Your "Recovery Body" in the Face of Body Positivity and Body Neutrality
Written by CCTC Staff Writer
Body positivity and body neutrality have been thrown under the spotlight — and under a microscope — in the past few years. These concepts have shown up as hashtags, as blog post topics, and as a way to create space for discussion.
Body positivity fueled the first waves of social movement, a moment meant to completely overhaul the way we feel, experience, and talk about our bodies. But it has its faults.
The body neutrality movement is quickly taking over the online conversation surrounding body perception. Both of these concepts affect individuals with body image problems, and people with an eating disorder, in big ways.
Read on for answers to all your body positivity vs. body positivity questions, including:
What is body neutrality and body positivity?
Why are they so popular now?
What are the positive and negative impacts of each?
Is there a "right way" to feel about your body?
How do body positivity and body neutrality impact body image and eating disorder recovery?
Most importantly, for people in the grips of an eating disorder and for those in recovery, know that you don't have to love your body to love eating disorder recovery.
Body Positivity: What is it, historically and in the age of influencer culture?
The idea of body positivity can actually be split into two parts: what pop culture thinks it is, and what it's actually supposed to be.
On the surface, body positivity appears to mean that you should love your body as it is, and for what it does. According to the standard "self-love" and self-acceptance attached to body positivity, you shouldn't feel the need to change yourself, either. But originally, body positivity, and the body positivity movement, was developed by and for people in marginalized bodies.
The movement created space for people in these marginalized groups to discuss how their bodies and identities kept them under oppression. It was rooted in social justice and demanded that those in larger bodies — and later on, people in all marginalized bodies — be treated with the same respect that people in more "acceptable" bodies (read: thin, young, white, abled) were.
Related: There are many reasons eating disorders are underdiagnosed in Black women, not just the eating disorder stereotype. Read about all of them here.
The Body Positivity Movement Becomes a Trend
As time went on, and social media took over, the body positivity movement spun out, and kind of lost its roots.
Everyone wanted "in" on what had become a trend: influencers looking to increase their following hopped on the trend, companies looking to expand their potential market, brands that wanted more exposure.
Influencers using hashtags related to the body positivity movement grew increasingly homogeneous, essentially pushing out the very marginalized bodies that the movement was intended for.
Companies, especially clothing brands, caught onto the trend and started using "plus size" influencers. Most of them were white, with an hourglass figure, and not usually more than a size 14 (which is where plus size clothing starts for a lot of brands.)
People showed their "real" bodies, their "real" flaws. But, especially online, there is still this sense of performance, of having the "right kind" of imperfections. So while body positivity is not necessarily a bad thing on its own, we have to recognize who's telling the larger narrative about where bodies fit into a society. And we have to recognize who should be having the important conversations.
People in marginalized bodies need the space to speak for themselves about the struggles they face. They need a place to make themselves heard, and to enjoy a sense of community centered on the idea that your body is lovable right now. Even if your body doesn't "fit into" the general idea of a "good body", you have a good body.
But the difficulties of the body positive movement don't end with representation (or lack thereof.)
Being body positive is a radical act — and for some people, it's an unattainable one.
In a society where only a few body types are valued and companies profit from you hating your body, loving it is a radical act. But for many people, it's an unattainable act — at least unattainable for now. This isn't a bad thing. Some people are just not in the position to love every single part of themselves.
But the body positive movement doesn't really give people space to express their negative thoughts about their body. In fact, many people in body positive spaces have felt ashamed of their negative body thoughts. And at some point, people unable to "love" every single part of their body have felt like they don't have a place in the movement.
Body Neutrality: What is it and why do we need it?
The concept of body neutrality was born, in part, out of the exhaustion that comes with "loving your body" all the time.
Body neutrality is the idea that:
You do not have to love your body. You just have to accept it.
All your thoughts about your body, both the positive and negative ones, are worthy, but do not define you.
Your body is the least interesting thing about you. You are so much more than your external features.
Our bodies are worthy not because they are beautiful, but because of what they allow us to do.
And what do our bodies allow us to do? They allow us to be ourselves — and you, right now, are enough.
The Body Neutrality Movement: Give yourself the space to feel your feelings, then practice acceptance.
