The body positivity movement has seen tremendous growth internationally in recent years, to the point that a significant number of people know about, understand, and even support it. But more recently, the body neutrality movement has popped up as a potential alternative, adding a bit of confusion into the mix.
People are asking themselves what body neutrality is, how it’s different from body positivity, and why. So let’s answer those questions.
Body neutrality is about caring less about your body and what it looks like, accepting it for what it is but putting your focus on other, purportedly more important things. This is in contrast to body positivity, which encourages people to love and feel beautiful in their bodies no matter what they look like.
Instead of claiming that everybody is beautiful, body neutrality argues that everybody just is, and that beauty just isn’t all that important and does not make a difference to our value and worth as individuals.
While body positivity might tell you that you should look in the mirror and love what you see no matter what it is, body neutrality says that what’s in the mirror just isn’t all that important.
Which one is better? Who’s to say. Whatever works to make you feel worthy and good about yourself is ultimately the best approach for you.
