Body Neutrality is something I struggle with, not because I think it is bad or wrong but because Iām deeply concerned that it has been positioned as an end goal. Neutrality is not liberation. It can be a step towards it, absolutely. And itās not a failure in any sense of the word. But, we should hope for more than just neutrality, shouldnāt we? I want us to build an alternative to fat hostility and fat stigma. I want us to foster true love and celebration of our lives. I donāt want us to make perfect the enemy of good, but canāt we at least be willing to be the enemy of bad?
A cease fire is a first step. And maybe some never get past that and that is still a tremendous victory. Thatās absolutely true. But, sometimes āneutralityā is less a cease fire and more of a surrender and that is a much more fragile condition. The drumbeat of fat hostility in our world never lets up. As a community, we should be willing to be the enemy of that, but I fear we are too eager to ask for less, to want less, to be less. Too eager to accommodate an enemy that seems overwhelming. Too eager to give in.
I wished for a world where fat lives could be celebrated, but I think a lot of people donāt want to admit that they donāt want that. Not all, but certainly some people focus on body neutrality because they donāt want fat positivity. Itās not a step in the process to them. Itās not part of a continuum of resistance and liberation. And the danger is that there is no test to figure out which is which. So, I donāt have much to offer as a solution. I donāt think we should presume bad faith, but we canāt be ignorant to either. And Iāve seen a lot of bad faith over the decades from people who really just want fat people to know our place, to know we have nothing to feel positive about so that will never be an acceptable goal to them.
I just want a better future for us. There are points I thought that was possible, but now⦠I donāt know. I know Iām not going to get to see that better future at any rate, but I still want it. I want more for us. Even in just our little respites, I want us to feel like we can celebrate and enjoy our lives. I donāt want us to feel like we constantly have to be apologizing. Not even just apologizing for our bodies, but I feel like even when we get past that we are still expected to apologize for our liberation. I donāt want that for us. I want to hope we can build something else. I want to think Iām not the only one who wants that.





















