Body Confidence
Body confidence is all about a person’s own relationship with their body. Our feelings about our bodies can be positive, neutral, or negative. The way we feel about ourselves can be influenced by external factors and our own internalised beliefs about bodies. Body confidence makes us challenge negative influences and beliefs so we can start to accept and perhaps even love our bodies. The goal of the body confidence movement is to address unrealistic beauty standards and to build people’s confidence.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In my own work I help individuals, mums, and teens to build their body confidence so they can accept their bodies. By building their body confidence they become the body confident role-models that they have always wanted.
What’s the difference between body confidence and body positivity?
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Body Positivity
So, let’s go back a little and have a mini storytime. Body positivity is rooted in the fat acceptance movement. This movement started in the 60s and later expanded into the body positive movement. Fat acceptance is all about treating fat bodies with respect and eliminating fat-shaming. It’s also about acceptance and reclaiming the word “fat” as a neutral descriptive word. Advocates for this movement challenge fatphobia in society and people’s own internalised fatphobia.
More recently the body positivity movement was born. This movement carries on the beliefs of the fat acceptance movement but also advocates the acceptance of all marginalised bodies no matter the size, shape, or appearance. The goal of the movement is to address, and challenge unrealistic beauty standards constructed by society. (Epic, right?) This movement encourages the acceptance, acknowledgment, rights, and self-worth of marginalised bodies in society.
Want to learn more about body confidence? Read more on The Body Blog.