Author Describes Shift From Body Positivity to Body Neutrality

Jasper Peach states that body neutrality replaced an earlier focus on body positivity in their approach to self-perception. The change followed years of messages received in childhood and adulthood about weight and social acceptance. Peach recalls being told at age seven that they were too fat to skip rope. A parent later said that body shape would limit prospects for love, trust, and employment.

The essay places these events in the era of Weight Watchers, Aerobics Oz Style, and heroin-chic imagery. Peach notes that body mass index was presented at the time as an objective standard. Body positivity entered mainstream discussion in the 2010s. Peach reports that the movement initially offered relief from prior criticism but later became associated with commercial imagery.

Peach defines body neutrality as treating statements about size as factual descriptions without added judgment. The essay links this view to preferences for literal language and to parenting choices that avoid forced positivity or shame. Peach cites scientist Emma Beckett on the role of genetics, environment, and economics in body size variation.

A recent exchange with a nine-year-old child is presented as an example of neutral language in use. "My Body is My Home" by Jasper Peach, illustrated by Beci Orpin, was published by Allen & Unwin.