In a world saturated with unrealistic beauty standards, cultivating a positive relationship with our bodies can be a challenge, especially for young girls. Body image research reveals that a staggering 50% of adolescent girls and 80% of teenage girls harbor negative feelings about their bodies. However, there's a simple, accessible, and effective way to combat these negative vibes: immersing ourselves in carefully chosen, body-positive music. Music possesses the remarkable ability to swiftly shift our mindset, uplift our spirits, and remind us that we are inherently enough, just as we are.
This article explores a curated playlist of empowering songs-anthems of self-love, confidence, and empowerment-designed to reframe negative thoughts and inspire body appreciation. Furthermore, it delves into the psychological and scientific underpinnings of how music works its body confidence magic, offering insights into how melody and lyrics can ease negative thinking and elevate self-esteem.
How Music Affects Body Image
Music has a profound impact on our emotions and self-perception. Songs we love have the power to boost our mood and self-esteem, while simultaneously reducing feelings of anxiety and stress, including those related to our bodies. In essence, when you're feeling apprehensive about your body or weight, listening to an uplifting song can provide an instant body image boost, no diet required!
Researchers have also discovered that listening to songs we enjoy makes us less prone to negative thought patterns and self-talk. This means we're less likely to engage in body-shaming behaviors, such as telling ourselves we need to lose weight.
It's important to note that while body-positive music can be particularly effective, any song we love can have a positive impact, not just those that explicitly focus on body image.
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According to Sarah Coyne, PhD, the results of one study suggest that listening to music with body-positive lyrics can promote better body image in women in just two to three minutes, at least compared to listening to body-objectifying music. Any song that evokes positive emotions can help lift you out of a negative body image state.
8 Ways Body Image Songs Help You Feel Good
Have you ever wondered how something as simple as melody and lyrics can alleviate negative thinking or boost self-esteem? Research indicates that listening to music you enjoy works in several ways:
Helps You Feel More Connected to Your Body: Music can promote embodiment. Dancing, swaying, or bopping to songs can help you feel more connected to, comfortable with, and at ease in your physical self, regardless of your size or shape!
Triggers Positive Self-Talk: Music can help us transcend our current circumstances and make light of more superficial or trivial worries.
Changes Neurochemistry: Listening to music triggers our brain to release dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter linked with pleasure and reward.
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Eases Self-Doubt and Stress: Music can have a cathartic effect, helping us release negative emotions that we might not otherwise be able to express. Research also demonstrates that music can reduce feelings of stress and increase your sense of self-worth.
Increases Motivation: Music can serve as a source of inspiration, thanks to certain lyrics or themes, which can motivate us to focus on pursuing a goal or realizing a long-held dream, rather than dwelling on our appearance.
Helps Avoid Eating Disorders: Because body dissatisfaction is a major risk factor for eating disorders, working on improving body image provides protection from developing one in the first place.
Bolsters Protection Against Depression: Research indicates a close association between body dissatisfaction and depression. Investing time and energy in overcoming body dissatisfaction can help you feel happier mentally, function better socially, and live better physically!
Speeds Up Eating Disorder Recovery: Studies have shown that listening to music can help eating disorder survivors feel more relaxed (as opposed to anxious and concerned) after eating. Patients have reported that music helps them overcome emotional problems, loneliness, and relationship difficulties.
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Positive Body Image Songs
Sometimes the best body image songs don’t focus on bodies at all! Empowering songs that describe overcoming obstacles, pushing past setbacks, and moving through tough emotions can uplift in a profound and lasting way. Songs about triumph, confidence, and self-love help refocus thoughts on inner strengths, personal values, and the things that really matter. Songs that turn around a bad body image day are ones that get you to stop dwelling on your looks and weight in favor of more productive and positive thoughts that make you feel good.
Positive songs raise confidence by releasing dopamine, making you happier and more confident. Researchers found this confidence boost was particularly powerful among girls ages 11 to 17 years old. Songs about self-worth, self-esteem, and loving yourself despite not fitting into cultural ideals or expectations can be even more valuable than body-positive songs. Positive body image songs can work just like affirmations, helping to break the cycles of negativity that research shows young girls tend to be prone to.
