Body neutrality: what is the alternative response to body positivity

In recent years, social networks and the web have become fertile ground for the birth of alternative ideas also as regards the world of beauty and aesthetic standards. A very successful movement is that of body positive, designed to encourage the appreciation of each body by going against the impossible ideals that society continually offers us. However, recently another concept is receiving positive opinions, namely that of body neutrality.

Let's find out what it is all about and why, under different aspects, Anne Poirer's thought turns out to be a winning answer to body positivity.

What is body neutrality?

What we could define as the movement of body neutrality was born from the thought of Anne Poirer. The life coach started presenting her ideas about it in 2015, through numerous workshops and conferences. At the center of body neutrality there is not the appreciation of the body from an aesthetic point of view, but its neutrality. In fact, the body is taken into consideration only for its vital functions, thus relieving itself of all those canons of beauty that are normally used to analyze it. In this way, the notions of size, shape, skin type and the like are lost, because a neutral vision is in force.

In a short time, body neutrality has met with a lot of support, even in the world of celebrities. For example, the British actress Jameela Jamila is a great supporter of the movement. I Weigh. Along with her, the name of Taylor Swift stands out. The American pop star revealed that she embraced the concept of physical neutrality in an "interview with The Guardian" because many times she herself felt humiliated in being judged as a woman by her body and not by her talent or career.

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Body neutrality vs body positivity

But what are the differences between the concept of body neutrality and that of body positivity? In reality, the starting assumptions of the two movements were similar, but over time the positive thinking of the body took a drift that sanctioned a profound break between the two. But let's go in order.

The idea of ​​body positive was born with the intention of loving one's body regardless of how it looks. We are surrounded by Instagram posts and media images where we only see perfect, toned and slender bodies. The message that has been transmitted for years is that of "thin equals beautiful", while "fat is synonymous with ugly". Hence the origin of themes such as the body shaming or the self loathing. Body positivity was born as a response to all this. It promotes an "inclusion, more or less effective, of any size, of any physical form, of the various types and colors of the skin and has even spoken of the" acceptance of gender fluid.

However, in recent years, body positivity has mainly focused on "beauty and weight, becoming a marketing strategy. In fact, most people associate this concept with phrases like"I love my body even if it's not perfect"and here lies his biggest limitation that we will see better later.

As Anne Poirer herself explains, body neutrality removes any canon of beauty and does not force one to love one's body. On the contrary, it puts it at the center seeing it as a "device" that allows us to perform actions every day, from the smallest and most trivial to the most important ones. For example, thanks to our body we can take a walk in the middle of nature, we can hold a child in our arms and even enjoy our favorite dish. So, what changes the focus: it shifts the attention from what one's body looks like and from the almost forced acceptance of seeing it in a positive way to focus on all the things it allows us to do.

The limits of body positivity

In a world where body shaming and fat loathing are still too present, it may seem absurd to speak of a failure on the part of body positivity. However, already summing up the fulcrum of that philosophy, we have glimpsed how the drift taken by this movement has also shown its limits. The most important criticisms were highlighted by journalist Rachel Hawley in her article entitled I Don "t Feel Positive About My Body - And I Shouldn" t Have To. Hawley started from a fundamental premise: Why are so many people, both men and women, not comfortable with their bodies? This question was deepened by Andrea Long Chu with "another consideration: why is it necessary to be body positive at all costs?

«I can't stand body positivity, I can't stand it at all. It's anathema to me. It is moralizing. The reason is that I can't stand it because I feel involved, because what it says is that my contempt for myself, and I mean my own, is the result of a lack of awareness ».

Therefore, if initially, body positivity was born not so much to force us to accept our body but to ease the social pressures on it, now it seems to many people just a marketing strategy, which pushes to love any body "also if "does not conform to standards. It is right behind that "even if" that the real problem lies: the personal judgment of each one and having to accept oneself even if one does not like it.

On the contrary, body neutrality allows us the freedom not to have the love of our body as a rule, but to work on one's personal vision to really feel better.

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How to implement the concept of body neutrality

Embracing body neutrality means upsetting our habits and the vision we have of ourselves. In this sense, Elizabeth Wassenaar, psychiatrist and medical director of the Eating Recovery Center in Denver, said she starts from a premise: imagine the life you want without external conditioning. To achieve this, it is essential to listen to the messages your body sends you and to be grateful when it allows you to perform certain actions. For example, after a tiring walk in the mountains it is right to take a day off and nourish yourself in such a way as to recover the energy needed to feel good. By doing so, you will no longer look at your body from an aesthetic point of view but from that of its vital functions.

Implementing body neutrality does not mean accepting your body in all respects without wanting to change it: the important thing is to recognize that those physical changes are not the primary source of happiness because it coincides only with being comfortable with yourself and being healthy.