In the new world of social media, voicing your true negative feelings towards your body is an invitation to a pity party and untrue "positive comments" that try to gaslight your valid feelings. In this new world, you're supposed to feel positive towards your body at all times and anything contrary to that is not acceptable.

Toxic positivity on social media can sometimes lead people to bottle up their feelings which later grows into resentment. One constant thing about our bodies is growth. It is not possible to be in love with every version of our bodies and sometimes our bodies encounter drastic changes due to accidents or even illnesses telling people to "love their body the way it is" is not feasible at all times and that's where body neutrality comes in.

Body neutrality is the act of appreciating our body as a multitude of functioning organs and not anything that should be visually appealing. The concept of body neutrality is essentially prioritizing the body's functions over its societal acceptance.

According to the New York Times, "The term body neutrality was popularised by Anne Atheway, a body image coach who wrote The Body Joyful, who began using it in 2015 to help her clients build a healthier, more in-tune relationship to food and exercise. “Body neutrality prioritizes the body’s function, and what the body can do, rather than its appearance,” she explained. “You don’t have to love or hate it. You can feel neutral towards it.”

Body neutrality asserts that our body's attractiveness does not define our worth and not being "beautiful/ideal" does not mean we should be treated lesser than others. Yes, it matters sometimes but it should not be the priority when dealing with people.

Body neutrality works for people who haven't gotten to the level of loving their bodies, especially if it is visible insecurity or their body just went through significant changes and they cannot immediately accept how the body looks. So instead of faux love for the body, it accepts the body for what it is - a multitude of organs that need to perform certain functions. It says so far the body works well and I'm living healthily, to hell with societal standards.

Furthermore, It provides respite from the exhausting pursuit of unrealistic beauty standards and focuses on healthy behaviours rather than external validation. When people decide to be involved in healthy activities, it will be for the body to get healthier rather than achieving a certain body goal. The goal is not to reduce to shed pounds to look more acceptable, rather it is to get the body to function more appropriately.

Body neutrality is not opposing the body positivity movement. While both movements aim to counteract unrealistic beauty standards and destructive body image issues, body neutrality offers its distinct perspective.

The body positivity movement first emerged in the 1960s as activism against fatphobia, seeking to dismantle the prejudiced association between weight and human value by promoting respect, dignity, and justice for people of all body sizes.

Body positivity prioritizes love and accepting the body however it is. Body positivity is pronouncing that you love your body no matter how it looks. The movement advocates that all people should have a positive body image and self-love, regardless of their body size, shape, or appearance. Its core philosophy is that everyone deserves to feel confident and happy in their own unique body. Body neutrality is not caring about it all.

However, Body neutrality is not the saviour of societal standards it poses to be. Not caring about how your body looks does not mean you will not develop negative feelings towards it. Body neutrality perpetuates a disconnect between mind and body and does not address internalized beauty biases and shame.

The thing is that body neutrality is more individualistic, unlike body positivity which seeks to alter a societal standard of what an ideal body should look like. Body positivity embodies activism and seeks to effect a positive change, but neutrality is focused on an individual against society and not caring about their appearance so far as it does not affect their well-being. Some critics have even argued that its lack of activism is silent support for harmful body standards.

To be honest, just like body positivity, it is easy to grow resentment towards your body while feeling neutral towards it.

However, One thing body neutrality emphasises is that our bodies go through changes and it's not possible to be in love with every particular stage, but the important thing is to enjoy it in whatever form it is in, try to take care of it, and not compare it to how it is supposed to look. 

Body neutrality is not going to solve the problem of body acceptance, but it's an immediate reprieve.