Body Positivity: Definition, Quotes, & Tips

By Charlie Huntington, M.A., Ph. D. Candidate
​Reviewed by Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
We all grapple with ways we wish our bodies were different, but body positivity encourages loving our physical selves just the way we are. Read on to learn the definition of body positivity and how you can practice it in your life.
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Think for a moment about everything you put on, or into, your body to affect your health and your appearance. In a single day, it might range from an insulin injection to mascara to sunscreen to a pill that cures toenail fungus.​
Which of these daily actions are done out of self-love? Which do you engage in because you want to manage, improve, or change your body? If you’re like me, your motivation probably comes from the latter category more often than the former. You might ask the same questions regarding the food you eat and the clothes you wear. What is the intention behind these choices?

In our culture, forces internal and external draw our attention continuously to how we can “fix” our bodies to make them somehow finally acceptable. We all engage in this kind of thinking on some level – it’s so ubiquitous that it’s become ingrained, automatic.
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In American culture, it is only in the last couple generations that voices have begun to challenge the idea that our bodies are in constant need of improvement. From the feminist movement of the 1960s to movements led by Black women in the 1980s to present-day movements on social media, a new line of thinking has instead promoted body positivity (Cwynar-Horta, 2016; Darwin & Miller, 2021).
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What Is Body Positivity? (A Definition)

Body positivity has two elements: (1) the acceptance of all bodies without regard to their shape, size, or features; and (2) a focus on health and functionality instead of appearance (Cohen et al., 2019b; Sastre, 2014).
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What does this mean? Instead of limiting our understanding of our bodies to how they look, and in particular whether they meet certain expectations we commonly hold for bodies, body positivity encourages us to respect and honor the inherent value in all bodies (Sastre, 2014). Body positivity also means focusing on what our bodies can do, and placing higher value on the body’s capabilities than on whether it looks a certain way (Cohen et al., 2019b).

Opposite of Body Positivity

The opposite of body positivity is to treat the body as a pure object, whose value is determined solely by whether it looks the way it is supposed to look. This can be something others do to you, or something you do to yourself (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Being seen as an object, or seeing your own body as an object, is associated with many negative mental health and physical health outcomes (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997).

Another alternative to body positivity is called body neutrality. This approach involves simply placing less emphasis on physical appearance in the first place (Rees, 2019). It is thought that taking attention away from one’s appearance altogether will help people focus more on finding value in the rest of their being, such as their personality and the things they can do (Rees, 2019).

Body Positivity Movement

The rise of social media and its nearly constant displays of bodies both famous and “ordinary” have brought ever more attention to the way we look (Cohen et al., 2019b). In response to the increasing pressure people have felt to meet the online world’s standards and expectations for appearance, social media users began a body positivity movement, with the goal of resisting those appearance ideals and promoting acceptance of different types of bodies (Cohen et al., 2019b).

Hashtags such as #bodypositivity (and #bopo for short) have been used millions of times to promote a greater variety of body types, shapes, and sizes (Cohen et al., 2019b). These posts highlight the unique features of individual bodies, draw positive attention to parts of the body that don’t meet the “ideal” expectations, and promote caring for one’s body instead of trying to fix it (Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015).

Researchers have taken note of this trend and are investigating whether body positivity is good for your health. So far, the research is very positive, suggesting that having more body positivity is associated with better emotional and psychological well-being, mindful eating, and less exposure to media that promotes the “thin ideal” (Andrew et al., 2015, 2016; Swami et al., 2018). More to the point, multiple studies have shown that viewing body positivity media increased the likelihood people will be body positive and experience these benefits (Cohen et al., 2019a, 2019b; Rodgers et al., 2022).

Examples of Body Positivity

What are some examples of body positivity? Here are a few behaviors that researchers and social media users agree are body positive practices. I’ll be giving you examples from my own body – I hope they inspire you to think about your own unique body.

Accepting the shape and size of one’s body. Growing up, I can’t tell you how badly I wanted to be at least six feet tall. I also wanted to have long, straight, flowing hair – to fit with my dreams of being a rock star. I got a lot of relief when I finally accepted my height (definitely less than six feet!) and my hair (irrepressibly curly).

Focusing on things you like about yourself. My body is very durable. It has run marathons, endured long plane flights, and worked hard to care for and protect other people. I like the color of my arms after a long summer in the sun, the curl of my hair, the shape of my calves.

Appreciating your body despite its flaws. My feet are beat up from years of running. I often think they’re gross. But they’ve carried me everywhere and rarely complained.

Doing something nice for your body. I used to treat my body as a machine, here to do the bidding of my mind. Now I recognize it as a living thing that must be lovingly maintained. So, I put sunscreen on whenever I go out into the harsh Colorado sun. I try not to overeat and avoid putting undue stress on my stomach. I exchange massages with friends or a romantic partner to ease its stress.
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Focus on your whole person. I can’t tell you how much time I’ve wasted fretting about little imperfections in my body. If I focus on how my hairline is starting to recede or my arms looked more muscular last week, I forget about how incredibly functional my body is. It can play the guitar, climb a rock wall, cook a healthy meal, give another person my full, undivided attention.

Video: Body Positivity or Body Obsession? Learning to See More & Be More

Male Body Positivity

Most participants in the body positivity movement online have been female-identified people. But men need body positivity just as much as women do (Clay & Brickell, 2022). Just the way standards for femininity dictate expectations for how a woman’s body “should” look, expectations for a traditionally “masculine” body have long defined certain male bodies as desirable. For example, male bodies that are White, muscular, lean, and show signs of possessing economic or political power are typically portrayed as desirable (Connell, 2005).
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Male body positivity therefore has the goal of lifting up and promoting a more inclusive vision of what is masculine and what is attractive about masculinity (Anderson, 2009). In other words, male body positivity means embracing the idea that many different types of body sizes, shapes, skin colors, etc., can all be masculine (Anderoson, 2009; McCormack, 2011). Websites such as Body Positivity for Guys promote just this idea, providing a space for users to post examples of whatever they find attractive and masculine (Caruso & Roberts, 2018).

