69 Body Positive Quotes to Finally Feel at Home in Your Own Skin

Many of us have looked in the mirror and felt unhappy with what we saw. Some of us have battled long-term issues with our bodies. This is where body positivity comes in; read the 68 quotes below to find out more.

Although not initially known by these terms, body positivity came about in the late 1960s when fat activists began to make waves. Eventually, this wave grew more prominent over the decades, and by the 2000s, the term "body positivity" emerged.

Many individuals began to empower themselves online by posting photos of their bodies that didn't fit the norm of what society saw as beautiful. There was a backlash against the movement, with many accusing the proponents of encouraging obesity.

Even within the movement, there have been shifts, with some individuals opting for body neutrality instead. Rather than focusing on loving one's body, the purpose of body neutrality is to separate one's body from their idea of self-worth and instead see it simply as a practical function that one uses in their everyday life.

Read the 68 quotes below to get a deeper look into the world of body positivity and hopefully learn to love or accept your body along the way.

Nayyirah Waheed’s quote: "And I said to my body, softly, 'I want to be your friend,' It took a long breath and replied, 'I've been waiting my whole life for this.'" | Image: AmoDays

Quotes on Self-Love and Acceptance

"Don't let your mind bully your body." — June Tomaso Wood

"That game of comparison you play will strip you of the marvel in your story." — Ariella Estoria

"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

"I am allowed to look sexy, feel sexy, and be in love. I am worthy of all of those things. And so are you." — Mary Lambert

Alan Cohen’s quote: "To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven." | Image: AmoDays

"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

"Since I don't look like every other girl, it takes a while to be okay with that. To be different. But different is good." — Serena Williams

"And I said to my body, softly, 'I want to be your friend,' It took a long breath and replied, 'I've 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

"Women who love themselves are threatening, but men who love real women, more so." — Naomi Wolf

Anne Lamott’s quote: "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." | Image: AmoDays

"To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven." — Alan Cohen

"To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself." — Thich Nhat Hanh

"When we liberate ourselves from the expectation that we must have all things figured out, we enter a sanctuary of empathy." — Sonya Renee Taylor

Quotes on the Beauty of All Our Bodies

"Stop trying to fix your body. It was never broken." — Eve Ensler

"Your body is your home, your vessel in life. It needs to be respected and loved." — Iskra Lawrence

Ashley Asti’s quote: "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." | Image: AmoDays

"I'm proud of my body. I'm finally in a good place and learning to love me for me, and not somebody else's standards." — Khloe Kardashian

"There is not one standard definition of beauty or one perfect size." — Ashley Graham

"I'm pretty comfortable with my body. I'm imperfect. The imperfections are there. People are going to see them, but I take the view you only live once." — Kate Hudson

"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

"I glance down at my body, tempted to poke at my hips. I find it funny how every single thing in this world reminds me of art. A large canvas is still a pretty one." ― Shireen Ayache

Eve Ensler’s quote: "Stop trying to fix your body. It was never broken." | Image: AmoDays

"I am getting used to my voice not sounding like an apology, my hair looking like a thunderstorm, my face resembling a calamity, my smile looking like jagged tombstones, my soul feeling like an abstract art." ― Ayushee Ghoshal

"Sometimes Kit would look at the veins in his own hands and think, All these little rivers flowing through my body, keeping me alive. Thank you, little rivers. Thank you." ― David Arnold

"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

"You see Viola, this is the body I have, and I'm gonna keep it. I've got a potato nose, a bit of flab, a muffin top... I've grown attached to them. And life's too short to worry about what other people think. I've decided to like myself the way I am and to have fun every time I can." ― Assia Petricelli

"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

Ashley Graham’s quote: "There is not one standard definition of beauty or one perfect size." | Image: AmoDays

"Your body is an amazing self-regulating, self-correcting wonder." ― Amy Leigh Mercree

"Each individual woman's body demands to be accepted on its own terms." — Gloria Steinem

"Forget your good angles; forget your airbrush. Forget your no panty lines. Forget your smooth bellies. Forget your perfect hair. Forget your hairless armpits. Forget your clean rooms. Bring me your real bumps and curves and your forehead zits. Bring me your granny panties and your scars. I'm here for it." ― Lauren Leavell

"You are fine, just the way you are... Bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Don't let anyone make you feel any differently." ― Jennifer Weiner

"Speak to your body in a loving way. It's the only one you've got, it's your home, and it deserves your respect." — Iskra Lawrence

Veronica Roth’s quote: "This body had carried me through a hard life. It looked exactly the way it was supposed to." | Image: AmoDays

"Just because we have acne, tummy rolls, and chaffing thighs doesn't mean we need fixed. Period." — Mik Zazon

"There is not one standard definition of beauty or one perfect size." — Ashley Graham

"This body had carried me through a hard life. It looked exactly the way it was supposed to." — Veronica Roth

"Lines can be the etchings of your biggest smiles, the frowns you learned from, the proof that you change and grow." — Eleanor Gordon-Smith

Quotes on Society and Our Bodies

"Living in a society structured to profit from our self-hate creates a dynamic in which we are so terrified of being ourselves that we adopt terror-based ways of being in our bodies." — Sonya Renee Taylor

Lizzo’s quote: "I say I love myself, and they're like, 'Oh my gosh, she's so brave. She's so political.' For what? All I said is, 'I love myself…!'" | Image: AmoDays

"To all the girls that think you're ugly because you're not a size 0, you're the beautiful one. It's society who's ugly." — Marilyn Monroe

"You define beauty yourself; society doesn't define your beauty." — Lady Gaga

"A war on obesity that teaches people to hate themselves in the name of health is useless. Campaigning for help while ignoring the harm the campaign has inflicted on those who it's supposedly trying to help is senseless. And aiming to improve people's physical health with methods that actively destroy those people's mental health is so obviously backwards that I have no idea how people aren't seeing it." ― Megan Jayne Crabbe

