FIGHT THE “THIN IS IN” MOVEMENT.

With summer comes great responsibility to not spiral about our body image. Not to mention seeing “thin is back in” going viral on our FYP. (Seriously, society?! We thought we were over this!) So, we chatted with weight discrimination expert and author Virgie Tovar (she/her) and content creator, speaker, writer, and self-compassion advocate Alex Michael May (she/her) for their thoughts, tips, and advice on how to feel good in your own skin this season and beyond.

The “Thin Is In” movement has slowly but surely been creeping back up on us. What is possibly influencing this trend?
VIRGIE: The “Thin Is In” trend is this kind of feeble and hollow tantrum in response to the fact that the culture has been forever changed by the body positivity and fat activism movements. It’s also a fundamental misunderstanding and flattening of what these movements are actually about: human rights and the universal right that we all have, regardless of our weight, to live with dignity. I think this flattening is intentional, trying to belittle the extraordinary work that’s been done by activists to make room for more bodies to exist safely, and reduce or cheapen it to an aesthetic trend.

On the other hand, as someone who’s worked in the news media for a little over five years, it’s become clear that a lot of these trends are totally made up in order to generate controversy and get clicks, which translate to much-needed income. It’s unfortunate that the news media plays into this toxic storytelling around whose bodies are “in” and whose bodies are “out.” It’s important to understand that this is about getting you to rage-click on an article and see an ad, and it doesn’t reflect most people’s lived experience or their values. News media and spaces that are really focused on trends—like the fashion industry—play off of each other and it gives people the false sense that this is “real,” when it’s not. All that to say: I’m skeptical of this “Thin Is In” thing because thin was never out. However, I’ve of course noticed the impact of Ozempic and GLP-1s on celebrity culture and the culture at large. I think the manufacturers of GLP-1s are over-promising a lot, and we’re in the beginning stages of seeing some of that fallout.

It’s unfortunate to see that even after all these powerful years of body positivity that so many people are still eager to lose weight by any means necessary. But I choose to focus on the many, many, many people whose lives have been forever changed for the better because of body positivity.       

ALEX: Our bodies are not a trend, period. Yet somehow, the media and trend cycles continue to perpetuate that narrative. Perhaps to sell fashion, diet culture, or ensure we stay insecure enough that we don’t fully trust ourselves and outsource our power to whoever is marketing to us the hardest. We also can’t have this discussion without talking about the rise of Semaglutide and the effect that’s also having on society at large and the body positive/body acceptance/body neutral and plus-size fashion space.

With the rise of ‘90s fashion, it also seems the supermodel culture and worship of the thin body returned after several years of what seemed to be progress with size inclusivity (and representation and diversity in general) but this time there’s no going back. We’ve also gone through decades of modifying our bodies through fashion, more recently plastic surgery and injectables (think everything from corsets to cone bras to BBLs, eyelid surgeries, lip filler, and so on). So many people who felt XYZ wasn’t for them got a taste of feeling like they belong, and we’re not going to be shoved back into obscurity. Our bodies are not a problem to be solved, so please don’t buy in!

What are a few tips you have for those who just wanna feel good in their own bodies?
VIRGIE: I’m such a huge fan of planning over defaulting! The default in our culture right now is stuff that tends to make us feel sh*tty. So, unfortunately, we have to plan in order to create the opposite: planning for self-care, planning to meet up with people who nourish you, planning to pack that pair of sunglasses that make you feel like a bad a*s b*tch (or the noise canceling headphones) if you’re going to the beach and are feeling self-conscious. Get recommendations for summer reads that aren’t secretly full of fat-shaming; I got stuck at the beach with a copy of Chelsea Girls last summer thinking I was going to have the time of my life and ended up nearly chucking the book into a ravine because of its needlessly incessant fat hatred. Plan to bring the chair or the towel that doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable all day. Have a plan for when something or someone activates you—because it’s likely going to happen at some point. Just write it down in your phone’s notes app and pull it up when it’s needed.

ALEX: I think it starts with choosing to feel good. There are so many messages around us that can lead to comparison and a feeling of not being enough (or being too much!). I would encourage anyone on a journey of self-acceptance and self-love/compassion to take an inventory of what messages they feel they’ve received about their bodies that make them feel less than, and then ask who told me this? Do I want to continue with this belief? Input leads to thoughts which become beliefs if those neural pathways are reinforced (and many of these beliefs are formed in childhood, but that’s a whole other conversation).

Once we become aware of our own thoughts (and the way we talk to ourselves in our own heads!), we can begin to shift our stories. From there, we can become aware of the media we intake. See: Are we doom-scrolling for hours? Are we following before and after weight loss or surgery accounts or people who photoshop their images to unrealistic beauty standards? Is there diversity in our feeds that reinforce the truth that beauty comes in all shades, shapes, sizes and gender-identities? If not, can we curate that?

We can begin to “change the channel” in our lives and focus on what we love about ourselves, have gratitude for our bodies that show up for us every day, and have fun with fashion as a form of self-expression rather than a way to hide or minimize ourselves. We can treat ourselves with the love and respect we would our sisters, dear friends, and children. We can romanticize our lives and treat ourselves like we love ourselves and watch that shift our perspective. We can wear the dress, or swimsuit, or ask for the raise, or apply for the job, or go on the date, and remember our bodies are the things that allow us to experience this life and all those little moments, and yet, we are so much more than our bodies, their size, or the number on the scale.

Another thing that always helps me get out of my head: focusing on all the little things that bring me joy in the day and staying present with those. It could be the dog you saw on your morning walk, the matcha latte you made yourself, or a voice memo from a friend that made you feel seen. There’s a reason there are scientific studies that share the effects of gratitude on mental health!

What’s your advice for fighting the “Thin Is In” movement and others like it year-round?
VIRGIE: Stick to your values. Not to get all finance bro about this, but I think of body positivity the way I think of an investment in really good stock. Society is like the stock market. And sometimes the stock market is going to be working in your favor! Your stocks are worth a lot. They’re climbing in value. You’re feeling amazing! Every sign is pointing toward the fact that you made a great investment. But then something happens (like this “Thin Is In” sh*t). The stocks lose a ton of value, sometimes rapidly. That’s super scary, and the instinct is to run for the hills! Your instinct is to get rid of the stock; even though you believe in it and you know deep down that it’s valuable. Now you’re not so sure. However, every smart investor knows that you don’t let the panic or the fear determine your behavior. You don’t sell (out). You hold (on). You hold and you hold, and you do the emotional work that’s required to stick to your guns. And eventually that stock will go back up because it’s really f*cking good stock. Right now, all we see is the market downturn, but the smart investor knows that this is just one chapter in the long life of a good investment. This issue is going to continue to cycle in and out of popularity on a cultural scale, but we as individuals don’t need to be on that emotional rollercoaster. Because body justice isn’t about trends. It’s about what science tells us about weight. It’s about what research tells us about the harm that weight stigma creates. It’s about what’s right and wrong. It’s about being on the right side of history.

ALEX: Take good care of yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually and repeat after me: I will no longer be at war with my body. Then, get on with your life. Live! It feels appropriate to close with a line from Mary Oliver’s Poem, “The Summer Day.” “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Because life is way too short to spend it obsessing over what you don’t like about your body. Be gentle with yourself, and take good care. We need you, and you deserve it!