Creating Your Own Body Image Songs Playlist
The most powerful playlist is the one you create for yourself! Here’s how to create your own body image boosting playlist:
Listen Closely to New Songs: For each song, notice how it makes you feel. Happy, sad? Powerful? Scared? Just because a song is popular or familiar doesn’t necessarily mean it’s great for your unique likes, dislikes, and personal experiences. So take a second to tap what emotion a song is stirring in you before you add it to a favorites list.
Listen to Old Songs: Go through songs you already have saved to your device and see how each one makes you feel. Songs that boost our body image don’t always need to be about body image. Any song that helps you feel confident, bold, and alive can work!
Consider a Clean Out! If any songs trigger negative emotions-say by reminding you of a relationship that went sour, friends that really weren’t great influences on you, or a time in your life when you were struggling-then simply delete it!
Give It The ‘Test’! For each song you keep, see if it passes the positivity test by asking yourself, Does this song have the power to interrupt my negative self-talk? Does it distract me from focusing on the way I look? Does it fill me with positive, empowering energy? The results will be different for everyone, so trust yourself!
Create a New List: Create a copy and build on it to create a list more personalized to you! Add, delete, and then share with others you love!
You’re the best expert in which body image songs will work for you, which is why I’m encouraging you to make your own list instead of just taking my word for it.
Music Genres and Body Positivity
Many celebrities have spoken out in support of the body positivity movement, which celebrates bodies of all shapes, gender expressions, and abilities. When listeners want to feel more confident in their skin, they tune into certain artists and genres.
Lizzo is the No. 1 artist listeners turn to when they need a confidence boost. The Grammy-winning artist is known for encouraging fans to reject body-shaming stereotypes through her music and social media. Taylor Swift, Adele, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga rounded out the top five. Research shows that a person’s confidence and self-empowerment are closely linked to their self-perception and body image, so these artists must write some empowering songs.
Rock music fans were the most likely to report having a positive body image. The top artists that made them feel confident were Queen, Guns N’ Roses, and Led Zeppelin. Pop and 90s music were the next two most popular genres among listeners with a positive body image. Meanwhile, Metallica, Tool, and Nirvana topped the metal charts for inspiring body confidence in their listeners.
Top Body Image-Related Beats
Some songs have made their way onto more playlists promoting body positivity, while others are more often featured on those doing the opposite. The song that generated the most confidence among listeners is “Confident” by Demi Lovato. This empowering beat shares some qualities with other body-positive favorites such as “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus. These and many other songs in this category feature lyrics about strong individuals who reject outdated beauty standards in favor of creating their own.
Playlists on the negative end of the body positivity spectrum were more often populated with songs about struggling with beauty standards. Many of these lists included “Prom Queen” by Beach Bunny and “Fat Funny Friend” by Maddie Zahmn. While those tunes aren’t exactly uplifting, some listeners may find comfort in music that relates to their personal struggles.
Top Artists of Body Image-Related Music
When creating playlists that promote body positivity, listeners most often turned to artists like Ariana Grande and Drake. Drake also landed among the top three most popular confidence-boosting rappers and hip-hop artists, while Imagine Dragons was the most common feel-good artist of choice for rock fans. As for the playlists promoting negative body image, Body in the Water and LANY were the ones listeners relied on the most to validate their emotions.
Music as Self-Love
Only 27% of Americans have a positive body image. This can have serious consequences, ranging from low self-esteem to more complex health problems. But music can be a powerful ally for challenging toxic perceptions that limit “beauty” to certain body types. As popular figures embrace the positive body movement, hopefully they’ll help spread the message that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.
Empowering Songs
Empowering songs will look different for everyone, or different based on the situation you’re in, but in general, an empowering song is one about perseverance, acceptance, perspective, resilience, working through emotions, confidence, strength, character, etc.
How to Use Body Image Songs to Connect with Your Daughter
To help your daughter, talk with her about which songs she’s got on repeat. Then, ask her why she likes each one and reflect on how each one makes her feel. You can also encourage her to delete those songs that bring her down. This simple exercise can give you a lot of insight into your daughter, helping you both feel closer and more connected. Remember to be accepting and curious as opposed to judgmental or assuming anything. You’ll likely share a few of your own favorites and learn some new ones from her too.