Body Positivity on Social Media

The modern body positivity movement is centered around social media accounts (Stevens & Griffiths, 2020). What do these #Bopo posts look like? Researchers have analyzed hundreds of posts on apps such as Instagram. They have noticed that almost all body positive posts feature bodies that are of a “normal” weight to obese, and that almost half of them give particular attention to aspects of the body that are traditionally considered undesirable or unattractive, such as stretch marks, stomach rolls, and cellulite (Cohen et al., 2019b).

Body positive posts also typically feature messages of acceptance and positivity. For example, they may promote acceptance of one’s body fat, or encourage viewers to enjoy physical activity, regardless of how their body looks (Cohen et al., 2019b). In addition to #Bopo, hashtags such as #healthateverysize and #fatspiration are also used to promote acceptance of one’s body (Webb et al., 2017).

Body Positivity Tips

How can you practice body positivity in your own life? Below are some tips.
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While using social media has been associated with lots of poorer psychological outcomes, this is one situation where being on social media can actually be helpful! As I noted above, looking at body positive content on social media has been associated with better psychological health in several studies. Specifically, people seem to appreciate their own bodies more and report more satisfaction with their bodies as they see more of this content (Nelson et al., 2022). It may be that people build a healthier body image over time as they view body positive content, becoming less likely to compare themselves to others in the process (Rodgers et al., 2022). So I encourage you to look at body positive content online if you would like to feel better about your body.
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Researchers have asked the question of whether all body positive media are created equal. What they have found is that messages that are pressuring or prescriptive may not be as helpful as messages that promote acceptance and encourage agency (Betz & Ramsey, 2017; Legault & Sago, 2022).

What does that mean? Let’s look at a couple examples. In a culture that promotes thinness, a post that celebrates curviness can be body positive. However, there is a difference between a caption reading “Never be ashamed of your curves” and “Sending love to all my curvy sisters out there”. Maybe you can feel the difference – the first message creates pressure to not feel shame, while the other just promotes a feeling of solidarity.

For you as a consumer of media, these research findings suggest you will be best served by looking at content that encourages you to accept yourself just as you are. Content that promotes a certain body type, even if it is pushing back against cultural standards by celebrating something that is not traditionally seen as attractive, may make you feel badly if your body doesn’t quite fit with that particular message.

Here's another tip: It might be helpful to think of your body as a “process”, not an “object” (Franzoi, 1995). There are two key aspects to this approach:

(1)  A body in process is a body that does things. It is defined by its actions, the energy it contains, its capacity to change the world. The body as an object is simply an appearance, deriving no value from what it can do.

(2)  A body in process is forever changing. My weight today is not what it will be in a week or a month. The gray hairs on my head will keep increasing. But so will my ability to rock climb as I keep training. The point? Nearly everything we judge in our bodies is impermanent. If we can accept that nothing about our bodies, neither the “good” nor the “bad”, is permanent, then we don’t have to obsess over those parts of us.

Body Positivity Quotes

​I hope the following quotes are sources of inspiration for you as you contemplate how to practice body positivity in your life.
 
  • "Since I don’t look like every other girl, it takes a while to be okay with that. To be different. But different is good." – Serena Williams
 
  • “You can’t hate yourself happy. You can’t criticize yourself thin. You can’t shame yourself worthy. Real change begins with self-love and self-care.” – Jessica Ortner
 
  • “As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, ‘I love my body’. Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, ‘I am so proud of my body.’ So I make sure to say it to my daughter because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age.” – Kate Winslet
 
  • “Everybody has a part of her body that she doesn’t like, but I’ve stopped complaining about mine because I don’t want to critique nature’s handiwork … My job is simply to allow the light to shine out of the masterpiece.” – Alfre Woodard
 
  • “I think about my body as a tool to do the stuff I need to do, but not the be all and end all of my existence.” – Lena Dunham
 
  • “I’ve made peace with the fact that the things that I thought were weaknesses or flaws were just me. I like them.” – Sandra Bullock
 
  • “If you focus on the inside, you’ll feel just as great about the outside. I feel attractive when I’m doing good and helping people.” – Keke Palmer
 
  • “We hear the term body positivity all the time. To be honest, I don’t always feel positive about my body. Sometimes I do not like what I see. I don’t sit there and dwell on it. I also don’t lie to myself.” – Demi Lovato
 
  • “I'm comfortable in my body and I don't mind putting it on display. Honestly, I like how unique it is. My big arms, my bigger hands, these long legs—I love being different. If everybody was the same, it'd be a boring-ass world.” – Brittney Griner

Articles Related to Body Positivity

Want to learn more? Here are some related articles that might be helpful.

Books Related to Body Positivity

To keep learning, here are some books to explore:​​

Final Thoughts on Body Positivity

There are countless examples of people online practicing body positivity. While I encourage you to embrace and borrow freely from other people’s creativity, you are the one and only authority on what body positivity will look like for you.  
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I want to leave you with a video that I think powerfully illustrates how many layers of editing and “fixing” we may need to peel back to become body positive. As you watch it, I encourage you to think about how early you were introduced to many of the practices of “beautifying” the body depicted in the video. If you can, be patient and gentle with yourself in your efforts to build body positivity into your life. We all have a lot of programming to undo. Every step is a victory.

Video: Dove | Reverse Selfie | Have #TheSelfieTalk

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