No.No longer a question of size and not even of accepting oneself regardless because society requires it. But to make peace with your body for what it is, simply. Maybe not a an easy concept but, if not revolutionary, certainly innovative. Because in recent years women have been pulled from one side to the other, disputed between a perfect physical shape, with the myth of entering a certain size, and the idea of body positivity, that is, accepting oneself at all costs even when perhaps one is not so comfortable in one’s shoes. And it is from this point of view that for many the movement has failed, leaving room for body neutrality. On the other hand, even if Victoria Beckham, who has always been a champion of thinness bordering on excessive, has declared that the important thing is to feel good about yourself, perhaps something is really changing.
Body Neutrality, a new relationship – finally of peace – with your body
In a very recent interview given by Victoria Beckham to Grazia, the British designer says that being too thin is “old fashioned”, linked to an old conception of fashion. Not only but “modern women want to look healthy and curvy, they want to have breasts and bottoms. I see a lot of them along the beach in Miami. Showing their bodies with confidence is really liberating, ”she commented.
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And in fact it seems that women are overcoming some visions that have always influenced their relationship with the body, first of all body positivity. In fact, now we have gone further, adopting a more “liberating” attitude, that of body neutrality: “We encourage you to put less emphasis on your physical appearance, to get to promote well-being and allow you to channel the energy expended to monitor and modify your body towards other purposes. As Dr. Anna Poirier argues, you don’t need to be bound to love or hate your body, you can be neutral about it.. For this the body neutrality is like a ‘white flag’, an intermediate concept” explains Maria Zaccagnino – EMDR psychotherapist.
The limits of body positivity
An evolution towards body neutrality that highlighted the limits of body positivity “If at the beginning it was born as a movement that emphasized a positive body image, associated with greater psychological, social and emotional well-being, with behaviors that promoted health in stark contrast to the unrealistic ideals of thinness of the 1990s, over time this concept has also come to the detriment of women and the perception has changed»Comments the expert. In fact, it emerged that also in this case the relationship with one’s body must always be at the center of the individual to the detriment of other aspects of life «Not only that, but the body positivity is based precisely on a unconditional and necessary love, with a high risk of experiencing feelings of failure or anxiety in those who fail to reach it “explains the psychotherapist.
«As he pointed out Autumn Whitefield-Madrano in the book Face Value: The Hidden Ways Beauty Shapes Women’s Lives, the problem with excessive “body love” is the request to women to regulate emotions and not just the bodies. The pressure on them doesn’t seem to easeon the contrary, a particularly high estimate of one’s value and an absence of other normal and real emotions are required ». In other words, women are no longer asked to be thin but to accept themselves regardless of their feelings.
What does it mean to be body neutrality
It is in this extreme panorama that the body neutrality movement was bornthat is to consider the body as one of the many parts of oneself «consider it as one of our components e not as if it were the totality of what represents uswithout dominating the feelings we feel ». From this point of view, therefore, the value of a person does not pass either from the body itself or from the relationship one has with it but by the person as a whole.
«It has been estimated that distracting attention from one’s appearance can reduce dissatisfaction, the use of strict diets that are harmful to health, to the point of potentially seeing a reduction in the incidence rates of eating disorders. It is obviously reasonable that if someone is overweight they may experience the desire and need to lose it in order to achieve better health. But it’s about moderation and being rooted in reality instead of avoiding the problem or getting obsessed ».
Not only that, but “effects on anxiety reduction and mood improvement have been hypothesized. Indeed, avoiding thoughts and behaviors of criticism towards one’s own body would allow to avoid anxietythe feelings of loss of control, hope and sadness that derive from it ». Body neutrality means no longer associating happiness with one’s body but living the relationship with oneself more calmly.
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