Body Neutrality: Finding Acceptance and Liberation in a Body-Focused Culture PDF
Preview Body Neutrality: Finding Acceptance and Liberation in a Body-Focused Culture
Body Neutrality This practical, accessible book teaches readers how to practice healthy body image habits and let go of an emphasis on body image through research, activities, and personal stories. Body neutrality is a body image approach focused on fnding acceptance and liberation from the body-focused culture in which we live. Body neutral- ity is a shift toward seeing our bodies as a vessel of who we are rather than as who we are. This guide is organized into thirteen chapters, each outlining a different concept of body neutrality ranging from comparison and identity to mindfulness and gratitude, inviting participation from the reader through end-of-chapter activities. For anyone aiming to release the enslaving emphasis placed on appearance in a world where body obsession has become inap- propriately “normal,” this book will provide insight and practical guidance toward freedom. Body Neutrality is for anyone struggling with self-esteem and body image issues who aims for acceptance and liberation. Eleanor Clark is an eating disorder therapist in the Indianapolis area. Operating from trauma-informed theoretical orientations, she has treated eating disorders and body image struggles in inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, and now outpatient levels of care. Body Neutrality Finding Acceptance and Liberation in a Body-Focused Culture Eleanor Clark Front cover image: Getty Images First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Eleanor Clark The right of Eleanor Clark to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Clark, Eleanor (Eating disorder therapist), author. Title: Body neutrality : finding acceptance and liberation in a body-focused culture / by Eleanor Clark. Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022029155 (print) | LCCN 2022029156 (ebook) | Subjects: LCSH: Body image. | Self-esteem. | Self-acceptance. | Self-perception. Classification: LCC BF697.5.B63 C47 2023 (print) | LCC BF697.5.B63 (ebook) | DDC 306.4/613—dc23/eng/20220921 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022029155 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022029156 ISBN: 978-1-032-22159-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-22160-1 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-27136-9 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003271369 Typeset in Baskerville by codeMantra Contents List of Illustrations vii Foreword by Claire Chewning ix 1 Introduction to Body Neutrality 1 2 The Comparison Trap 13 3 Identity Is Separate from Physicality 24 4 Mindfulness and Body Image 33 5 Most Things Are More Important than Appearance 46 6 I Release the Enslaving Emphasis I Place on My Body 54 7 Our Bodies Aren’t Meant to be “Achievements” 62 8 Body Empowerment 73 9 Body Gratitude 84 10 Body Neutrality Is a Practice, Not a Destination 92 11 You’re Allowed to Take Up Space 101 12 What Happens When You’re Body Neutral? 109 Appendix: Faith and Body Neutrality 121 Index 131 Illustrations Figure 8.1 Resilient reintegration based on Richardson’s Resiliency Model (2002) and Kite and Kite (2020) 80 Tables 10.1 Acceptance and compassion toward areas of insecurity 99 11.1 Taking up physical, emotional, and social space 107 Foreword by Claire Chewning I think it’s fair to say that one of the questions we receive most in our child- hood years is, “So … what do you want to be when you grow up?” Quite the loaded question to ask someone who has yet to even reach the double-digit age range, if you ask me. Interestingly enough, though, this was one of the few questions adults would ask me that I could confdently answer at a young age. “I like nutrition,” I would say, “I want to teach people about food and learn to cook delicious meals just like my dad does.” Fast forward a few decades and here I am as a registered dietitian (shocker, I know). Working alongside individuals to help them create healthier relationships with food and their bodies is both an honor and a privilege. However, I’d be lying if I said that my current role as a dietitian, Certifed Intuitive Eating Counselor, and business owner is exactly what I envisioned for myself when I enrolled in my frst undergraduate nutrition course. In school, I spent more hours than I care to count buried in books about human metabolism, bio- chemistry, food science, and nutrition policy (don’t even get me started on my arch nemesis, organic chemistry). While my studies of these topics undoubt- edly gave me a frm, evidence-based foundation as a nutrition professional, I can’t say they fully prepared me for what it would be like to work with actual human beings. Three words come to mind when I think of my frst year as a practicing dietitian: Big. Learning. Curve. Sure, I could recite every step of the Krebs cycle by memory (thanks, biochem), but I began to realize that book knowl- edge was effectively useless if I didn’t know how to hold space for the clients sitting in front of me with real-life questions, concerns, and limitations. What I’m about to say probably won’t come as a shock to you, my reading friend, but we humans are complicated. I quickly learned that my work as a dietitian wouldn’t be as simple as providing a list of “healthy recipes” or educating on the best sources of potassium. In order to really help my clients make long- term changes in their health, I needed to help them explore their relationships with food. Believe it or not, your relationship with food involves way more than food itself. Sure, the foods you choose to eat (or not eat) on a daily basis are part of your relationship with food. But it also encompasses your behaviors and
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