The other night, my friend Jess told me about a body-positivity movement that made me sit up and take notice. The model-gorgeous actress Jameela Jamil  from The Good Place (who was once described by Kristin Bell’s character as a “big, beautiful, utterly-perfect cartoon giraffe”) seemed to me like an unlikely champion of people with body issues. But though I was initially a bit skeptical that someone so traditionally beautiful had anything valuable to say about body shaming, once I started to read what she was all about, I regretted my rush to judgement.

Jamil started the @I_Weigh account after becoming incensed at an Instagram post estimating (and judging) the weights of the Kardashian women. Her (feminist) rage gave birth to a movement which rejects weight (“Fuck KGs”) and instead calculates a woman’s worth by the things she brings to the table. Jamil encourages women to post a photo of themselves surrounded by words representing what makes them themselves, both the good and the bad.

“Come join me and my wonderful I weigh community on Instagram! We want to know who you are and how you measure your value. Please follow the account so we can start this revolution properly and make the fashion and media industry see how many of us are DONE with this shit.”

Jameela Jamil

The movement asks women to to see our own value and to realize how amazing we are, to “look beyond the flesh on our bones.” I think it should be shared with pre-teen and teenage girls, who would surely benefit from so much positivity at such a vulnerable time in their personal and physical development. 

Go spend an uplifting hour on the @I_Weigh Instagram account. You’ll be glad you did!