Why now, more than ever, body neutrality matters
What is body neutrality?
Body neutrality differs from the message from the body positivity movement of body acceptance and appreciation. Body neutrality focuses on adopting an accepting and non-judgmental approach to one’s body. The emphasis is taken away from appearance and focuses on the body being a vehicle for life. The messages inherent to body neutrality are:
Respect your body
Your worth is not contingent on appearance
Being liberated from the constant evaluation of ourselves
There is space for recovery, grief, aging, difference and change.
Why now?
Now, more than ever, we are bombarded with messages and media about bodies on social media. Algorithm-drive comparison culture has led to increased body surveillance, whether that be weight loss “before and after” images or “What I Eat in a Day” videos. With fitness content being portrayed as an identity rather than an activity, alongside the rise of “clean eating” trends and dangerous marketing of weight-loss injectables, it is easy to be in an echo chamber of messaging related to thinness and aesthetic “wellness”. Where “clean eating” quietly masks restrictive and disordered eating behaviours, and health becomes less about wellbeing and more about control and appearance.
The shift in online content is reflected in the rising prevalence of eating disorders. BEAT Eating Disorders Charity estimate that 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder and hospital admissions for eating disorders increased by 85% in the last 5 years (RCPsych).
Why Community is the missing piece
This year, the theme for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is Community. A lot of conversations on body neutrality focus on individual mindsets. Industries such as beauty, diet and fashion often profit from our body dissatisfaction by encouraging consumers to strive for unattainable aesthetic standards. By capitalizing on our insecurities, they create demand for products and services that promise transformation or a “fix” for our appearance insecurities. Working together, we can break the vicious cycle of body shame and relentless diet culture by promoting diverse representations and fostering body acceptance. By rejecting the messages that encourage us to buy into toxic body image standards and consume diet culture, we can collectively shift the focus from profit-driven standards to collective wellbeing.
Eating disorders thrive in isolation. Suffering in silences compounds shame and increases comparison making, further deepening the effect of the echo chamber of diet culture and toxic body image standards. As a community, we have collective power and resilience in reframing messages around body image, eating and self-worth. If we collectively model neutral language, resist from commenting on weight changes and praise traits unrelated to appearance, neutrality can be reinforced and this can lead to a culture change in how we relate to and see ourselves. To summarise, it’s easier to be neutral about our bodies when the people around you aren’t constantly evaluating theirs, or yours.
What can we do?
You may notice that many of the conversations around you or content on social media focus on weight loss or appearance. Subtle messages can suggest that your body is something that needs to be “fixed” or improved. The following practical steps can help expand this focus and gradually shift perspectives:
Re-direct compliments toward character and away from appearance
Avoid labelling food as “good” or “bad”
If you’re a parent, refrain from commenting on your children’s bodies and equating weight with health
Curate your social media feeds intentionally. Block or mute content you find triggering. Intentionally follow content that aligns with your interests rather than aesthetic-based content
Avoid diet culture bonding at work or school
Advocate for and support inclusive wellness initiatives
When you make a comment that equates worth with appearance, rather than judging yourself for this, notice this and strive to make more neutral or compassionate comments going forward
If you are interested in learning more, take a look at the BEAT website https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/
How can therapy help?
Therapy is not separate from community, it is one of the ways we build it. For many people, it is the first place their body is not evaluated. Body neutrality for many people requires unlearning years of shame, comparison making and repairing relationships with food and eating. This can be hard to do alone. Therapy can help you separate your identity from your appearance by expanding your self-worth beyond your weight and appearance and focus on developing your other values and interests, shifting focus from how your body looks to how you live. Therapy can explore and work on shame in a safe space, disrupting the isolation and secrecy body shame and eating disorders thrive in. Therapy can help you learn and practice new ways to tolerate discomfort, reducing the need to control or “fix” through restrictive or disordered eating behaviours. It provides an opportunity to notice body-checking or avoidance behaviours, shift critical self-talk to neutral and more compassionate language and build assertiveness to put in place boundaries when unwanted comments on appearance arise.
To find out more about how therapy can help, get in touch by clicking the button below.