What is and what is not positive body image? Conceptual foundations and construct definition

• Disciplines/leaders who contributed to positive body image scholarship are recognized.
• Research on positive body image is flourishing, offering insights into its nuances.
• Positive body image is multifaceted, holistic, and distinct from negative body image.
• Positive body image is both stable and flexible and may protect well-being.
• Positive body image is shaped by body acceptance by others and social identities.

A decade ago, research on positive body image as a unique construct was relatively nonexistent, and now this area is flourishing. How and why did positive body image scholarship emerge? What is known about this contemporary construct? This article situates and contextualizes positive body image within Cash's scholarship, eating disorder prevention efforts, feminist influences, strength-based disciplines within psychology, and Buddhism. Extracting insights from quantitative and qualitative research, this article demonstrates that positive body image is (a) distinct from negative body image; (b) multifaceted (including body appreciation, body acceptance/love, conceptualizing beauty broadly, adaptive investment in appearance, inner positivity, interpreting information in a body-protective manner); (c) holistic; (d) stable and malleable; (e) protective; (f) linked to self-perceived body acceptance by others; and (g) shaped by social identities. Complementing what positive body image is, this article further details what positive body image is not to provide a more nuanced understanding of this construct.