Every time I scroll through my TikTok “For You” page, I’m hit with a wave of videos all promoting body positivity. It’s always a girl posing in front of a mirror showing off her bloat, or saying how her “stretch marks are tiger stripes” or that her curves are beautiful. And while these videos are certainly heartwarming, they can often be isolating.
Body dysmorphia is an unsurprisingly common issue in society today. According to Cleveland Clinic, roughly 2% of the United States population struggles with body dysmorphia and negative body image. With the constantly changing trends in fashion and appearance, boys and girls alike do everything that they can to keep up. Some realize that there is no way one can constantly change, and learn to be happy with who they are and what they look like. But for others, the struggle with body image can take over their life and change their world.
For people who have struggled with body image in the past, it’s difficult to wake up one day and say “I unapologetically love my body!” The self-sabotaging thoughts that come with body dysmorphia – or even ones that occur regularly in everyone – don’t just go away overnight. This is why the body positivity movement is so difficult for some people and can even turn toxic.
Instead of trying to promote unconditional positive love for our bodies, maybe we should instead learn acceptance – in the form of body neutrality. Body neutrality allows us both good days and bad days, days where we love our body and days where we don’t like it as much. It realizes that we are human, and we have our lows where we can’t find any sort of positivity.
I think body neutrality is much more inclusive and understanding, and promotes the idea that it’s okay to not love your body 100%.