While loving your body is wonderful, it really can be hard to always feel fantastic about yourself, and to show everyone that you feel this way.
Sarah Nicole Landry, a famous influencer at the forefront of the initial wave of body positivity, put it best in an interview about loving her postpartum body:
"Body positivity was this place of warm acceptance; you could look however it was that you looked, and still be accepted. But it was also difficult, because then I was like, 'Where do all the bad thoughts go?'"
With body neutrality, you are allowed to have negative thoughts about your body. You do not have to constantly work to love your body. Every photo doesn't have to be beautiful or brave.
You just happen to live in a body. Maybe you're not happy with it. But you don't hate it, either. You just live in it. It allows you to do the things you really care about, and (hopefully) to live in peace.
Related: Not sure who you are or what you care about outside your eating disorder? Read this.
Critiques of Body Positivity and Body Neutrality
Lack of Movement Towards Change
Both movements focus on an inward shift in judgment of our bodies. But neither really address, let alone challenge, how our bodies are perceived by others.
These movements are so focused on the self that we don't look at the bigger picture. We don't think about how to change the larger social forces causing us to either hate ourselves or face oppression just for existing in a marginalized body.
Ableism
Both body positivity and body neutrality put forth the idea that you should accept your body not because of beauty standards, but because it is strong, healthy, and can do things for you. But what about those in disabled bodies?
If body acceptance movements ask you to appreciate your body because of its physical abilities, are disabled folx included in them? Neither movement really addresses this critique.
The real point of these movements can mean more than physical looks or movement. Accepting your body can be simply acknowledging that it exists, and moving on to appreciating completely nonphysical aspects of yourself and your life. And just about everyone can find something they like about themselves that had absolutely nothing to do with physical appearance or movement.
You might be a kind person, loyal friend, talented singer, imaginative writer, or any number of things. You can totally appreciate your body at whatever level of ability you are at. But also know that your worth is not measured by how "pretty" you are or how far you can run (or whether you have that ability at all.)
Let's talk about your eating disorder "recovery body"
If you are anywhere near eating disorder recovery social media, then you have probably heard of the term "recovery body." Most of the time, this term is used by and for individuals who gained weight in recovery. However, it's important to note that not everyone with an eating disorder loses weight.
And not everyone in eating disorder recovery gains weight.
People who go through dramatic weight gain as part of the healing process do not represent the majority of individuals in recovery. Everyone in recovery has a "recovery body." And almost everyone with an eating disorder needs to make peace with their recovery body. They might accept it through body positivity, body neutrality, or something else.
Related: This is why everyone with a restrictive eating disorder has to gain weight in recovery, no matter what their "low weight" is.
Do you need to have positive body image in recovery?
Some people in eating disorder recovery easily fall in love with their bodies. They celebrate it's return to health, the glow that comes along with proper nourishment and improved mental health, the greater levels of access to the things they want to do.
But for other people, especially those who recover into larger bodies, it's much harder to celebrate their return to health. That's because people who recover into a smaller or straight-sized body are applauded for their return to health. Those who were not clinically underweight while in the depths of their eating disorder are often frowned upon, or outright criticized, for growing into the body they were meant to be in.
Recovery is different for everyone.
Most people with eating disorders have body image issues, so it can be hard for everyone to start loving a body that you spend so long hating.
But a lot of people who recover into larger bodies really just don't feel like loving a body that society makes so much harder to live in. So, whether you are in a more "conventional" or a marginalized body, you should just start with accepting your recovery body as it is. Then you can work on loving it, or not — you don't have to love it.
Your recovery is not really about gaining love for your body. It's about gaining back your life.
Related: This is what body checking is, why it's harmful, and how to stop.
You don't have to love your "recovery body" to love your recovery.
In the beginning of recovery, your body will probably feel more foreign to you than ever. You may never really "love" your body. But that's okay.
Your recovery is not about how your body changes throughout your life. It's about being able to enjoy special moments with those you love, learning what you want to learn, experiencing the things you want to experience.
And it's about making peace with yourself.
You don't need to love your body, and neither does anyone else, for you to have a full, happy life.
If you or a loved one is suffering from an eating disorder, take the first step today and talk to someone about recovery or simply learn more about the holistic eating disorder recovery programs we offer.