As much as I would like to argue that as a society we are making strides toward being more body-positive and accepting — I don’t think this is the truth. In the past couple of years, there has been a surge of body-positive messages and influencers making their way to social media and in the fashion industry. This is a beautiful thing that I hope would stay consistent, if not grow stronger, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Celebrity stylist Ariel Tunnell believes that the thin beauty standard will continue to prevail if changes are not consistently made toward promoting body positivity.
“If no one fights and no one continues to speak up, I think thin will always be in, and thin will always win,” Tunnell said, a sentiment that I can agree with as there always seems to be something promoting “thinness” as the beauty standard.
In 2024 we heard a lot of talk about the semaglutide drug Ozempic. Vogue Business thinks Ozempic is halting any body-positive progress.
“Progress has stalled and we are facing a worrying return to using extremely thin models, amid the Ozempic boom,” Vogue said.
Social media can be an excellent tool to promote healthy body positive messages. There are a lot of great influencers out there who work really hard to provide encouragement to their followers and make a real difference in some people’s lives. However, just like any good thing, it has its downsides. People are constantly seeing other people on social media to compare themselves to, and seeing unhealthy habits glorified online.
The Ozempic boom blew up on social media as people started recognizing their favorite celebrities losing weight. The message being given will then continue to be: thin is better. As Tunnell explained, thin will always be in if people don’t really step up to do something about it.
oparisi@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @Mss_Mina, X
