Former body-positivity influencer says movement became ‘radical,’ admits feeling ‘brainwashed’

Former body-positivity influencer Gabriella Lascano spoke to The New York Times in an article published Monday about her journey from “championing” the body-positivity movement to renouncing it for pushing an unhealthy lifestyle.

Lascano described beginning her online career in 2010, adding that while she never planned on becoming an influencer, she began intentionally pushing the message to “love yourself at any size” after receiving support from other plus-sized women.

Over time, however, she found that she was gaining more and more weight and became unable to do activities she enjoyed, such as traveling or riding roller coasters.

“Some days, I would look at photos and not even recognize myself,” Lascano said. “I’m only five feet tall and at my heaviest, I was close to 400 pounds. I started to wonder if loving myself at any size had become an excuse to ignore how big I was getting. I felt like I saw myself being brainwashed, essentially. Meanwhile, the language around body positivity began sounding more extreme online.”

Lascano said that she eventually saw the body-positivity community become hostile toward weight loss and exercise, even for health purposes, which led to her turning on the movement.

“But as the body-positivity community became more radical, I was scared to say the wrong thing, so I stayed silent. Then, my friend died. She was a body-positivity influencer who founded the world’s first plus-size salon,” Lascano said.

In 2023, she posted a video denouncing body positivity, saying she felt “guilty” for being a part of the movement and adding that it’s “not fatphobic to care about your health.”

Lascano claimed she has since become a pariah to the body-positivity community, though she has also lost weight and felt more like herself.

She still supports a “body positive” message, particularly with the rise of the “SkinnyTok” online trend, but she emphasized that any movement would need to acknowledge the severe health risks that come from obesity.

“We can still be body positive, while acknowledging these risks. We can still love ourselves even if we want to lose weight. That’s what real body positivity should stand for. Loving yourself at any size and having the freedom to change it.”