While body positivity was formerly seen as the best approach to establishing relationships with our bodies, body neutrality, a newer word, is now thought to be a healthier method of connecting with our physical selves. Due to the fact that body positivity can be challenging for people with disadvantaged bodies, as well as the movement being co-opted by influencers who were cisgender, non-disabled, slender White women. The purpose of the body neutrality movement and how it varies from body positivity are discussed in this article. It also describes how to create body neutrality in your daily life in order to accept your body exactly as it is.
Defining Body Neutrality
The Neutrality of the Body
Body neutrality refers to embracing your body in its current state. Unlike the body-positivity motion, it does not have to include self-love conversations or mantras about your body. Body neutrality promotes the recognition of what your body is capable of doing and the recognition that it may not operate or fit you perfectly. Body neutrality emphasizes a lack of attachment to how your body appears in any given moment and discourages time spent worrying about your physical self. Furthermore, body neutrality teaches you to think of your body as a functional vessel. People with stigmatized bodies have responded better to this concept than to body positivity.
Body Neutrality
- Emphasizes respect for the body as it is and what it can do
- Encourages people to embrace their bodies simply because they exist
- May be more comfortable for persons with stigmatized bodies
Body Positivity
- Emphasizes outward appearance (e.g., everyone is lovely)
- Encourages people to embrace their bodies for how they look
- Can frequently exclude folks who do not meet conventional appearance standards
How to Maintain Body Neutrality
If you want to start practicing body neutrality, you might wonder where to start. Here are some ideas for incorporating this practice into other aspects of your life.
Self-Talk
Feeling neutral about your body does not often develop quickly or naturally at first. Your best way of easing into this mindset is changing how you talk to yourself about your body. Adopting a neutral mindset with yourself can gradually become second nature by practicing the following. Praising your body’s abilities by expressing things, eliminating the emotional burden, allowing yourself to admit truths, and engaging in self-love activities only when it feels uplifting, not forced or dishonest.
Other People’s Conversations
We live in a culture where the perfect body is out of reach for the majority of individuals. As a result, conversations about bodies are widespread, but we gradually realize that these unattainable ideals help no one.
Take Note
Many people are uncomfortable discussing their bodies, and hearing feedback about their bodies, strangers or loved ones, can be unpleasant.
It may appear innocuous to tell a very tall person they are tall or a slim person that they are thin, yet these words can be very uncomfortable for those who hear them. When in the company of others, practice body neutrality by not initiating discussion about bodies and steering the conversation away from that subject when it occurs. You are free to provide any explanation or none at all. “Talking about people’s bodies can be a damaging experience for them” is a straightforward explanation for why you are diverting the discussion.
Diet and Food
To eat in a way that is neutral to your body, it is best to focus on what foods work best for your physical self and your taste sensations. Choosing meals that you digest well, love the flavors of, and that provide you with energy is the simplest method to practice bodily neutrality in eating. Intuitive eating is entirely compatible with body neutrality. There are sundry resources to assist you in getting started, and it can take some time to figure out what works and doesn’t for your body. However, you’ll gradually get more in tune with what works best for you. There is no single diet that is applicable for body neutrality. You can follow an eating plan if it makes you feel good, or you can avoid them totally and rely on your gut instinct when determining what to eat and when.
Clothing
The clothing you have the right to wear clothing that is both comfortable and attractive to you. Unfortunately, we have preconceived views about it, such as the 1980s assertion that “spandex is a privilege, not a right.” Others may be critical of what others dress, but you don’t have to be.
Choose to clothe that you like the look of and that feels good on your body while dressing from a place of body neutrality. Choosing what you feel emotionally comfortable wearing can be a tricky balancing act. Because knowing you’re wearing something the majority of people will not approve of might make you feel self-conscious.
Clothing selections that make you feel extra focused on your body aren’t the ideal idea because body neutrality is about not focusing excessively on your body. Instead, choose a happy medium of clothing that you enjoy wearing so that you can stop thinking about your clothes once you put them on.
Exercise
Movement is beneficial to all bodies. However, the fitness industry focuses on losing weight, improving body form, and burning fat. To adopt body neutrality in relation to exercise, you should avoid having a goal other than moving your body because it feels good and flourishing.
Accepting your body’s current size and shape frees you from doing exercises you may not enjoy but do anyway to burn calories or fat. To practice bodily neutrality in exercise, find activities you enjoy and then quit doing them when you are tired or sore. For example, if you don’t like traditional workouts like lifting weights or running, you could try activities that engage your body more subtly than a gym workout. Taking a swim or dance class, cleaning, or playing a musical instrument are some examples of these sorts of exercises.
Participation in Social Activities
Social media can aid us stay in touch with and inform our friends and loved ones. But, on the other hand, people only discuss aspects of their lives that they want others to know about, which might result in a false picture. Following individuals on social media, whether they are people you know in real life or not, should make you feel good and joyful. If it does not and instead makes you feel bad about yourself, the body-neutral approach is to cease following them.
Because you don’t want to insult a friend or loved one, you can mute them rather than unfollow them, so they aren’t aware of the change. You should be motivated by the people whose lives you witness, not made to feel terrible about yourself. If you compare your life to that of others, especially if you think yours falls short, the ideal thing to do is disregard what that person shares.
Kim’s Final Thoughts…
Body neutrality is a safe and controllable approach to developing a positive relationship with your body. By practicing these steps, you can start your road to a connection with your body that allows you to have more time and emotional energy to enjoy life.
