55+ Quotes About Body Positivity, Acceptance, & Neutrality To Reframe Your Body Image

When was the last time you looked at yourself in the mirror and totally — and legitimately — loved your body? Or, at the very least, accepted it? Probably not as often as you should. A recent study shows that a vast majority of people feel dissatisfied with their bodies, and the pandemic only seems to have amplified that. "When it comes to our bodies, we are fed a narrative from a young age that can easily lead to a mentality of comparison and perfectionism," Elizabeth Endres and Dale (Borchiver) Stabler of Sweats & The City tell Scary Mommy. These sorts of body image issues can affect mental health in many ways, manifesting as everything from anxiety to depression. And while there's no simple solution here, body acceptance and body positivity quotes help reframe negative thoughts so you can approach your body "from a place of love, and not one of resentment and punishment," as Endres and Stabler put it.

Learning how to love or accept your body can be a process, including possibly working with a mental health professional or wellness expert on your body image issues. Of course, it’s important to note that body image is highly nuanced. As Lizzo pointed out on TikTok in April 2021, body positivity should “protect and uplift the bodies it was created for and by” — and that isn’t always true for marginalized bodies. Enter: body acceptance and body neutrality. These terms acknowledge that you don’t have to be unconditionally thrilled with your body at all times. It’s OK to not always feel OK with the body you have (body acceptance). And it’s perfectly valid to want to just exist in your body (body neutrality). These movements are about normalizing *all* bodies, acknowledging our complicated relationships with our own bodies, and doing the work to stop telling some people — especially fat, disabled, trans, undocumented, and/or BIPOC people — that their bodies are wrong.

So, yes, body image is complex, and inspirational quotes aren’t a quick-fix solution to all the problems surrounding this conversation. But, on a personal level, reading the following quotes may serve as a great reminder to look at yourself lovingly or to simply receive the body you see in the mirror. "We are so much more than how our bodies look, and the real win is when we truly feel confident in our skin and take care of ourselves out of compassion and self-love," emphasize Endres and Stabler.

Reframe the Way You Look at Your Body With These Quotes

• “And I said to my body softly, ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath and replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this.’” — Nayyirah Waheed
• "You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens." — Louise Hay
• “I say I love myself, and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s so brave.’ ... For what? All I said is ‘I love myself,’ b*tch!”
• "If you focus on the inside, you'll feel just as great about the outside. I feel attractive when I'm doing good and helping people." — Keke Palmer
• "Step away from the mean girls and say bye-bye to feeling bad about your looks. Are you ready to stop colluding with a culture that makes so many of us feel physically inadequate? Say goodbye to your inner critic and take this pledge to be kinder to yourself and others." — Oprah Winfrey
• "To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven. Don't wait until you die. If you wait, you die now. If you love, you live now." — Alan Cohen
• "Since I don't look like every other girl, it takes a while to be OK with that. To be different. But different is good." — Serena Williams
• "Don't surrender all your joy for an idea you used to have about yourself that isn't true anymore." — Cheryl Strayed
• "Be happy in your own skin. If you are unhealthy, start by making small changes to become healthier. You are unique, beautiful, and worthy." — Octavia Spencer
• "You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress, simultaneously." — Sophia Bush

“And I said to my body softly, ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath and replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this.’” — Nayyirah Waheed

• "Your body. Your diet. Your life. It isn't perfect. It never will be. But it's real. It's honest. It's beautifully flawed. And totally magical." — Nicola Jane Hobbs
• "Just because we have acne, tummy rolls, and chaffing thighs doesn't mean we need to be fixed. Period." — Mik Zazon
• "To love yourself as you are is a miracle, and to seek yourself is to have found yourself, for now. And now is all we have, and love is who we are." — Anne Lamott
• “Everybody has a part of her body that she doesn’t like, but I’ve stopped complaining about mine because I don’t want to critique nature’s handiwork. My job is simply to allow the light to shine out of the masterpiece.” — Alfre Woodard
• “Your body is the piece of the universe you’ve been given, the place where love and joy and grief happen, where happiness unfolds. Do you really want to keep believing that it’s a horrible, ugly, lumpy thing?” — Geneen Roth
• "To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself." — Thich Nhat Hanh
• "The best gift you are ever going to give someone? The permission to feel safe in their own skin." — Hannah Brencher
• "Your self-esteem won't come from body parts. You need to step away from the mirror every once in a while and look for another reflection, like the one in the eyes of the people who love you and admire you." — Stacy London
• "People often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder." — Salma Hayek
• "Stop trying to fix your body. It was never broken." — Eve Ensler
• "Don't waste so much time thinking about how much you weigh. There is no more mind-numbing, boring, idiotic, self-destructive diversion from the fun of living." — Meryl Streep
• "Hating our bodies is something that we learn, and it sure as hell is something that we can unlearn." — Megan Jayne Crabbe
• "Take your time and your talent and figure out what you have to contribute to this world, and get over what the hell your butt looks like in those jeans!" — America Ferrera
• "I don't want to wait until I'm 73 to embrace my body. To look back and think of my beauty: How did I miss it? Let's not wait another moment." — Ashley Asti

