Body Neutrality and Body Positivity may have similar purposes, but which mindset you adopt will largely depend upon your goals, your lifestyle, and your perspective. Both perspectives have the goal of bucking toxic beauty standards and tearing down societal conventions of beauty.But they each have a slightly different way of approaching their goal.
So, today, we’re going to break down these two perspectives and give you some mindset suggestions for navigating your fitness journey.
Body Positivity
If you’re a woman in America you’ve likely been exposed to the body positivity movement. Born out of the work of fat-acceptance activists from the 1960s, the initial body positivity movement was focused entirely on fighting for the equality of opportunities given to all bodies. However, this is not what most people think of when they think of body positivity today. As the movement grew, so too did the way people interpreted it and now, what most people think of when they hear “body positivity” is very different.
At its heart, body positivity is focused on loving your body no matter what as a way to combat the toxic beauty standards that we’ve been taught via TV, social media, and movies. The implication is that if you’re free of this toxic pressure to be [ insert current beauty trend here] then you’ll be free to accept and love how your body presents in the world.
However, a lot of people find body positivity to be a danger zone adjacent to toxic positivity. This is because, for many people, being 100% happy with how your body looks at all times is unrealistic.
On top of that, it begs the question:
If you’re happy with your body at all times is it still okay to want to make changes? To want to become more muscular, to want to lose fat, to want to gain fat?
At what point does body positivity begin to limit the very freedom it’s fighting for?
Enter Body Neutrality.
Body Neutrality
Body Neutrality was born in response to the body positivity movement.
This perspective is focused on neutralizing your thoughts about your body so you are free from the pressure to magically love every aspect of yourself. Body neutrality allows you to take all of the things that previously felt “wrong” to truly be neutral.
Suddenly, instead of feeling guilty for disliking __ part of your body or wishing you could lose some fat, you’re allowed to say,
“I don’t love this aspect of my body, but because of what I’ve been told, that makes sense that I feel this way and that’s okay.”
Or
“I want to lose weight, and that doesn’t mean anything bad.”
Body neutrality also shifts our focus away from only examining what our bodies look like and onto what our bodies can do.
Anne Poirier, the author of The Body Joyful, defined body neutrality as,
“prioritizing the body’s function and what it can do rather than its appearance.”
Practicing this helps to train body appreciation. And body appreciation has been scientifically shown to help people establish better relationships with their bodies.
When you practice focusing on what your body does for you, what your body looks like feels less important.
What Body Neutrality And Your Fitness Journey
Your body wants you to win, so when it changes it’s usually in response to the environment it’s in or what is being asked of it.
When you are no longer holding judgment for how your body looks or for how you feel about your body, you are free to become curious about your body.
For example,
“I noticed that this month my progress has plateaued, has anything been unique about this month compared to others?”
OR,
“I wonder how I could help my body feel safe enough to continue evolving.”
Now the doors are open for you to explore what specific needs your body has and how you can provide those consistently.
This also works when you start a new training regimen.
You might say,
“Wow! I’m noticing my traps are getting quite strong, but I miss how long my neck used to look. I wonder what part of my training has built this part of my upper body so much.”
Boom. Suddenly the world is your oyster.
Want to grow a peach for the summer? Ask yourself or your coach what part of your training you might adjust to do that.
Grew that peach and found it hard to find pants that fit right? That’s okay, too!
You’re allowed to take a step back from training that muscle group and focus on other things.
With body neutrality, any fitness goal is worthwhile as long as you approach it safely.
Put It Into Action
Want to start putting this body neutrality perspective into action?
Start small.
First, allow yourself to feel how it is you feel about your body.
Return to those statements of acceptance:
“I don’t love ___ part of my body, and that’s okay.”
“I want to lose weight, and I’m not bad for wanting that.”
Next, consider what your body does for you:
“I love how strong my legs are, it’s why I am such a strong jumper.”
“I love knowing that I can run a mile without thinking twice.”
Get curious:
“I’d like to finally be able to do a pull-up, I wonder what I’d have to adjust in my training to make that goal happen.”
“I’ve been lifting weights a long time, I’m curious to see if I could lose a little fat to reveal more of that new muscle tone.”
Lastly, remember that your body does not bear weight on your inherent value as a person, dancer, or professional:
“No matter what, I am kind, and I love that about myself.”
“I’m great at fostering community. I love hosting my friends and making them feel welcome in my home and that has nothing to do with my body.”
Body neutrality is a fantastic stepping stone toward rebuilding your relationship with your body.
And if you want help establishing this perspective, shoot us an email at dancerswholift@gmail.com. We’d love to give you tools to jump-start your body neutrality journey and cheer you on along the way.
Want to read more on the DWL blog? Here are three articles we think you’ll love: Eight Ways to Promote Faster Recovery, Flipping the Script of Negative Self-Talk, How to Track Macros Like a Pro
