"Bodies aren't a trend": Body positivity fight endures in the GLP-1 era
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A cultural shift toward downsizing fueled by a GLP-1 drug boom and slimming celebrities is destabilizing for people trying to achieve acceptance, mental health experts and body positivity advocates tell Axios.
Why it matters: Still, the body positivity movement, advocates say, is an ongoing fight that won't shrink with the trends.
- "Our brains must see evidence of body diversity," says Zoë Bisbing, a psychotherapist and the founder of Body-Positive Therapy NYC. If we don't, "our brains clock our bodies as wrong."
Flashback: Following the heroin-chic aesthetic of the '90s and early aughts, the 2010s brought curvy anthem "All About That Bass" and an attempt from some brands to elevate more realistic body standards.
- But now, the pendulum seems to be swinging back toward media highlighting ultra-thinness, aided by access to GLP-1s and spotlighting celebrities who have slimmed down quickly.
What they're saying: "It absolutely feels like backtracking," says Katelyn Baker, a doctor of clinical psychology who shares body positivity content on TikTok as @thatfatdoctor.
- "It hurts my heart because of all the work that I personally poured in, as well as all my friends and my colleagues and people who came before me," she said. "They're kind of disappearing."
Cassandra Cavallaro, a content creator who promotes movement for wellness rather than weight loss, says the rise of the now-banned "SkinnyTok" hashtag sent a "really concerning" message that "bodies are now becoming a trend again."
- She emphasizes, "Real people's bodies aren't a trend."
Even stars are noticing the return of harmful appearance norms among fellow celebrities: Actress Jameela Jamil said in a recent video, "this is not just a health kick that Hollywood has undergone."
- She continued, "We fought the system [with body positivity], and now we need to come back and do that again."
Between the lines: For those without the resources, Yeshiva University social work professor Dr. Nafees Alam says, the proliferation of drugs widens a two-tiered societal split between those who can afford medical intervention and those who have to "settle" for body positivity.
- Systemic barriers to weight management are nothing new, he notes: "Health has been a privilege for those who are socioeconomically affluent for a very long time."
Worth noting: GLP-1s can bring relief to those who need them and offer widespread health benefits beyond Type 2 diabetes management, such as reduced risk of neurological issues and sleep apnea.
- Samhita Mukhopadhyay, a body positivity proponent and contributing writer at The Cut, told NPR that "our obsession with celebrities taking them has created an environment where we are not actually evaluating these drugs for their real value."
- The drugs also carry side effects, including nausea, headaches and fatigue. In rare cases, there is an increased risk of GI disorders such as pancreatitis.
- Health experts have argued the language we use to describe these drugs should frame them as a tool to treat a chronic disease rather than a vanity product. It's part of a broader growing awareness that the language clinicians use language to describe their patients can impact health.
Cavallaro says she doesn't see GLP-1 drugs as "inherently bad."
- But the visibility of the weight-loss craze, she says, "brings up all this comparison and second-guessing of our bodies, especially for people who were starting to maybe feel OK ... Now they're questioning, should I be doing more? Should I be smaller?"
The bottom line: The body positivity movement, rooted in the 1960's push for fat rights, is more than just a hashtag or a trend — it's a battle for social justice that blazes on, Bisbing explains.
• "It's not you must love your body as you are," says Bisbing. "It's saying, 'Whoever you are, you have a right to love your body.'"
