93. Body Neutral with Jessi Kneeland

body image 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