Body Sizes aren't a Trend

By Delaney Cha

The beauty industry and the fashion industry are the main trend setters when it comes to societal norms. It tells people what they believe is beautiful and what is not, what is stylish and what is a fad.

These industries also tell people that body shapes are a trend and not a normal thing to happen, which often leads to men and women wanting to change, alter, or recreate their bodies in new ways.

This is not a new thing to happen. Styles of clothing go in and out of style every year and have done so for hundreds of years. Fashion and beauty is alive in the culture that they create and it is also an easy way to bring culture forward as well.

However, the trends that the fashion and beauty industry push are very exclusive. Someone has to look a certain way and act a certain way to even be considered a part of the fashion world. Clothing for women especially was always made to accentuate the waist and highlight the shape of the hips.

It is interesting that the fashion industry believes that people need to change their bodies. It is difficult to accept that there are parts of bodies that the fashion industry deems as “ugly”. It is weird that body size and shape is a trend.

The current trend at the moment is an exaggerated hourglass figure, but the ideal body is a thin one, with no body fat and no extra weight except for where it should be. Body shape and figure is something that happens naturally.

In 2013, Irish journalist Norma Costello wrote about the dangers of having body sizes and shapes going in and out of trend. In her article she wrote, “I felt we were being pushed into the body ideal, this time the hourglass figure, that wasn't fair or achievable for most of us”.

The difficult part of the body positivity movement especially in the fashion and beauty industries is finding celebrities, models, and influencers to speak out on their experience.

The shift in body size and shape started in the early 2010’s with Kim Kardashian being more than willing to flaunt her curves on magazine covers and online. It was a huge change from the very thin, athletic, petite body type that had been on magazine covers for decades.

It became more of a phenomenon as social media became more and more popular. So many celebrities and influential people were endorsing dangerous “diet pills” and creating a new trend of diet fads that caused many body issues in previous years.

Diet pills were dangerous because they essentially told people that they could take these pills, skip meals, and lose weight fast. It was not a healthy way to do so and in turn caused many more problems with eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia.

Eating disorders are incredibly dangerous and damaging mental illnesses that cause people to essentially starve themselves to get to an ideal weight and size. Men and women are able to be diagnosed with eating disorders, however it is less likely for men to speak about them.

Men are also susceptible to body image issues. When all they see in their life is a tall man, with tan skin, and a well defined physique, they will try to become that person they see in magazines and in advertisements. Men are more likely to abuse their bodies by working out too much and not eating the correct proportions of food to get the definition that top male models have in fashion.

Natural body types are normal to have and it is disappointing to see the fashion industry declare what they think is beautiful, fashionable, and on trend. Body sizes should never be a trend. It is damaging to set unrealistic standards for a body that works and lives just as well as the “beautiful” ones.