Is Fatphobia Trending Again?

Hannah Tiernan

If you haven’t been living under a rock and are present on social media platforms like TikTok, you may have noticed an increase in “trends” that seem awfully reminiscent of the 2000’s and their obsession with “heroin chic”. It’s a trend that glorifies being skinny and conventionally attractive, and creates a platform for fatphobia to rear its head once more.

Society seems to be leaving bias in the past, with many preaching kindness and anti bigotry. But it seems fatphobia as a bias is still on the rise, whether it's a conscious prejudice or not. Body type is becoming a more obsessive point of conversation, especially within young girls. Fatphobia is an issue that does affect people of all communities, but predominantly women. 

I was mindlessly scrolling on Tinder, laughing at profiles, and was shocked by how many men my age had “do not swipe right if you’re fat”, in their bios, or some variant of it. While it’s okay to have a type, it isn’t really okay to say it like that, like, at all. Eating disorders are soaring. In England, the amount of young people getting treatment for eating disorders has more than doubled since 2016. It is estimated that 188,895 people in Ireland will experience an eating disorder in their lives. The rise of fatphobia is certainly not helping. Fat shaming is back with a bang, especially in the comment sections of women’s posts. While dad bods were deemed attractive in the last few years, the equivalent for women has yet to be established. Fatphobia is a more complex issue than it seems. It’s not just about surface level appearance, but it also has links in racial and sexist issues. It’s an uphill battle to universal body positivity. Many creators in the past have perhaps gone about it the wrong way with a too aggressive approach, or ill approached attempts at new trends. While we have come a long way, with bodies of all types being featured in ad campaigns, on runways, and in pop culture in general, there is a core problem that needs to be addressed. Perhaps we need to take a look at ourselves, as a society, and dissect our need to be skinny, and our obsession with “looking healthy”. Maybe we need to accept that we need to mind our own business and let other people be. Whatever the solution is, I don’t doubt it will be reached, I just hope in happens sooner rather than later.