Most people stuck in Diet Culture feel a lot of negativity towards their body.
Their body is causing them a lot of emotional pain, and since they think about it all the time, it is taking up a lot of their emotional resources.
To solve this problem, it’s not unusual to assume that the end goal is to work towards feeling positive about your body.
It makes perfect sense, and I used to strive for this positivity too, until I found a better end goal to aspire to…
Body Neutrality
Because here’s the thing – body positivity, just like body negativity, keeps the focus on your body.
That means there’s still this “tether” between your body and your worth. It’s at least a better association, but it doesn’t really move you away from body obsession.
Even once I started seeing my body in a positive light, I still thought about it quite a bit. It was still a part of my identity.
That is until I moved into body neutrality.
When you’re in a state of body neutrality, you rarely have any feelings, thoughts, or opinions about your body.
It just IS.
It’s like an elbow or an ear – body parts we really just don’t think about.
And isn’t that the end goal – to STOP thinking about our bodies so much? That way we can move away from body obsession and free up emotional resources for better things.
But there is still a place for body positivity. I view the body image journey as 3 stages…
Body Negativity —> Body Positivity —> Body Neutrality
So yes, you might have to think about your body differently (positively) before you stop thinking about it altogether.
But the end goal is to feel at peace with your body. And that peace comes from a state of body neutrality.
Talk soon…