Body Neutrality - Why is it important?

We can observe a widespread dissatisfaction with one's own body in many Western countries. This discomfort and dissatisfaction with one's own body can unfortunately already be observed in teenagers.  A study conducted in Germany found that 42% of teenagers between the ages of 11 and 15 feel that their bodies are too fat. Another study from the U.S. found that 80% of U.S. women don't like how they look, and 70% of normal-weight women would like to be thinner. In the UK, one in five adults felt ashamed of their body image last year. There seems to be a general problem with how we see ourselves and what we find beautiful or even satisfying. 

Note: We present different lines of arguments from a variety of sources in an effort to create an objective and informative report on this topic. WeDress Collective aims to be an inclusive and body-neutral company that strives to ensure a realistic and diverse representation of society, moving away from any ideals of beauty.

History

The body positivity movement aims to portray all body types, sizes, physical abilities, skin colors, and genders as equally beautiful, and seeks to normalize different bodies that we don't normally see in mainstream media. The Body Positivity movement began as early as the 1850s, when women fought to have their bodies altered by corsets. In America, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance was founded in 1969 to end discrimination based on body weight and change the dialogue about obesity and health. But the movement really took off when social media became more prominent.

Impact

Through the hard work of body positivity activists, we are exposed to numerous videos and posts that teach us to love our bodies and stop chasing unhealthy beauty standards. The goal is to transform unrealistic beauty standards into a more wholesome, realistic perception. Many activists are educating their followers about the unhealthy consequences of striving for beauty standards and showing that every body type, size, physical ability, skin color, and gender is equally beautiful and should be treated as such.

In response to the movement, fashion brands are beginning to respond by showing more diversity in their campaigns and on the runways. Planning campaigns that include everyone not only impacts the company's revenue, but also the audience's mood and self-image. A study conducted in 2021 showed that viewers' self-esteem and mood improved after watching AerieReal or Dove Real Beauty campaigns. In contrast, women felt bad about themselves and their bodies after watching the Victoria's Secret campaign. And isn't it in the company's interest to make us feel better?

Criticism

There are two different types of criticism in the body positivity movement. The first comes from within its own ranks, criticizing the movement for no longer focusing solely on respecting and valuing plus-size women, but now also targeting "acceptably fat" women. The movement is increasingly associated with beautiful women with extreme hourglass shapes, who are usually white or light-skinned, have narrow waists, wide hips, and high cheekbones. Diversity and reality would thus be pushed into the background and would no longer be the focus of the movement. This is why many influencers and activists* are advocating for the spread of the term "body neutrality," as it does not only focus on the appearance of body features.

Another criticism is aimed directly at the movement itself, claiming that the glorification of "unhealthy" body types can be dangerous. The critics* argue that body positivity can become dangerous when scientific facts are ignored or twisted. They claim that the health risks associated with unhealthy eating and being overweight - and, of course, underweight - should not be ignored. Moreover, they argue that the long-term consequences of obesity are often ignored, such as type 2 diabetes, nocturnal respiratory failure, gallstones, fatty liver, hypertension, and other cardiovascular diseases.

However, critics and activists agree that no one should be discriminated against based on their appearance - whether they are overweight or underweight. That's why critics here prefer the term "body neutrality," as it helps reduce the pressure to conform to beauty standards, but also acknowledges unhealthy eating.

Conclusion

We can conclude that the body positivity movement is an important step towards a more diverse and inclusive society. However, according to critics it still focuses on appearance and mainly portrays people who still conform to a particular image of beauty, often including white women with small waists and large hips. The body neutrality movement aims to shift our focus away from our outer appearance, not to make our self-esteem dependent on our appearance and to free ourselves from the pressure of having to love our own body.

Both movements help us and the fashion industry to realize that a more real and diverse representation of society is necessary. Images, advertising and collections should follow the goal of making us feel better about ourselves, thus they have to change their strategy and show us a realistic cross section of society.