The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love

According to Taylor, purchases made through “best-interest buying” uphold one’s values of radical self-love. Taylor distinguishes this from “detriment buying,” which arises from feelings of not being enough. She discusses these purchasing habits in the context of consumerism—specifically the BSPC—prompting readers to ask what kind of consumer they are and to interrogate their purchases within the framework of self-love. She encourages readers to connect their resources and their economic investments to what they truly want out of life.

The body-shame profit complex (BSPC) is a term Taylor uses to describe the way in which various industries and societal forces capitalize on and perpetuate body shame for profit. This complex involves the intersection of media, consumer culture, and corporate interests that collectively create, reinforce, and exploit insecurities about body image. The idea is that by promoting unattainable beauty standards and narrow ideals of physical appearance, these industries can continually profit from individuals’ desires to meet these standards. Taylor points out the massive amount of money spent by the advertising industry yearly, as well as the huge earnings reaped by the beauty industry, an industry that profits from idealizing a standard of beauty that only a small percentage of women naturally possess.

Taylor uses the term “body terrorism” to convey the magnitude of body shame and body oppression worldwide. Taylor argues that what she describes rises to the level of terrorism because these forces coerce humans to engage with their bodies in a way that is based on fear or terror. Body terrorism can include more overt acts of oppression like violence or discrimination against individuals based on body size, race, gender, sexuality, or disability. It also encompasses the shame, judgment, and marginalization that individuals feel when they’re viewed as deviating from an ideal or “default” body. This concept extends beyond individual instances of body shaming or bullying to encompass systemic and structural forms of oppression that marginalize and devalue people based on their bodies. The term is meant to highlight the severity and harmful impact of such attitudes and behaviors on individuals and society.

Body terrorism is not just about individual prejudices or actions but is deeply embedded in societal structures and cultural norms. It includes policies, practices, and institutional behaviors that enforce narrow standards of beauty and body norms, often marginalizing those who do not fit these standards. People who experience body terrorism may face discrimination in various aspects of life, including employment, healthcare, education, and social interactions. This discrimination can limit their opportunities, reduce access to resources and support, and lead to social and economic marginalization. Body terrorism contributes to the internalization of negative beliefs about one’s body, leading individuals to view themselves through a lens of inadequacy. Taylor asserts that addressing body terrorism requires embodying radical self-love on both an individual and collective level.

In the context of The Body Is Not an Apology, Taylor uses the term “color blindness” when discussing those who claim not to see race. People who say they don’t “see color” erase the diversity of people’s lived experiences, Taylor argues. This supposed color blindness arises from a fear of difference and promotes the notion that differences—such as skin color—are threatening or undesirable.

Taylor refers to the “default” body as the type of body upheld by society as normal or ideal. Those with this body are treated better than those whose bodies don’t fit this standard. People with default bodies are given access to resources, opportunities, and medical care. Those without default bodies are often pathologized and marginalized. Taylor points out that society’s perceptions of health, beauty, and the “default” body can morph over time. Today’s norms remain narrow and unattainable for most people; Taylor notes that only 5% of women naturally meet the “default” standard.

In the context of The Body Is Not an Apology, detriment buying refers to the act of purchasing products or services in a way that perpetuates or is influenced by body shame, negative self-image, or societal pressures to conform to certain body standards. This concept is part of the broader critique of how societal norms and the BSPC can drive consumer behavior, often to the financial benefit of industries that capitalize on individuals’ insecurities about their bodies. Detriment buying contrasts with best-interest buying, which describes purchases that uphold self-love.

In the context of The Body Is Not an Apology, the term “inside voice” refers to one’s true, internal beliefs, feelings, and thoughts that reflect one’s authentic self and inherent radical self-love. This concept contrasts with the “outside voice.” The differentiation between the inside and outside voices is crucial in the journey toward radical self-love.

Intersectionality is a theoretical framework for understanding how aspects of a person’s identity—including gender, race, class, sexuality, and ability—combine or influence each other, especially concerning discrimination and privilege. The term was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 and highlights that the various aspects of identity are not isolated but are interwoven and interact in complex ways. Intersectionality suggests that the systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual are often the result of overlapping or intersecting social identities, and it challenges the single-axis framework that tends to dominate social and political discourse. Taylor uses an intersectional approach when talking about body-based oppression.

In the context of the book, the term “outside voice” refers to the external messages, societal norms, cultural expectations, and pressures that individuals internalize and that can influence their thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors regarding their bodies and self-worth. The outside voice represents the collective societal dialogue that often perpetuates body shame, unrealistic beauty standards, and discriminatory attitudes.