93. Body Neutral with Jessi Kneeland
Jul 22, 2026
In this episode of The Body GrieversⓇ Club, Bri interviews body image coach and "Body Neutral" author Jessi Kneeland about why body positivity and self-love often feel inaccessible and ignore social context, and how body neutrality focuses on moral neutrality by stripping false, inflated meaning from appearance. Using examples like having a zit, they discuss how body shame spirals come from learned beliefs about worth and failure, and how “health” is frequently used as a socially acceptable cover for body hatred, disordered eating, and orthorexic behaviors. They explore the head-to-heart disconnect, the survival brain’s role, the impact of oppression and weight stigma, and how “diet hope” offers false security while body neutrality supports living life despite discomfort.
TIMESTAMPS:
02:13 Zit Example and Identity
04:38 Orthorexia and Fitness Culture
08:31 Thought Experiments on Health
12:34 Food Shame and Healing
15:57 Moral vs Emotional Neutrality
24:08 Politics Systems and Dissonance
27:47 Head to Heart Disconnect
30:32 False Safety of Thinness
31:34 Patriarchy and Slenderness Trap
33:23 Signs of Body Neutrality
44:41 Beauty Standards and Power
45:41 Complicity and Conscious Choices
WANT MORE OF JESSI?
*Buy her book! Body Neutral
*Website: https://www.jessikneeland.com/
*Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessikneeland/
*Check out our episode on her podcast! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-not-about-your-body-the-power-of-body-grief/id1581433799?i=1000602037792
WANT MORE OF BRI?
*Instagram: @bodyimagewithbri

*Website: https://bodyimagewithbri.com/
*Bri’s Free Resource: 7-Step Guide to Shift Body Grief to Radical Body Acceptance