body positive phrases I’m tired of hearing
Whew…how are you doing?
Terrible? Dissociating? Cool, me too.
I know the world seems pretty dystopian, end times, and Gilead-y right now.
And honestly? I don’t have the right words to make it better.
But if I can offer any comfort, just know that my little corner of the internet will always be a safe space.
And while I can’t fix everything going on in the world, what I can do is keep challenging and disrupting all of those outdated, ableist stereotypes people have about us.
Earlier this week I shared a post on Instagram about harmful body-positive phrases.
Before posting, I asked my husband to read it — just to make sure my words were coming across the way I wanted them to.
So, I showed him the post. He read it. He said it was good. And then, after I prodded him to tell me what he really thought, he said:
"I don’t really connect with it. It doesn’t resonate with me."
And look, I wasn’t surprised. He’s a straight, white, cis, non-disabled man — not exactly my target audience or someone I’d expect to see themselves in my content.
But what did stand out to me was how different our reactions were.
These are phrases that have hurt me — and so many others with marginalized bodies — for years.
But for people whose bodies have never been questioned or excluded? They’re just words.
Some might even find them empowering. Encouraging. And if that’s you, I’m not saying you shouldn’t feel that way.
But I do think it’s important to recognize that language lands differently for different people — and that sometimes, the phrases we think of as “positive” can actually hurt others.
So let’s talk about some of those harmful phrases:
“Real women have curves.”
“Strong is beautiful.”
“I’d rather be this size than unhealthy.”
“Focus more on what your body does than how it looks.
What do all of these phrases have in common?
They try to uplift one group by stepping on another.
And they are deeply rooted in ableism and body shaming.
It’s a kind of body positivity I can’t get behind.
Instead, we need to dismantle the idea that any body type is better than another.
We need to stop centering non-disabled bodies in conversations about body positivity and body neutrality.
And we need to make sure all bodies are seen, valued, and included — without conditions.
Because if the way we talk about body acceptance still leaves people out? We’re doing it wrong.