Body positivity isn't quite as simple as saying "love your body". Friends of Buro. share what the phrase means to them, and their journey towards self-love.
MELODY TAN
Body positivity is simply embracing everyone's bodies as they are. For me, I love my boobs. I do a body scrub a few times a week and I moisturise daily. I've been treating myself to weekly massages whenever I can afford the time, which is a real luxury for me.

The best way to develop a positive body image is to spend time with yourself, and be your own best friend. Take the time to enjoy a bath or a mask at home. When you start to love yourself, you will love your body too.
LEONA Z
Body positivity, to me, is a never-ending learning journey. Some days I feel absolutely fabulous (that's when the IG selfies keep coming). Other days? Terrible. I've learnt that you've to continuously give yourself the love and compassion to be okay, and work with whatever you've got.

I've battled a mild eating disorder when I was younger, and truthfully, I realised I will never be fully healed. But I know I can make a conscious effort to get into healthier frame of mind for the sake of mental sanity and a better quality of life. With continuous effort to rephrase the conversation you have with yourself in your head, the negative voices do fade off.

What has worked for me in developing a more positive body image is to unfollow "thinspiration" profiles on social media; accounts that continuously portray a certain unattainable body image. Allow yourself to just... be. We're human, and we're only here for a 100 years or so. Put your energy into more productive things, enjoy the ride, and just... be.
GLEN WEE
Body positivity means being comfortable in your own skin! Instead of finding the flaws, you celebrate life and what life has given to you. No one is perfect, and understanding that perfection is a man-made terminology. (For me) I like that I am quite a compact individual. I often think that the ideal body for a man is to be talk and lanky, but I've grown to learn that everything has its pros and cons, and there is little you can do to change your genetic code, but to actively work on your goals as to how you want to look is the way to go!

Believe in yourself and trust your vision of who you want to be. It is easy to forget that we need a vision to have motivation to work towards the end goal. We will always have something we nitpick about ourselves but that is only natural being a human. We strive for perfection although the perception of perfection changes day to day. It is the only way we can move forward and see progress. Stay positive and results will come!
FIONA FUSSI
Body positivity and self-love should always be a priority. It means loving yourself for however you look, knowing that you're healthy and alive because of it, and not to nitpick on things you wish you could change. Self-acceptance is so empowering.
VICTORIA CHENG
"You don't have to be fit to feel good about yourself. But for me, I found body positivity through fitness. Ironically, I gained 12kg when I started to workout nearly everyday and compete in obstacle races (Spartan, Tough Mudder, etc). It was due to increased appetite and muscle gain, and that was the heaviest I had ever been in my life. But I also felt great. Knowing what my body is capable of feels liberating and empowering. I felt strong. I thought people might find me less attractive with the weight gain, but I ended up meeting people who were especially attracted to my quiet confidence. Not just romantically — I was attracting like-minded friends, people who are independent and comfortable in their own skin thanks to knowing just how much weight we can pull, literally. The health benefits of working out also benefits your psyche, making you feel better overall (energy levels, endorphins, etc).

Everyone begins their fitness or health journey at different stages. Frankly, unless you're a professional athlete in this space, you're not better than anyone else, and they're not better than you. We're all on our own roads, and the moment you start getting elitist or worried about who's better, you're on the only road that's going nowhere. One of a few ways to develop positive body self image, is to be positive towards everyone else around you."
KELLIE TAN
I see body positivity as being unashamedly myself, accepting my body in all its curvaceous, lumpy and bumpy glory. It's the conscious practice of radical self-love, because I know it's what I deserve. But in a society that has conditioned me to believe my physical appearance was the sole determinant of my self-worth, it took me a long time to rebuild my relationship with my body.

What actually changed the game for me was the first time I found out about the term "body positivity". It was also the first time I finally felt… HEARD, and seen. The power of representation is often underestimated. Just seeing badass ladies like Jazzmyne Jay, Lizzo, Lovisa Lager, Paloma Elsesser (the list goes on), set an example for their audience and the world by very simply, being unapologetically themselves was everything a 13-year-old me could've asked for in a role model.

I think we can all afford to be a little kinder to our bodies; approving it instead of criticising it, loving it instead of hating it. That's when the magic happens.
JOSHUA SIMON
Body positivity is looking at your body and feeling good in it, whether you're wearing something cute, something hideous or nothing at all. You adore the base metal. Show empathy to your body, and protect it fiercely.
SIMONE HENG
I would like to be "body neutral', in that I didn't care at all about my body image. I have a lot of work to do to get there. Ideally, body positivity, to me, means a complete embrace and acceptance of my appearance. I actually am the shortest model in the books of one of Australia's leading modelling agencies, Chadwick Models, and that has all to do with my personality and presence. I should have noticed this more as a young girl and harvested it earlier. Besides that, what I do love about my body is my fast metabolism. I eat a lot. I eat more than most grown men. I also have a huge amount of energy — I always have.

I try to meditate four times a week and I stretch on a yoga mat with foam roller most days. I do boxing two times a week, and on the other days I go for really long walks at the Botanic Gardens, losing my thoughts in the green. I also go and get my skin taken care of regularly at Dr Valentin Low and Clifford Centre. I also go to Spa Club for regular massages. I think the best way to develop a positive body image is to nurture your body. Eat good food, exercise and treat it as it is precious. I have quite a few health issues in my family and only started to nurture my internal health two years ago. It made all the difference to how I now view my body.
OON SHU AN
Truth is, I still struggle with loving my body. There's just so much conditioned aversion to every single blemish and imperfection. That said, I love that my body is resilient.

I think, yes, it is our duty to love ourselves and our bodies, but a negative body image can't really be our burden to bear alone. Isn't it a constant battle — learning to love your body while being bombarded with images and messages that tell you you can't?

Perhaps one way of changing this, is to not just appreciate, but to also advocate for the representation of all the kinds of beauty we see around us; really celebrate people who don't fit into what mainstream media views as "beautiful". Adore it, want to see more of it, and believe that they should be seen. We can see this happening around us now (omg savagexfenty, chromat, dove!) The more we do that, the more we can see more diverse and accurate representations of the beauty we see around us reflected back at us. Then maybe, it'll be easier to love ourselves not in spite of our "flaws", but just because. And why shouldn't we?
JASMINE CHONG
Body positivity is having a relationship your body that is rooted in love, trust and respect. There is no shame in being different from everyone else. Listen to your body. Your body will tell you what it needs. It's the brain you have to control.

I love that I have all four limbs intact; I love that my body is healthy, and that I can stretch and move freely. I take warm lemon water in the morning, and make sure I slap on skin care and sun block. (My self-care routine also includes) going for my barre, yoga, or pilates practice, having the not-so-occasional anti-bloat massage, reading a book, and coffee, coffee, coffee. Oh, and some quiet time before bed.