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Body image, body acceptance, body neutrality, and body confidence are all part of the body positivity movement, but they are just that: small parts of a larger movement. Any person can practice body acceptance, body neutrality, or body confidence, but that doesn’t automatically mean that person supports the body positivity movement, which is political and advocates for marginalized bodies. Let’s break down these different concepts and movements and examine how they relate to each other.
Photo by Roberto Hund from Pexels
What’s Body Image?
Body image refers to the relationship an individual has with their body. According to the National Eating Disorder Collaboration (NEDC), there are four elements of body image:
- perceptual body image (how we physically see or view our body, which can be distorted from reality in certain cases);
- affective body image (how we feel about our body);
- cognitive body image (how we think about our body);
- behavioral body image (what behaviors we engage in based on the other three elements of body image).
Though it varies from person to person, body image can be positive, negative, or neutral. For most people, body image fluctuates between positive, negative, and neutral depending on internal and external factors such as personality, mental health, emotional and social support, and stress.
Having positive body image is often associated with body acceptance (read more about that concept below). When you have positive body image, you generally like your body and appearance, but you still accept, respect, and value whatever parts of your body you may dislike. Positive body image is also often associated with body confidence.
Having negative body image means you might find it difficult to value, respect, or accept your body. In addition to struggling with body acceptance, negative body image can also be characterized by what NEDC calls body dissatisfaction:
“Body dissatisfaction occurs when a person has persistent negative thoughts and feelings about their body. Body dissatisfaction is an internal emotional and cognitive process but is influenced by external factors such as pressures to meet a certain appearance ideal. Body dissatisfaction can drive people to engage in unhealthy weight-control [behaviors], particularly disordered eating,” states the NEDC.
Having neutral body image means you don’t particularly like or dislike your body. Not only do you not consider your body good, bad, attractive, or unattractive, you may not think about your body often or at all in terms of appearance. You may think about your body in terms of the care and maintenance it needs and the things it does for you, but other than that you’re most likely indifferent about your body.
Neutral body image is a key element of body neutrality as well, which you can read more about below.
What Are Body Acceptance and Body Neutrality?
Body acceptance refers to the act or concept of accepting, respecting, and valuing your body as it is in terms of appearance, size, and ability. Body acceptance also encourages you to avoid consciously or unconsciously distorting the reality of your body’s size, shape, appearance, or ability.
Body neutrality is a concept that combines neutral body image and body acceptance. Body neutrality encourages you to appreciate your body for the reality of what it is while simultaneously understanding that your body is the “least interesting thing about you,” a phrase commonly used by body neutrality advocates. Body neutrality also supports the ideas that body image fluctuates and that we don’t always have to feel “good” about our bodies in order to respect and appreciate them. Sometimes body acceptance isn’t easy, especially in a world that seems determined to make us feel inadequate in our bodies.
What Is The Body Positivity Movement?
The body positivity movement is a social and political movement that advocates for the acceptance and liberation of marginalized bodies, particularly in terms of visibility and accessibility issues. The movement began with the fat acceptance, fat liberation, and civil rights movements in the 1960’s and 70’s. For more information about the origins of the movement, check out this interview with Tigress Osborn, Chair of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.
While the body positivity movement encourages everyone to practice body acceptance and to challenge systems, standards, and industries that contribute to bodily oppression, body positivity was conceived to fight for equality for marginalized groups. That remains the movement’s primary goal today.
The body positivity movement advocates for:
- increasing visibility and mainstream media representation for bodies that are not equally represented in positive, inclusive ways;
- policy solutions to accessibility and discrimination issues that impact marginalized groups of people such as disabled people, queer people, people of color, fat people, and chronically ill people;
- encouraging people within these marginalized groups to accept and celebrate their bodies regardless of societal or mainstream standards and ideals.
To learn more about body positivity advocacy, check out the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance’s stance on certain policies.
How It’s All Related
The concepts of body neutrality, body acceptance, and body image are all part of the body positivity movement, but body positivity doesn’t stand for these things alone. Body positivity is a political movement rooted in advocacy for marginalized bodies and advocacy against the industries and systems that marginalize them.
Resources For Anyone Struggling
If you or anyone you know is struggling with body image, here are some resources to help:
National Eating Disorder Association on “Developing and Modeling Positive Body Image”:
https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/developing-positive-body-img
National Eating Disorder Association Help Line:
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