Being body neutral
Body neutrality is accepting your body as it is. This means finding peace with how it looks and its abilities. Many people prefer body neutrality over body confidence because they see body confidence (accepting and liking the appearance of your body) as unrealistic.
Unlike body confidence, body neutrality is really about feeling neutral (I mean… it’s in the name). This means that you don’t need to have positive feelings towards your body in order to be body neutral. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I’d argue against this because I believe that feeling neutral about your body is the first step to becoming body confident. Why set the bar so low by settling for neutrality? We wouldn’t set the bar that low in any other relationship in our lives so why would we set the bar that low for our relationships with ourselves. I want to feel more than neutrality towards myself.
Accepting our bodies is the first step towards feeling appreciation and gratitude for our bodies’ abilities. Once we start to see the good in our bodies, we naturally begin to have positive feelings towards this wonderful vessel that carries us through life. The goal is not to see yourself as a supermodel, but to accept and appreciate the person you see in the mirror.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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How is body neutrality different from body positivity?
So first of all, it’s important to make it clear that body positivity is not about feeling positive about your body. Feeling good in your body is Body Confidence. Body positivity is a political movement that addresses the oppression of marginalised and discriminated against bodies. 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. The movement challenge fatphobia in society and people’s own internalised fatphobia.⠀
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The Bopo movement
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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 oppressed bodies no matter the size, shape, or appearance. This movement encourages the acceptance, acknowledgment, rights, and self-worth of marginalised bodies.⠀⠀⠀
Boosting our body image
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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. Want to learn more about body image? Read more on The Body Blog or follow me on Instagram.