In recent years, the body positivity movement has surged in popularity, flooding social media with messages encouraging self-love and unconditional love for your body. It’s a powerful movement advocating for inclusivity and self-acceptance regardless of societal standards and opinions.
However, a quieter movement has begun to gain traction as well: body neutrality.
While the concept of body positivity is undoubtedly good, the pressure of attempting to love your body as it is, regardless of its flaws, can be overwhelming and unrealistic. For some individuals, acceptance cannot be obtained by simply deciding to love their body, especially when societal pressure amplifies their insecurities.
Moreover, body positivity can unintentionally favor people who already fit into beauty standards. It’s easier to love your body unconditionally when society openly praises your body or frequently gives representation to people who look like you. The constant validation makes body positivity far less difficult for these individuals.
Oppositely, this can leave marginalized groups disadvantaged and overlooked. Negative stereotypes and lacking representation can make it more challenging for marginalized people to love their bodies.
Body neutrality offers a different approach. It acknowledges the difficulty of shaking insecurities and recognizes that unconditionally accepting your body may not be feasible for everyone.
Society relentlessly encourages individuals to chase an unattainable form of perfection. Rather than chasing unconditional love, body neutrality encourages people to refrain from placing any judgments on their body — in other words, to remain neutral about their appearance.
For many, body neutrality is a much more attainable goal than body positivity or wholehearted love for their body. But what does body neutrality look like in practice?
For some individuals, body neutrality is placing importance on the function of their body instead of its appearance. Instead of fixating on the idealized, unrealistic bodies that social media and beauty standards promote as the epitome of attractiveness, they recognize what their body allows them to do. For example: play their favorite sports, eat their favorite foods or engage in their hobbies and passions.
In an interesting way, body neutrality highlights the absurdity of society’s fixation on outward appearance. Rather than focusing on the shape or size of our bodies, body neutrality reminds us of our bodies’ original purposes: to move and feel and experience life to the fullest. It’s a rebellion against the pressure to judge your body based on inane beauty standards.
Additionally, by encouraging you to place less judgments on your appearance, body neutrality can alleviate the urge to compare yourself to others. It enables people to focus on their own strengths, weaknesses and the experiences their body affords them instead of what other people think or look like.
Ultimately, body neutrality offers a more beneficial and attainable mindset than body positivity. We should celebrate our bodies for what they do, not how they look.
Grace Claxon is an opinion writer. Contact her at [email protected].
