Why Jameela Jamil’s ‘I Weigh’ Movement Is Inspirational AF

If you haven’t heard of the “I Weigh” movement that has been sweeping Instagram, it’s time to go check it out.  What started as one powerful message on Instagram has turned into a movement, and we are so here for it. 

Jameela Jamil, a 26-year old actress who is known as Tahani Al- Jamil on NBC’s The Good Place, shared the message after she was sick and tired of seeing women’s worth be measured by how much they weigh. 

Turns out thousands of women are also sick and tired of a women’s worth being measured by their weight and they followed Jamil’s lead and shared their own powerful messages with her.  So many women, in fact, that Jamil created the Instagram account @i_weight to share all of the beautiful and images. 

“This post of mine started a mad wave of amazing women posting their own back to me in our revolution against shame and self hatred over our looks, perpetuated by the media.  I have received thousands and they are too beautiful to not celebrate.  I have started an account called @i_weigh to post them all.  SEND ME YOURS to that account,” Jamil wrote on her personal Instagram page. 

“I’m fucking tired of seeing women just ignore what’s amazing about them and their lives and their achievements, just because they don’t have a bloody thigh gap….  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.” 

Jamil’s mission is to help women see their worth goes far beyond their body and how much they weigh. “ I Weigh” now has more than 120,000 followers and is going strong with thousands of posts from women all over the world publicly declaring that they are so much more than what they see on a damn scale. 

The account is a safe place where women can be 100% themselves.  They don’t have to be afraid of listing their strong points, and degrees as well as truths like “adult acne” and “anxiety” because we are all realizing the whole picture is beautiful and real — our flaws, our strengths, and the things we are working towards and hope to accomplish. 

Jamil has long been an advocate for body positivity.  In fact, the former model refused to be airbrushed on the June cover of Vera magazine, saying on her Instagram, “I find photoshop to be one of the worst things to happen to women.” 

We are sick of the body-centric culture where everything is perfect and shiny and airbrushed.  And movements like “I Weigh” have been born because, unfortunately, they are needed as we realize the culture we live in needs to change. 

It’s time to focus on the important things in life and see each other for more than our dress size or how much we can deprive ourselves of certain food in order to be seen as successful, beautiful, and desirable. 

Thank God women like Jamil are using their platform to do this work that so desperately needs to be done instead of adding to the madness.