50 Body Image Quotes For A Clearer Self Image

Check out these thought-provoking body image quotes.

Body image is how someone perceives their body and assumes that others perceive them.

These images can influence all aspects of a person’s life.

Tell us which body image quote most resonated with you in the comment section below.

What are the benefits of reading these body image quotes?

Poll data suggests that approximately 91% of women in the United States are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape.

Negative body image can impact your:

• self-esteem
• mental health
• physical health

The peer pressure to “look a certain way” influences everyone.

As actress and yoga instructor Mandy Ingber puts it, “Body image has a lot to do with where you’re coming from personally.”

However, poll data shows that only 5% of women naturally possess the body type often portrayed by Americans in the media.

While many of us are concerned with how we others perceive us, how we see ourselves is much more important.

Short body image quotes for Instagram

1. “You were born, as you, for a reason.” — Sophia Bush

2. “Worthiness does not have prerequisites.” — Brené Brown

3. “Your body hears everything your mind says.” — Naomi Judd

4. “Another person’s beauty is not the absence of your own.” — Unknown

5. “Life is so much more beautiful than a number on a scale.” — Tess Munster

6. “Apologize to your body. Maybe that’s where the healing begins.” — Nayyirah Waheed

7. “This is it: This body is home. This is where I live and hang my hat.” — Marya Hornbacher

8. “Exterior beauty, without the depth of a kind soul, is merely decoration.” — Vanessa Quintero

9. “You are imperfect, permanently, and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.” — Amy Bloom

10. “Kindness makes you the most beautiful person in the world no matter what you look like.” — Unknown

You will also enjoy our article on Bart Simpson quotes.

Body image quotes about self-esteem and mental health

11. “Your self-esteem won’t come from body parts.” — Stacy London

12. “We can’t hate ourselves into a version of ourselves we can love.” — Lori Deschene

13. “To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself.” — Simone de Beauvoir

14. “When our emotional health is in a bad state, so is our level of self-esteem.” — Jess C. Scott

15. “In all the years I’ve been a therapist, I’ve yet to meet one girl who likes her body.” — Mary Pipher

16. “You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” — Louise Hay

17. “If you don’t know how to show yourself kindness when you’re a size 18, you won’t know how to do it wearing a size 4.” — Unknown

18. “You have to stand up and say, ‘There’s nothing wrong with me or my shape or who I am; you’re the one with the problem!’” — Jennifer Lopez

19. “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

20. “If we make self-love or body acceptance conditional, the truth is, we will never be happy with ourselves. The reality is that our bodies are constantly changing, and they will never remain exactly the same. If we base our self-worth on something as ever-changing as our bodies, we will forever be on the emotional roller coaster of body obsession and shame.” — Chrissy King

Body image quotes about women, men, fashion, and beauty

21. “Fashion is killing women’s body image of themselves.” — Zac Posen

22. “Chic is when a woman is in harmony with herself.” — Giambattista Valli

23. “Black women don’t have the same body image problems as white women.” — Tyra Banks

24. “Healthy body image is not something that you’re going to learn from fashion magazines.” – Erin Heatherton

25. “If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?” — Tina Fey

26. “If women cannot eat the same food as men, we cannot experience equal status in the community.” — Naomi Wolf

27. “Boys and boys’ body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.” — Rosalind Wiseman

28. “Every woman knows that, regardless of all her other achievements, she is a failure if she is not beautiful.” — Germaine Greer

29. “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

30. “How beautiful would it be if we could just see souls instead of bodies? To see love and compassion instead of curves.” — Karen Quan

Body image quotes about health, healing, and weight

31. “Health is different for everybody at a different size.” — Crystal Renn

32. “Body image has a lot to do with where you’re coming from personally.” — Mandy Ingber

33. “Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. Our goal should be health and stamina.” — Emme

34. “Health and a positive body image are part of my personal values.” — Deborah Joy Winans

35. “We cannot heal our own body image by judging, shaming, objectifying or pedestalling other bodies.” — Rhyanna Watson

36. “In the United States, workouts tend to focus on body image and how you look. For me, it’s really all about the brain.” — Chris Cornell

37. “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

38. “You can’t hate yourself happy. You can’t criticize yourself thin. You can’t shame yourself worthy. Real change begins with self-love and self-care.” — Jessica Ortner

39. “What about defining yourself by a different kind of measurement? What about your heart, your soul, your compassion, your generosity, your strength, and your power? There are so many other things to focus on besides your waistline.” — Mariska Hargitay

40. “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

Inspirational body image quotes to change your perspective

41. “You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress, simultaneously.” — Sophia Bush

42. “Whether straight, gay, bi, trans… body image and identity can be a struggle for us all.” — Ruby Rose

43. “Mother Teresa did not walk around complaining about her thighs. She had shit to do!” — Sarah Silverman

44. “So much of what young people perceive about their body image is taken from watching their parents.” — Jo Swinson

45. “I’ve learnt to appreciate my body, because it’s taken me all the way here and will take me to the end.” — Clémentine Desseaux

46. “Stop spending all day obsessing, cursing, perfecting your body like it’s all you’ve got to offer the world.” — Glennon Doyle Melton

47. “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

48. “Your body is the piece of the universe you’ve been given, the place where love and joy and grief happen, where happiness unfolds.” — Geneen Roth

49. “Most important, 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

50. “When the criticism drops away, what you will see then is just you, without judgment, and that is the first step towards transforming your experience of the world.” — Oprah Winfrey

Cultural impact on body image

In the United States, surveys show that over 40% of women and about 20% of men agreed they would consider cosmetic surgery in the future.

The statistics remain relatively constant across gender, age, marital status, and race.

Different customs and beliefs shape how body images change within different communities.

People of diverse backgrounds and habits have various body types and different body images.

Aesthetics and ideals vary.

Each of us has a different journey, but we all deserve to have a positive image of our own bodies.

This is not to diminish media and popular culture’s impact on our body image.

However, the idea echoes the sentiment of stylist Stacy London who said, “Your self-esteem won’t come from body parts.”

As we become a more globalized society, typical body image ideals from the past continue to be shattered and replaced with images that reflect more inclusion and variety.

Tell us your favorite body image quote in the comment section below.

If you are struggling with your body image or eating disorders, this website can offer some helpful resources.

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