Body Positivity vs Body Neutrality, How Body Neutrality ideas make even more sense during COVID?

Bodies. The shape. The size of the body. The appearance. The Colour. How we look. All of these have been factors that have been used to police the body image of people. These are the parameters that society and even individuals have been fixing for themselves, shaping the idea of an ideal body. And breaking this analogy, there come the body acceptance movements. The movement started with the idea of body positivity. And now, the need is to shift the focus on body neutrality, another body acceptance movement. And perhaps, the need amid the COVID crisis is to follow body neutrality, the idea of being thankful to your body for carrying you safely through this disaster. But before discussing the change in the advocacy, let’s discuss body positivity vs body neutrality.

Consider these phrases to understand Body Positivity vs Body Neutrality

Body Positivity: All people should be able to love their bodies as they are.
Body Neutrality: Your appearance doesn’t define your value.

Body Positivity: Your body is beautiful regardless of what society says.
Body Neutrality: It can be hard for you to love your body and how you look on some days which is okay. But instead of focussing on how your body looks, start focussing on what all your body does for you.

Body Positivity: Stretch marks are beautiful, acne or dark circles are beautiful.
Body Neutrality: Stretch marks, acne or dark circles are not beautiful but are human. That to be a beautiful human, this doesn’t matter.

Body positivity vs Body Neutrality: Definitions

What is Body Positivity?

Body positivity is the belief that everyone deserves a healthy body image, regardless of how society and mass culture polices bodies. The major goals that body positivity tries to achieve are challenging society’s perceptions of the body, encouraging the inclusion of all bodies, and assisting people in developing self-acceptance and trust in their own bodies by challenging stereotypical body expectations. The movement had its origins in the late 1960s fat acceptance movement. Fat inclusion aims to put an end to the practice of fat bullying and bigotry against people who are overweight or obese.

What is Body Neutrality?

Body Neutrality means having a neutral attitude about your body. It requires letting go of the notion that you either need to develop respect towards it or make an attempt to love it on a daily basis. It is perspective that many of the vital organs that keep you alive and functioning are housed in your body. It also houses your mind, heart, and spirit, which are the elements that form your personality and self-identity and help you become the person you are. So, what you need is to have gratitude towards your body.

How Body Neutrality seems more relevant during the pandemic?

The whole idea of body neutrality is to be thankful to the body for carrying you through a day. It is the idea that maybe your body is not looking beautiful today, but it is making you survive a disaster, like that of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the view if you are resting an extra hour today, it is the calling of your body, which has been helping you deal with all the negative news around. It is about listening to your body. For many, the pandemic has been a story of gaining weight, having irregular eating habits etc. Where body positivity ideas can frame it with loving the overweighing body, and accepting it has beautiful, body neutral approach will shape it as human. It won’t impose on you to love it. But it will help you accept and normalize it, as, amid the pandemic, your body is going through a lot, and to be functional, an extra pound of weight should not matter.