Is Body Neutrality The New Body Positivity?

How many times have you been told to ‘love’ your body for what it is? But, a new movement says we should just ‘accept’ it, with all its flaws, without adoring or loathing it. Cosmo guest columnist Priya-Alika Elias makes a strong case for why it may be time to alter the discourse and the perception.

- Priya-Alika Elias

''I can’t remember loving my body. I don’t think I ever have. I have spent a lifetime at war with my body. I have been hammering away at it since I was a teenager, trying to beat it into a more pleasing shape. I wanted sinewy arms, more boyish hips, a flatter belly... I wanted my body to submit to my will. And when it didn’t, I hated it with enough passion to kick-start an engine.

When I discovered the body positivity movement, I should have been exhilarated. Here, finally, was an alternative. I was being given the permission to reject the steady stream of messages that I had received all this while...messages to be thin. We were told to love our ‘problem areas’, to embrace our cellulite, to cherish our spots, saggy skin, and stretch marks as one might a beloved friend.