“Treat your body like it belongs to someone you love.” — Elayna Fernandez

• “As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, ‘I love my body.’ Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, ‘I am so proud of my body.’ So, I make sure to say it to my daughter, because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age.” — Kate Winslet
• “So, the question is, which boulder are you going to roll? The ‘must lose weight’ boulder, or the ‘f*ck you, I will boldly, defiantly accept the body I’ve got and live in it’ boulder?” — Kate Harding
• "In order to find real happiness, you must learn to love yourself for the totality of who you are and not just what you look like." — Portia de Rossi
• "The most powerful thing anyone can say to us is what we say to ourselves." — Christine D'Ercole
• "If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: Who cares?" — Tina Fey
• "Stop spending all day obsessing, cursing, perfecting your body like it's all you've got to offer the world. Your body is not your art; it's your paintbrush." — Glennon Doyle
• “The most important day is the day you decide you’re good enough for you. It’s the day you set yourself free.” — Brittany Josephina
• "Each individual woman's body demands to be accepted on its own terms." — Gloria Steinem
• “Apologize to your body. Maybe that’s where the healing begins.” — starting
• “All bodies are good bodies.” — Unknown
• “No, I’m not a snack at all, baby. I’m the whole damn meal.” — Lizzo
• "Weight loss does not make people happy. Or peaceful. Being thin does not address the emptiness that has no shape or weight or name. Even a wildly successful diet is a colossal failure because inside the new body is the same sinking heart." — Geneen Roth
• "The reality was my life wasn't miserable because I was curvy; I was miserable because I thought I'd be happier if I were thinner." — Brittany Gibbons
• "My weight? It is what it is. You could get hit by a bus tomorrow. It's about being content. And sometimes other priorities win." — Melissa McCarthy
• "Your body is your home, your vessel in life. It needs to be respected and loved." — Iskra Lawrence
• "You define beauty yourself. Society doesn't define your beauty." — Lady Gaga
• "I think about my body as a tool to do the stuff I need to do, but not the be-all and end-all of my existence." — Lena Dunham
• “Treat your body like it belongs to someone you love.” — Elayna Fernandez
• “Every body is a bikini body.” — Kimberly O’Connor
• "Lines can be the etchings of your biggest smiles, the frowns you learned from, the proof that you change and grow." — Eleanor Gordon-Smith
• “Spider veins and stretch marks streaking across your skin, your body is a galaxy.” — Nadine Tomlinson
• "Your words have so much power. Every day, if you tell yourself, 'I love you,' if you give yourself one word of validation, it will change your mind." — Ashley Graham
• “Worthiness does not have prerequisites.” — Brené Brown
• "When we're awake in our bodies and sense, the world comes alive. Wisdom, creativity, and love are discovered as we relax and awaken through our bodies." — Tara Brach

“Spider veins and stretch marks streaking across your skin, your body is a galaxy.” — Nadine Tomlinson

• “We are all born so beautiful. The greatest tragedy is being convinced we are not.” — Rupi Kaur
• “My body is not yours to critique and discuss. My body is not yours for consumption. My body is my vessel. An archive of experiences. A weapon that has fought battles only I understand. A library of love, pain, struggle, victory, and mystery.” — Sophie Lewis
• “I love creating shapes with my body, and I love normalizing the dimples in my butt or the lumps in my thighs or my back fat or my stretch marks. I love normalizing my Black-ass elbows. I think it’s beautiful.” — Lizzo
• “It’s also helpful to remember that this very body that we have, that’s sitting right here right now — with its aches and its pleasures — is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, fully alive.” — Pema Chodron
• “Don’t let your mind bully your body.” — June Tomaso Wood
• “I am strong. I am beautiful. I am enough.” — Vanessa Pawlowski
• “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "This body had carried me through a hard life. It looked exactly the way it was supposed to." ― Veronica Roth, Carve the Mark
• "Eyes closed, feet dancing their way toward the pond, she was her own music, her body her favorite thing she'd ever owned." ― Tahereh Mafi, Furthermore
• “I definitely have body issues, but everybody does. When you come to the realization that everybody does that — even the people that I consider flawless — then you can start to live with the way you are.” — Taylor Swift
• "It doesn’t have anything to do with how the world perceives you. What matters is what you see." — Gabourey Sidibe
• "We’ve forgotten what a regular body looks like. There are people out there who are struggling, and I’m struggling, and it’s OK to come to terms with realizing it’s going to be a bit of a journey." — Chrissy Teigen
• “Confidence is the only key. I can't think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” — Emma Stone
• “All bodies are swimsuit bodies.” — Catherine Li
• “Our bodies cannot truly be hidden, no matter how many black outfits we wear. No matter how many pairs of Spanx we own. No matter how much we suck it in. Doesn’t it seem like a better use of our time to just accept the fact that our bodies are our bodies and live our lives like there is no tomorrow?” — Jes Baker