Why I’ve Shifted from Body Confidence to Body Neutrality

I want to share a realization I’ve had over the past year, one that has reshaped how I view both myself and my content. For a while, I was seen as a body confidence influencer. And while I understand why, and at some point, I may have even embraced that label, it was never quite right for me.

I’ve never felt fully confident in my body. I’ve just been a confident person in general. My goal was never to love every inch of myself but rather to normalize seeing a body like mine, one I rarely saw represented in media. I wanted to create space for bodies like mine to exist without the pressure of constant celebration or critique.

But over time, I realized that the labels I was using, like “midsize” or “body confidence”, started to hurt my self-image more than help it. They kept me in a space where my body was always a focal point, even when I didn’t want it to be. That’s when I started to lean into body neutrality.

For me, body neutrality means I don’t have to love or hate my body, I just get to exist in it. I don’t want my body to consume my thoughts, and I don’t want my self-worth to be tied to how I feel about it on any given day. That’s why I’ve stepped away from certain labels in my content. While I still recognize their value and use them when they serve a purpose, I don’t want them to define me.

At the end of the day, I’m just me. And that’s enough.

Xx,

Shelby