{"id":779338,"date":"2026-09-22T22:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T22:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/779338\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T22:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T22:38:12","slug":"is-skinny-kinda-chic-psychology-today-united-kingdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/779338\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Skinny “Kinda Chic”? | Psychology Today United Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

The current \u201ckinda chic\u201d craze has gone viral on social media<\/a>. The good part is how it pokes fun at the mundane while acknowledging the importance of setting healthy boundaries<\/a> and developing self-acceptance. Shifting the focus away from overly pretentious content is also a welcome change in the age of AI<\/a> and enhanced images. It demonstrates that we can appreciate everyday reality instead of performing with fake personas. <\/p>\n

Yet, this trend is also connected to the ways we internalize an appearance-focused mindset and the relationship we have to our bodies. <\/p>\n

Ideals of Beauty in the 1960s<\/p>\n

If you grew up in the 1960s, you probably remember supermodels like Jean Shrimpton, Verushka, and Twiggy. These famous faces and figures revolutionized the fashion industry and influenced cultural standards of beauty. <\/p>\n

The curvier, more voluptuous shapes of women in the 1950s were replaced with less feminine, reed-thin bodies. Women strove to emulate this look, which was an unrealistic goal for the vast majority. This carried over into the dance community, as the Balanchine aesthetic of a long, lean, slender body type became the ideal standard for female ballet dancers. It also set the stage for unhealthy eating behaviors, the development of clinical eating disorders, and an intense striving for the elusive notion of perfection.<\/p>\n

The Influence of \u201cHeroin Chic\u201d<\/p>\n

This \u201cskinny worship\u201d trend eased up somewhat in the 1970s and 1980s, with feminists rejecting the notion of an ideal body type. Many fashion models in the 1980s, including Cindy Crawford and Christie Brinkley, had curvier, more athletic<\/a> builds. <\/p>\n

The 1990s, however, glamorized the \u201cheroin chic\u201d look. An extremely thin physique, pale skin, dark under-eye circles, and disheveled hair and clothes (Smith et al., 2023) were considered to be cool. Do you recall the sickly appearance of model Kate Moss in the ubiquitous Calvin Klein ad? It was disturbing to see a seemingly anorexic<\/a> image being encouraged and normalized. In a 2009 interview, Moss remarked, \u201cNothing tastes as good as skinny feels,\u201d but since regrets making that comment (BBC, 2018).<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Old Is New Again <\/p>\n

Appearance-focused outlooks have shifted over the past decade. The Kardashians rebelled against the lean body type by demonstrating hourglass body proportions reminiscent of the 1950s. Ballet dancers, such as Misty Copeland and Sylvie Guillem, also personified a more muscular build than what was typical. <\/p>\n

However, the idea of \u201cthin is in\u201d seems to be making a comeback in the 2020s, which is a significant cause for concern. The media is saturated with photos of underweight celebrities out and about on the red carpet, such as Ariana Grande, Demi Moore, and Cynthia Erivo. We can take these role models seriously and try to replicate their look, or we can view it as an opportunity to examine and resist these exaggerated stereotypes. <\/p>\n

On a positive note, more celebrities are speaking out about their mental health struggles and battles with eating disorders. Nonetheless, we often detect mixed messages when they claim to be recovered and healthy, while we can clearly see their emaciated bodies. <\/p>\n

The Weight Loss Obsession<\/p>\n

When do the scales tip from thinness as a form of beauty to manifesting<\/a> as an unhealthy obsession? <\/p>\n

The revival of \u201cheroin chic\u201d as a mainstream concept today has the potential to increase substance abuse<\/a> disorders, eating disorders, and body dysmorphic disorders (Smith et al., 2023). The recent surge in popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss medications is a prime example of the endless pursuit of thinness.<\/p>\n

In one study, despite the potential risk factors and side effects, individuals who reported body shame, body surveillance, disordered eating<\/a>, higher BMIs, weight concerns, and fat-shaming<\/a> were most likely to try GLP-1 medications (Markey et al., 2025). Many celebrities have shared their satisfaction with the number of pounds they have lost on GLP-1 treatments. While these products are highly effective for weight loss, they can lead to the onset or return of restrictive eating patterns (Richards & Khalsa, 2024). Additionally, their widespread use perpetuates the stigma<\/a> that fat is unattractive, and we should strive to be thin.<\/p>\n

Finding Your Own Self-Concept<\/p>\n

If you think being skinny should be portrayed as chic or \u201ckinda chic,\u201d take a closer look at the ways these concepts have evolved. Decide for yourself if this resonates with your self-concept<\/a>, authenticity<\/a>, relationship to your appearance, and how you want to present yourself to the world. <\/p>\n

Cultural norms will continue to go in and out of fashion. With millions of influencers on social media trying to shape our bodies, opinions, and behaviors, it\u2019s hard to know who to follow. We don\u2019t have to keep up with the latest flavor-of-the-month, but we should keep an open mind, be discerning, and keep cultivating a strong sense of self. Consider the wise<\/a> words of Dolly Parton: \u201cFind out who you are and do it on purpose.\u201d Now, that\u2019s \u201ckinda chic”!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The current \u201ckinda chic\u201d craze has gone viral on social media. The good part is how it pokes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":779339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-779338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=779338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/779339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=779338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=779338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}