Living in style: The rise of ‘SkinnyTok’

Watch out TikTok users – the evil underside of the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic has spilled over into mainstream media. Masked under the illusion of healthiness is the resurgence of ultra-thin ideals under the hashtag ‘Skinnytok’ that are managing to remove the leaps of body positivity movements at a concerningly rapid pace. ‘SkinnyTok’ ultimately idolises thinness, using a tough love approach to weight loss that reminds me of a stereotypical American soccer coach. It centres around the glamourisation of eating disorders, specifically Anorexia Nervosa, with users coining themselves as ‘ana angels’ embarking on a kind of warped spiritual journey.

The central issue with this strand of extreme restriction is that it is masked under the guise of wellness tips, making it surprisingly easy to get sucked in as it is promoted purely as a ‘healthy lifestyle’. Users under the hashtag promote ‘skinny girl rules’ to live by for weight loss, including the brutal: ‘Don’t reward yourself with food, you are not a dog.’

The calorie deficit amounts consistently recommended on ‘SkinnyTok’ tend to fall far below the average necessary intake for a toddler

As someone in active recovery, this content is yet another test in the seemingly endless stream of weight loss trends. It is difficult not to view content related to food as intentional and targeted; especially for those in the crucial stages of development, the repetitive narrative can easily stick. It personally reminds me of the ‘pro-ana’ Tumblr of the 2000s, essentially just promoting that you are not good enough, and that you need to try harder. By likening weight to worth in this way, it presents itself as the ultimate solution to self-esteem issues of any kind in a way that is addictive in its manipulation.

Rather than being purely inspiring, modern beauty norms have had the ripple effect of foregrounding toxic motivation in every sphere of life, providing a stark contrast to the short-lived focus on self-expression in the previous decade. Only recently, Zara’s advertisements were withdrawn by the UK Advertising Standards Authority for featuring models that were ‘unhealthily thin’. In this wider context of the media promoting only a singular body type, ‘SkinnyTok’ has the perfect platform to induce our compliance.

Having a singular ideal figure for billions of people who are necessarily all different shapes and sizes is insane when you think about it

Unfortunately, ‘SkinnyTok’ essentially acts as propaganda for a certain strand of unhealthy lifestyle. We are constantly being bombarded by a beauty standard that is underweight to the point of illness, with the line between becoming the healthiest or the skinniest version of yourself becoming increasingly blurred. And it is more than just a harmless trend – the damage that communities like ‘SkinnyTok’ can do, particularly to teenagers, can be insurmountable. The calorie deficit amounts consistently recommended on ‘SkinnyTok’ tend to fall far below the average necessary intake for a toddler. What it fails to account for is that this form of ‘starve-maxxing’ will severely damage your hormonal system and metabolism: rather than achieving the ‘model look’, your body on this amount will be unable to put energy towards anything but maintaining your vital organs, likely causing dramatic hair loss, lack of concentration, and a general lack of health and vitality. If ‘SkinnyTok’ were advocating for beauty purely, it would account for these factors rather than acting as a relentless bombardment of weight loss tips. It ultimately fails to consider the lasting effects of trying to force the issue of a certain body type onto people where it may not fit.

We have seen just in our lifetime alone that beauty ideals are transient. But we only have one body, which is not aware of internet trends, but simply being healthy. Having a singular ideal figure for billions of people who are necessarily all different shapes and sizes is insane when you think about it.

When this advice removes a genuinely healthy body from the equation, it becomes unsustainable

I think that TikTok can and should be a platform where we can share advice. I personally love some wellness tips or healthy recipes to give me inspiration for my second-year uni flat. But when this advice removes a genuinely healthy body from the equation, it becomes unsustainable. It is a difficult issue to debate because there can be nuance; weight loss journeys don’t always have to be toxic if they are done sustainably and for the right reasons. But ‘SkinnyTok’ has us chasing a false ideal with no genuine benefit to our personal health.

So, while ‘SkinnyTok’ is trending, let this be your reminder to stop and think. Do your research before embarking on any drastic diet plan. ‘SkinnyTok’ is never going to show you anything but the idealism of reaching a ‘dream’ body weight, while failing to account for the detrimental effects that come alongside it. I can tell you firsthand that it is simply not worth it.