the “escape the corset” movement encourages women to subvert beauty ideals that include “porcelain complexion, luxuriant long hair, lots of makeup and form-fitting dresses” (Kuhn). Historically marginalized communities continue to grapple with Western aesthetics of beauty in an effort to change the very perspectives they have been taught to accept. In these final examples, zine creators express the need for self-acceptance, self-love, and self-care as it pertains to their bodies. Daisy Salinas’s “Please don’t let them” expresses concern over those that submit to the pity imposed upon them and purchase these harmful products. Sarah María Acosta Ahmad and Salinas claim self-love as a revolutionary act in opposition to that pity. Interestingly, both view self-acceptance on a larger scale: it is not just the acceptance of one individual, but that of entire generations of family that have made it possible to be alive today.

Raíces

Sarah María Acosta Ahmad and Salinas claim self-love as a revolutionary act in opposition to that pity. Interestingly, both view self-acceptance on a larger scale: it is not just the acceptance of one individual, but that of entire generations of family that have made it possible to be alive today. In short, Latinx zine creators use food to interrogate how power is imposed upon their bodies. In most of the aforementioned examples, resiliency is the underlying theme: resistance through self-love, family, community, traditional healing, and traditional ingredients allows these authors to carve out their own identities in opposition to power structures created by colonial legacies of beauty, knowledge, and nutrition.