Making Space for Body Neutrality
By Courtney Hooks (CMC ‘23)
While body positivity aims to create unconditional love and acceptance of our bodies, it fails to address the deeper issue. Body positivity itself can only exist within the context of body objectification, in which our bodies define who we are.
Many people grapple with body dissatisfaction, but the Church has largely ignored their pain. Secular culture has responded with ideas like body positivity and body neutrality, while the Church has failed to recognize that the Bible discusses body acceptance at great length and prefigures many of the movement’s goals. This emotional toll faced by Christians and non-Christians alike should be grounds for the Church to enter the conversation on body acceptance and neutrality, providing a missing religious lens.
Contemporary media gives conflicting ideas about body positivity. The current conversation revolves around prominent figures like Tess Holiday and Lizzo. These women are at the forefront of the movement and serve as proponents for size inclusion and open dialogue on fatphobia. Unfortunately, the movement has strayed from its original goal of inclusivity for all marginalized bodies and has been overshadowed by celebrity culture. Critics decry the toxicity of obsessively loving our bodies no matter what and recognize that this idea does more harm than good. Supporters see it as a victory and a necessary step toward size inclusion in popular media.
My greatest concern with the body positivity movement is not its ambiguity in secular media but its fundamental goal. It misses the mark. While body positivity aims to create unconditional love and acceptance of our bodies, it fails to address the deeper issue. Body positivity itself can only exist within the context of body objectification, in which our bodies define who we are.
The solution is body neutrality. Unlike body positivity, body neutrality is about dismantling society’s expectations — such as wondering why you feel you can’t leave the house without shaving or makeup or why you feel ashamed to dress in a way not recommended for your size. Body neutrality prompts us to consider what value we have beyond our appearance. Neutrality asserts that our looks are only a small part of who we are and are not why those around us care for and love us.
Four years ago, I began my journey of body neutrality and experienced a transformative improvement in my mental and physical health. I started with a simple thought: “How would I feel about cutting off all of my hair?” Hair plays a vital role in female beauty, especially in my Black community, where women spend hours each day styling their braids, twists, locks, and curls to perfection. But hair, for me, was less culture and more a crutch.
Freshman year of high school was the height of my social anxiety and the nadir of my body confidence. I always sat in the back of the classroom and wished that I didn’t look or act the way I did. I hated it. So after a rough year, I used the summer to launch a personal journey. I needed to confront my biggest fears: being seen and being judged. I needed a catalyst, something that wouldn’t allow me to back down from this challenge.
So I decided to cut my hair. That way, I could no longer hide behind my hair or use it to blend in. With my mind made up, I asked my mom to take me to the barber at the beginning of the summer.
The first weeks were a rough adjustment period. Cutting off my hair forced me to confront many internalized notions of beauty that I didn’t know I had. I found myself balancing a “masculine” haircut with a “feminine” style by purchasing more dresses and earrings to compensate for losing my “feminine” presentation. It took a few more weeks to realize that I was not on the right track — I had just swapped out one insecurity for another.
After this realization, I had to revisit why I cut my hair in the first place, which was to gain confidence and become more comfortable with being seen. Even as I was struggling with my outward appearance, my social anxiety decreased tremendously. I could look people in the eyes when speaking, I could ask questions in class, and I stopped sitting in the back of the classroom. I initially cut my hair to address anxiety with one part of my appearance, but I learned that I should never have placed such value on my appearance in the first place.
I began to apply this way of thinking to other areas of my life where my looks occupied an unwanted position, and I experienced new confidence and personal growth. It was like an unbearable weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I could finally move freely in the world without a mountain of unspoken expectations weighing me down.
In the four years that I have incorporated body neutrality into my life, I have only recently begun to ask how body neutrality fits into my Christian journey. I believe I have made it painfully clear why I should be advocating for body neutrality as a woman and someone who struggles with body image. But why should I, as a Christian, care about body neutrality? Why should any Christians care about a secular movement?
Most of the meager messaging from the Church about our relationship with our bodies has been damaging and shame-inducing. The Church has preached something closer to body detachment, claiming only our souls matter and that the well-being of our bodies pales in comparison. This narrative ignores a lot of secular culture’s progress on these topics and neglects that the Bible affirms body neutrality and body respect. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God says:
“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
The core of body neutrality is to move away from judging ourselves and others on appearance and towards finding greater value in other aspects of our lives. Just as God doesn’t judge us for our appearance, we have no reason to judge ourselves and should instead look at the heart.
I believe there is space in the Church for a healthy dose of body neutrality. I’m certain that God has told us to make it. Sometimes, I forget that the “Church” isn’t a building; it is the people that make up the Church. If God’s word discusses body neutrality, why can’t the Church dismantle long-standing narratives of body detachment and follow suit? The case for body neutrality is grounded in the sentiment that We respect our bodies and what they do for us, and we leave it be. God wants this for us. We should too.
