Let me remind: The Body Types are Not Trends

You’re likely to be familiar with unrealistic beauty standards of the early 2000s. Glamour reported that this period was so fatphobic and unique that many millennials still struggle with the effects. There were a slew fad diets, size 6-models being scrutinized on TV for being too big, and the controversy over Jessica Simpson’s high waist jeans. I haven’t grown up in that time, and neither has today’s almond moms obsessed with calorie counting who are passing dangerous calorie counting onto their daughters.

Today’s zeitgeist still holds body standards. Multiple outlets have reported that Kim Kardashian, who is often credited with pioneering modern beauty standards, lost 16 pounds in just two weeks to make way for the Met Gala. This, along with the return to early-aughts aesthetics overall has led to the spread of a troubling narrative. The body standards of that era are now «trending,» so so that an article entitled «Bye bye Booty: Heroin chic is back in style» went viral last week.

This article’s blatant claim is clearly false. It is obvious that body types don’t represent trends. Although this may seem obvious, when language such as heroin chic and bye bye booty is published and then splattered all over the internet, some media consumers might not be aware of it—especially young impressionable girls.

Kara Lissy LCSW, a psychotherapist at A Good Place Therapy: «While no one is immune to this, adolescent girls’ brains are more malleable.» The result? The worst thing about history is that it repeats itself: After at least a decade of body positivity, neutrality, and even a decade of being told that all body types are good and bad, we are now being told again and again that they are binary. Practically rendering useless the 20 years of activism.

Lissy says, «Aside from it giving a nod towards a dangerous and addictive drug, this language conveys the message that denying your body nutrients for the sake o f being more attractive in society. «This is a slippery slope for our vernacular: Heroin Chic is not a casual household phrase we should be using to describe young women’s aspirations. The suggestion that drugs and/or needles are used to achieve an «ideal» body can also be harmful, especially since diabetes medication has become so common in weight loss that there is now a national shortage.

However, this was not unexpected. «We are constantly bombarded by images of women’s bodies every day on social media and the cultural obsession about female bodies is a big money-maker for these platforms,» Carrie Wasterlain LCSW, director at The Dorm NYC, a young adult mental health treatment program. «The truth is that we still spend a lot of time discussing women’s bodies and what size they should look like.» Experts don’t believe «body positivity», as it was never a convincing or impactful concept. Samantha DeCaro, PsyD is a psychologist and director for clinical outreach and education at The Renfrew Center. «It has only shape-shifted over the years.» «The thin ideal will continue to exist as long there is something to buy.»

Lindsay McGlone, activist and producer, agrees. She notes that although body positivity claims to promote equality and allow all bodies to be treated equally and for those who are marginalized to claim space, this is not what she has seen or experienced. «As a fat and queer woman, body positivity is something I support, but it still centers around body types that have not been marginalized and as an opportunity to capitalize on fat diets and weight loss shakes and unrealistic goals,» she says of the movement. Lizzo actually has said the exact same thing.

However, there are other important players involved in the demise of body positivity. These include innocent-seeming viral videos. Gigi Robinson, a mental and body image advocate, says that the ‘hot girls walk’ or ‘what you eat in a single day’ trends can be harmful. «I have witnessed young people obsess about routines, such as a caloric deficit diet and hot girl walks to lose weight or get abs. This can lead to disordered eating, poor self-esteem, and poor body image.»

These trends are likely to continue to be popularized by the media, so at least those who are affected will continue to see different body types. Not necessarily—bringing us back to why «Bye Bye Booty» is so much more harmful than one might realize. «The average female woman is 170 lbs and wears a 14 size. These women will have a harder time finding clothes due to brands supporting the ‘curvy’ trend,» Phylice Ksler, a licensed mental healthcare counselor at Mindpath Health, told Glamour. Robinson agrees. «Saying that ‘curvy’ is out ignores a lot the work we [activists] did to make space for and include a variety body types in marketing, online, and in-store.»

Body types cannot be «tried on» or discarded, unlike clothing and accessories. However, mainstream culture has not stopped this trend. GOODW.Y.N, activist and artist, says that the discourse of «thin is back», or what I like calling «thin fever», is much more than celebrity. We must also look at the economic, racial, and cultural factors that influence social propaganda. These pressures have a pernicious effect on people of all races, but particularly the Black community. GOODW.Y.N. says, «If it isn’t our hips or thighs, or curves that are affected, it’s our lips and hairstyles and fashionable dresses that have been taken until they don’t fit ‘white cultural ideals.’ Profit.» says.

The most famous example of this phenomenon is the Kardashians. They are known for their curvy bodies and aesthetics derived from Black culture. However, they have traded them for smaller, whiter models whenever it’s profitable or convenient.

Kessler states that the Kardashians played a significant role in popularizing Blackfishing, which is when people make changes to their appearance using makeup, cosmetic surgery and filters to make them look Black. Kim Kardashian was originally a curvy, full-figured woman. She is now promoting how she lost 16lbs in two weeks to fit into the Met Gala dress.

What can consumers, individuals, and social media users do to combat this type of rhetoric? Dr. DeCaro says that the first step is to confront and unpack our internal biases. She says, «Confront and unpack internalized fat bias and weight stigma: Harvard University offers an implicit association test for free.» «Examine yourself and the negative messages that you have received about your body size, weight, or shape.»

Remember to remind yourself and others that trends are not for your body. Wasterlain says that trends are things outside of our control, things we can buy or wear or do. Trends change all the time. «We are born into our bodies, they are our life source and must be cared for in order to survive and thrive.» Instead of trying to force our bodies to conform to someone else’s ideas of what looks good at any given time, we should focus on how we can take better care of it.