Our culture presents a confusing array of messages about bodies, eating, and health. We see media images that promote unrealistic (and generally unreal) bodies, sensationalized news stories about “health,” and an ongoing push for perfection. This “normative discontent” reflects rampant weightism and lookism in our world. Body negativity has been a long-standing issue for many decades, but today’s culture can feel even more extreme because of often misguided social media messages and heavily edited images.

Culture isn’t the only thing that triggers negative body image and disordered eating or exercise dysfunction; however, it is a significant factor. Sonya Renee Taylor, author of The Body Is Not an Apology, argues that no one is born with body shame; it is a learned behavior and an "indoctrination" from the world around us. Sadly, body terrorism is the native language for many.

Instead of loathing our bodies and assuming we need more willpower, let’s shift our perspective to building more skillpower. We need more balanced information to challenge unrealistic ideals, reduce the glorification of flawlessness, and promote self-respect. Most importantly, shifting negative body image is not about changing the body; it is about changing one’s image of and relationship to one’s body.

Embodiment is the experience of being in one’s body, experiencing it as a source of sensation, connection, and agency rather than something to critique or fix. In the context of body image, embodiment means relating compassionately to the body........

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