Back to skinny?

Possible answers include: nostalgia for the Y2K era (the fashion trends of the late 1990s and early 2000s); the growing accessibility of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs; social media algorithms promoting a standardized ideal of thinness, particularly to young women; online influencers and fashion brands profiting from this trend; and a backlash against the perceived “wokeness” associated with body positivity.

The researchers found that TikTok algorithms delivered 4,343% more toxic eating disorder-related videos to users with eating disorders than to the healthy control group. Users in the eating disorder group were also shown 335% more dieting videos and 142% more exercise videos, with some receiving more than 1,000 such videos per month. In addition, users in the eating disorder group were 23% more likely to “like” dieting-related content, which then led the algorithm to deliver even more similar videos.

This is relevant to the article because it suggests that social media algorithms may reinforce and intensify unhealthy body ideals and eating-related behaviors, contributing to the renewed cultural emphasis on extreme thinness discussed in the fashion industry article.

Possible answers include:

• Charlotte Markey, a psychology professor, argues that the preference for thinness never truly disappeared and continued to exist beneath the body diversity and inclusivity movement of the 2010s.
• Heather Widdows, a philosophy professor, suggests that body diversity was only a temporary distraction from the ongoing cultural pressure toward thinness. She also argues that the ideal body is not only thin but also “toned,” creating the expectation that everyone should continually work on improving their bodies.
• Ysabel Gerrard, an author, argues that the “Kardashian body” trend was never genuinely liberating because it still imposed strict and restrictive beauty standards, similar to the current emphasis on extreme thinness.

Students may answer this question freely. Responses may include predictions of continued emphasis on thinness and a possible rise in eating disorders among females; increasing disinterest in body trends altogether; a pushback from both males and females against narrow body ideals; or a shift toward valuing “fitness” and physical strength rather than simply thinness.

Businesses make enormous profits from products and services related to dieting and body image, including diet foods and drinks, diet pills, weight-loss injections, websites, magazines, and commercial franchises. Students will likely be able to think of many additional examples.

One example is online influencers who are paid by companies to promote dieting products and weight-loss trends on social media platforms. Students may identify many other valid examples.

This question should encourage small-group discussion that can later be shared with the class. The images included in the original article may also be used to stimulate conversation and debate.