Playlist Examples
Here are some examples of songs that promote body positivity:
Love Myself by Hailee Seinfeld: "I’m gonna put my body first And love me so hard ’til it hurts (hey!) I know how to scream out the words Scream the words Gonna love myself, no, I don’t need anybody else (hey) Gonna love myself, no, I don’t need anybody else (I love me)”
Perfect to Me by Anne-Marie: "Don’t feel like putting makeup on my cheeks Do what I wanna Love every single part of my body Top to the bottom I’m not a supermodel from a magazine, mmh-mmh I’m okay with not being perfect ‘Cause that’s perfect to me ..”
Scars To Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara: “But there’s a hope that’s waiting for you in the dark You should know you’re beautiful just the way you are And you don’t have to change a thing The world could change its heart No scars to your beautiful We’re stars and we’re beautiful”
F*ckin’ Perfect by Pink: “Pretty, pretty please, don’t you ever, ever feel Like you’re less than fuckin’ perfect Pretty, pretty please, if you ever, ever feel like you’re nothing You’re fuckin’ perfect to me You’re so mean (you’re so mean) When you talk (when you talk) About yourself, you were wrong Change the voices (change the voices) In your head (in your head)”
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger Stand a little taller Doesn’t mean I’m lonely when I’m alone What doesn’t kill you makes a fighter Footsteps even lighter”
Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars: “You don’t have to try so hard You don’t have to give it all away You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up You don’t have to change a single thing”
Born This Way by Lady Gaga: “I’m beautiful in my way ’cause God makes no mistakes I’m on the right track, baby, I was born this way Don’t hide yourself in regret, just love yourself, and you’re set I’m on the right track, baby, I was born this way, yeah”
Zero To Hero by Sia: “You held me down, but I got up (hey) Already brushing off the dust You hear my voice, you hear that sound Like thunder, gonna shake the ground You held me down, but I got up (hey) Get ready ’cause I’ve had enough I see it all, I see it now I went from zero, to my own hero”
Dust Your Shoulders Off by Janelle Monae: “Woo child, tired of the bullshit/foolish Go on dust your shoulders off, keep it moving Yes Lord, tryna get some new shit In there, swimwear, going to the pool shit Come now, come dry your eyes You know you a star, you can touch the sky I know that it’s hard but you have to try If you need advice, let me simplify ”
Confident by Demi Lovato: “So you say I’m complicated That I must be out my mind But you’ve had me underrated Rated, rated Uh, huh, huh What’s wrong with being What’s wrong with being What’s wrong with being confident?”
Beautiful by Christina Aguilera: “I am beautiful no matter what they say Words can’t bring me down I am beautiful in every single way Yes, words can’t bring me down, oh no So don’t you bring me down today”
Body by Mother Mother: “I’m not here to change your mind But I rule over the body that’s mine I rule over the body that’s mine We’re not here to change your mind What you believe for you’s just fine but In this palace we recite It’s my temple I decide It’s my temple I decide”
Nah Nah Nah by Haschak Sisters: “Well whatcha gonna say when you’re told that you ain’t worth it(Nah nah nah nah nah, hey!) Well whatcha gonna do when they say that you ain’t beautiful(Nah nah nah nah nah, okay) Well how you gonna act when they jumping on your back now(Nah nah nah nah nah) So what we ain’t perfect, we know how to work it Plus we go hard (nah nah nah nah nah) and we know that we’re worth it”
Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself by Jess Glynne: “Don’t be so hard on yourself, no Learn to forgive, learn to let go Everyone trips, everyone falls So don’t be so hard on yourself, no”
I Am Enough by Daphne Willis: “I am enough just as I am Feel right at home anywhere that I stand Hold out my heart in the palm of my hand And I live my life like nobody else can I am, I am, I am enough I’ll sing it again I am, I am, I am enough”
Level Up by Ciara: “If I’m shining, everybody gonna shine (Yeah, I’m goals) I was born like this, don’t even gotta try (Now you know)”
Rise Up by Andra Day: “You’re broken down and tired Of living life on a merry go round And you can’t find the fighter But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out And move mountains We gonna walk it out And move mountains And I’ll rise up I’ll rise like the day I’ll rise up I’ll rise unafraid”