body neutrality part II

The last time my newsletter discussed body neutrality was in the summer

- I checked. And, as the weather is getting warmer in many parts of the world, I've noticed many of my sessions have involved conversations about bodies. Body shapes, body sizes, how bodies fit into clothing - or don't - and the emotions involved.

Levels of distress about body appearance have been quite high for a lot of folks recently. Frequently, I hear a corresponding increase in frustration about the phenomenon itself. The pressure to combat negative body stereotypes and to feel "empowered" in unconditional self-love can be yet another opportunity for perceived failure.

Body neutrality refresh - What a body does, not how a body looks.

Body neutrality is “a movement rooted in acknowledgment and appreciation of what your body does, rather than applying value to how it looks”. 1 Body neutrality is a concept that became popularized in part as a reaction to the "Body Positive" movement. The body positivity movement began as part of fat-acceptance and fat-liberation efforts with the empowering idea that "all bodies are good bodies". As time went on, body positivity became used more frequently in a mainstream context that promoted a version of wellness represented by a slender, able, young, white body. 

As a result, popular body justice activists like Virgie Tovar and Jessamyn Stanley began discussing the commodification of body positivity and its lack of intersectionality and began using the language of body neutrality to create ways for folks to relate to their bodies without pressure, judgment, or the feeling that their bodies needed to fit into a wellness space. 

Body neutrality in action

Concentrating even a small amount of attention on the frequency and tone of body critical thoughts and physical sensations can illustrate just how much space this can take up. As an experiment, we can consider noticing not only our thoughts about our bodies but the sensations associated with these thoughts. Common examples might include the sensation of tightness of clothing, the feeling of being full, or the way we experience hunger cues.

Body neutrality creates space for us to reframe the way we interpret these sensations to move away from a lens of body shape or size as a way to evaluate how we get to feel.

Here are some great examples of body neutral reframes from the become project:

my body is my home

my body is where I live, not who I am

my body is allowed to change

my body deserves respect

my body is inherently wise

my self-worth is not tied to my appearance

I deserve to rest

I will listen to my body's needs

health is not a moral requirement

my body is innocent

I am more than a body

This is hard work!

As always, when doing the work of unlearning system-wide messaging, it is important to take care of ourselves accordingly. It is truly exhausting to attempt to combat the fairly constant messaging convincing folks that they are supposed to look a certain way, and the multi-billion dollar diet industry supporting it. Give yourself credit and allow time for rest and recovery.

See my previous post on body neutrality for more information and some additional reading.

I offer therapy with a body neutral lens to support people in reaching their goals. I provide body neutral therapy in New York.