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In many ways, it seems our society has come a long way from the body-shaming, diet-culture driven, thinness-obsessed years of the 90’s and early 2000’s. We get to see a wider variety of body shapes and sizes in advertising, blatant body shaming in media is no longer a common practice, and we have mannequins in stores with more realistic proportions than ever before.
On the surface, it appears that a lot has changed about the way we view different body types for the better. But if we dig a little deeper, we can see that people are still struggling deeply with body image issues. As social media has exponentially grown in the last decade, we’re seeing new, more creative, and insidious ways that body shaming has reached progressively younger audiences.
Camera filters that change the shapes of our faces and add makeup, video editing apps that can alter the image of a whole body—adding abs, shrinking waists, and even smoothing skin texture in real time—are widely available and can be hard to detect. Research has shown that photo/video-centric social media apps like Instagram and TikTok have had extremely detrimental effects on body image for many users, and dangerous weight loss behaviors still run rampant on those platforms (1). Studies have shown that girls who use social media regularly are 6 times more likely to engage in disordered weight loss strategies, while boys are 4 times as likely to do so (2).
How Do We Protect Ourselves?
Given that we are living in a time of nearly undetectable image manipulation, viral weight loss hacks, and increasing pressure to appear “perfect” on our pages—how do we protect ourselves and our loved ones from the damaging effects we’re being exposed to?
Today we’ll discuss two related, but different lenses through which we can view our bodies: Body Positivity and Body Neutrality. Both approaches can be used, but you may feel one resonates with you more than the other. As with any mindset shift, take what works for you and feel free to try different applications in different situations.
Body Positivity
The body positive movement has a long and complex history and has changed since its creation in the 1960’s, but body positivity today is a movement centered around the idea that all bodies are beautiful. #BOPO content is often focused on cultivating positive feelings about the body.
The key message in body positivity is that loving how you look will help you feel better about yourself. Phrases like, “all bodies are beautiful,” and “workout because you love your body, not because you hate it,” as well as some more body part specific descriptive quotes like “thick thighs save lives,” and “love your curves,” are examples of affirmations in the body positive space.
There is some early research that suggests body positive content on social media could have a positive impact on body image in users. When young women were presented with body positive content in their social media feeds, there was a decrease in body comparison and an increase in users’ mood, body appreciation, and body satisfaction (3, 4).
For many people, focusing on feeling positively about their bodies can be life-changing. Positive affirmations, celebrating our appearances, and loving our bodies the way they are can lead to a life of freedom and enjoyment as well as an increased focus on sustainable, healthy behaviors instead of extreme dieting.
Ways to Cultivate Body Positivity
- Practice looking in the mirror and acknowledging certain body parts you feel good about.
- Practice positive affirmations by speaking them aloud or writing them down and posting them where you’ll see them frequently.
- Try thought swapping: when you notice a negative thought about your body, combat it with a positive one.
- Do something nice for your body: treat yourself to a manicure, take a bubble bath, or put on a favorite outfit.
- Refuse to participate in body-bashing with others.
Limitations to Body Positivity…
- It can keep the focus on external appearance instead of cultivating happiness outside appearance.
- It can feel unattainable for people who have battled negative body image for years.
- It can make people feel guilty for wanting to change their bodies.
- It has been co-opted as another marketing tool (similar to "greenwashing").
- It still often defines "beauty" narrowly.
Body Neutrality
Another approach to combat negative body image is body neutrality. The body neutrality movement is centered around the belief that the body’s external appearance has nothing to do with its worth.
This is a more middle-of-the-road approach in which we can acknowledge that we may not always feel positively about our bodies, but they are still worthy of respect and care. Though there isn’t much research on body neutrality yet, it could be an extremely helpful tool against rampant body negativity on social media.
Some examples of body neutral phrases include, “my body is my home” or “my body allows me to experience life fully.”
Body neutrality can be particularly helpful for people who have battled negative body image for many years, or who have a hard time “forcing” themselves to feel positive about their bodies.
Ways to Cultivate Body Neutrality
- Be prepared to experience negative emotions about your body and let them pass without engaging.
- Commit to showing respect and care for your body, no matter how you feel about it day-to-day.
- Find or create body neutral grounding phrases, such as, “I may not love the way I look today, but I choose to respect my body.”
- Stop participating in body-bashing conversations.
- Find gratitude for what your body allows you to experience—sunshine, hugs, great meals, etc.
Limitations to Body Neutrality…
Some eating disorder specialists have posited that body neutrality may only help people in eating disorder treatment to “tolerate” their bodies rather than appreciate them.
A Note on Body Positivity, Neutrality, and Health
To some, body positivity and body neutrality may sound like a “letting go” or “giving up” on physical health outcomes. Some even claim that body positive approaches glorify obesity and ignore health risks.
However, research suggests the opposite may be true. People with better body image and more self-compassion are:
- More likely to engage in physical activity
- More likely to enjoy exercise
- Less likely to experience depression or withdraw socially (7, 8)
In addition, even weight management programs that integrate body positive psychology show improvements not only in health outcomes but also in body image flexibility, self-compassion, and reduced body negativity (9).
Anecdotally, in coaching experience, clients who embrace body positive or body neutral approaches tend to be more consistent with their nutrition, exercise, and self-care behaviors. Over time, this consistency leads to better outcomes and greater well-being.
In Conclusion…
We are constantly bombarded with messages telling us our bodies need to be fixed, modified, and improved. Though we’ve seen societal shifts toward greater acceptance, we still have a long way to go.
Whether you choose to adopt body positivity, body neutrality, both, or neither, your journey is personal. Whatever path you take, we at LVLTN hope you respect and care for your body while prioritizing your health—and enjoy life to the fullest!
Still having trouble being consistent, staying accountable, and just knowing what to do when it comes to reaching your goals? Let us help by putting an expert in your corner to help you get there faster and maintain that progress for life! Learn more about our online health coaching by clicking here!
References
- Vandenbosch, L., Fardouly, J., & Tiggemann, M. (2022). Social media and body image: Recent trends and future directions. Current opinion in psychology, 45, 101289.
- Gallivan, H.R. (2014). Presentation about teens, Social Media And Body Image, Park Nicollet Melrose Center.
- Rodgers, R.F., Wertheim, E.H., Paxton, S.J., Tylka, T.L., & Harriger, J.A. (2022). #Bopo: Enhancing body image through body positive social media.
- Cohen, R., Fardouly, J., Newton-John, T., & Slater, A. (2019). #BoPo on Instagram: Effects of viewing body positive content.
- Cleveland Clinic. (2023). Body Positivity vs Body Neutrality.
- Tylka, T.L., & Wood-Barcalow, N.L. (2015). What is and what is not positive body image?
- Shang, Y., Xie, H., Yang, S. (2021). The Relationship Between Physical Exercise and Subjective Well-Being.
- Greenleaf, C. (2023). Association for Applied Sports Psychology.
- McCallum, M., et al. (2021). Body Positivity and Self-Compassion on a Publicly Available Behavior Change Weight Management Program.
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