"A culture fixated on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty but an obsession about female obedience. Dieting is the most potent political sedative in history." — Naomi Wolfe

"Hating our bodies is something that we learn, and it sure as [expletive] is something that we can unlearn." — Megan Jayne Crabbe

Marilyn Monroe’s quote: "To all the girls that think you're ugly because you're not a size 0, you're the beautiful one. It's society who's ugly." | Image: AmoDays

"I say I love myself, and they're like, 'Oh my gosh, she's so brave. She's so political.' For what? All I said is, 'I love myself…!'" — Lizzo

"I think the people in the fashion industry need to be more inclusive, meaning they need to include everybody, even if you're thinner...every body type, every shape, big boobs, small boobs..." — Bebe Rexha

"Pretty much the strongest, most…rebellious thing that you can do is to love your body in this world that screams at you that you shouldn't." — Laura Bates

"...women are conditioned to waste hours, days, weeks, months (although truth be told, it's most likely years) doubting, undermining, and ultimately hating parts, if not all, of themselves based solely on 'problems' with their bodies that can be solved by buying products from an industry that invented these problems in the first place. How [expletive] convenient. And when all is said and done, what is the prize for this self-torture? Fitting neatly within society's destructive narrative about the female body." ― Phoebe Robinson

"Body terrorism is a hideous tower whose primary support beam is the belief that there is a hierarchy of bodies. We uphold the system by internalizing this hierarchy and using it to situate our own value and worth in the world." ― Sonya Renee Taylor

Laura Bates’ quote: "Pretty much the strongest, most…rebellious thing that you can do is to love your body in this world that screams at you that you shouldn't." | Image: AmoDays

Beyond the Scale: Quotes on Body Neutrality

"Life is so much more beautiful and complex than a number on a scale." — Tess Munster

"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

"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

"Feeling beautiful has nothing to do with what you look like." — Emma Watson

"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

Tess Munster’s quote: "Life is so much more beautiful and complex than a number on a scale." | Image: AmoDays

"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

"I am more than my measurements… My body is my body. I'll call the shots." — Ashley Graham

"Listen to me now because if there is one thing in your lifetime that I want you to believe with every fiber of your being, it is this: You are a feat of physics and complex molecules, a spirit magnificent in magnitudes, a precious and invaluable treasure to be cherished—you are the only one of your kind. There has never been another you to walk this planet. There will never be another you again. You are bigger than your body. Your soul is rare." ― Kirsten Robinson

"Focus on the parts of yourself that will not diminish with time—humor and wisdom are not like collagen. You will make more of them as you age." ― Eleanor Gordon-Smith

Quotes to Make You Feel at Home in Your Body

"I want to enjoy life, and I can't if I'm not eating and miserable." — Kate Upton

Nicola Jane Hobbs’ quote: "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." | Image: AmoDays

"The best gift you are ever going to give someone —the permission to feel safe in their own skin." — Hannah Brencher

"You're a human being. You live once, and life is wonderful, so eat the [expletive] red velvet cupcake." — Emma Stone

"Having a flat stomach doesn't make you more worthy; it won't make you happier or more successful. You don't need a toned stomach to wear a bikini." — Rae Ann Langas

"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

Kate Uptons’ quote: "I want to enjoy life, and I can't if I'm not eating and miserable." | Image: AmoDays

"The relentless attempts to be thin take you further and further away from what could actually end your suffering: getting back in touch with who you really are. Your true nature. Your essence." — Geneen Roth

"We hear the term body positivity all the time. To be honest, I don't always feel positive about my body. Sometimes I do not like what I see. I don't sit there and dwell on it. I also don't lie to myself." — Demi Lovato

"I definitely have body issues, but everybody does. When you come to the realization that everybody does—even the people that I consider flawless—then you can start to live with the way you are." — Taylor Swift

"People try to shame me for being fat. When I am walking down the street, men lean out of their car windows and shout vulgar things at me about my body, how they see it and how it upsets them that I am not catering to their gaze and their preferences and desires. I try not to take these men seriously because what they are really saying is, 'I am not attracted to you. I do not want to [expletive] you, and this confuses my understanding of masculinity, entitlement, and place in this world.' It is not my job to please them with my body." ― Adrienne Maree Brown

"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

Virgie Tovar’s quote: "We cannot starve our way into being loved, into being free." | Image: AmoDays

"The body I have shouldn't change how deserving I am of my dreams." — Millie

"It doesn't really matter how you look in [family holiday] pictures; it just matters that you're there." ― Megan Jayne Crabbe

"I like how I look, usually, but people —especially people on the internet —can be so mean when you're fat. As if fat makes you stupid or dirty or irresponsible. As if fat makes you anything other than...fat." ― Amy Spalding

"Sunita is risking her life for this pleasure. She is sharing it with me. Finally, my being fat is clearly less important than being free. I eat the ice cream." ― Eve Ensler

"We cannot starve our way into being loved, into being free." — Virgie Tovar

Lena Dunham’s quote: "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." | Image: AmoDays

Women, as well as men, have been fed ideas of what the perfect body looks like. In the world of feminine beauty, the goalposts are constantly changing. One minute the curvaceous figure is the ideal, next skinny is the new sexy.

One moment, we're splashing our faces with face wash; the next, we have managed to buy the whole cosmetics counter to reach some unrealistic goal. Instagram filters and photoshop don't help either.

So, whether you're opting for body positivity or neutrality, there is a need to let go of these ridiculous standards. Perhaps these 125 quotes to remind you of your value and self-worth will help you get there.