Skip to main content

An Article On The 'Slim-thick' Body type-Yahoo!Style

Kim Kardashian's 'slim-thick' body type is more harmful than 'ultra-thin': New study.

Article By Mira Miller

Wed, February 2, 2022, 3:42 PM

Has the "slim-thick" body type officially replaced the thin ideal?

Images of unrealistically thin models and celebrities have permeated popular culture for decades, causing severe damage to women's body image and mental health in the process. However, a recent study reveals that a new body ideal may be causing even more harm than the ultra-thin “heroin chic” look that came to prominence in the ‘90s—and we have Kim Kardashian to thank for it.

Researchers at York University in Toronto conducted a study to find out how pervasive imagery of the “slim-thick ideal,” which has become popularized in mainstream media by celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Beyoncé, contributes to young women’s dissatisfaction with their body. Described as “a curvier or more full body type” with a “small waist and flat stomach but large butt, breasts and thighs,” the study found that the slim-thick physique is actually more damaging to the way young women feel about their bodies compared to the ultra-thin body type.

“The thin-ideal has long been identified as a threat to women’s body image, and there’s been a call for body image campaigns and the media to showcase a greater diversity of body types,” researcher Sarah McComb tells Yahoo Canada. “However, even though the slim-thick body type touts a larger frame, it is not a healthier alternative to the thin-ideal for media consumers—it was actually more threatening to women’s body image.”

McComb and Jennifer Mills, a registered clinical psychologist, surveyed 402 women between the ages of 18 and 25, which are proven to be the heaviest users of Instagram. The participants viewed 13 photos of influencers with different body types: slim-thick, thin and fit.

Both McComb and Mills say they were surprised to discover that those who compared themselves to slim-thick-ideal imagery “experienced significantly more weight and appearance dissatisfaction, and less body satisfaction” than those who compared themselves to thin-ideal imagery.

While the thin-ideal has long been considered the most desirable body type for women, at least in white-centred mainstream media, this research suggests beauty ideals may be shifting. The study points to the Kardashian-Jenner clan as well as other influencers and celebrities who regularly share these kinds of images with their massive social media followings as the reason for the change.

According to McComb, the slim-thick body type appeals to a greater number of women across ethnic backgrounds, while previous research shows that the thin-ideal has mainly appealed to white women.

Kate Moss's thin frame was an example of '90s thin ideal. 

Unfortunately, the slim-thick body type isn't more attainable than the thin ideal. The study notes that it would likely require plastic surgery or strategic exercises that increase muscle mass on specific body parts to achieve the curvaceous look.

And yet, social media trends from 2021 show just how idealized this body type has become in recent years. According to the study, the hashtags #thick, #thicc, and #slimthick have earned millions of posts on Instagram while the hashtag #slimthicc currently has more than 134 million tags on TikTok.

“The media is the most powerful and impactful sociocultural transmitter of beauty ideals in our society,” McComb says. 
What types of people and bodies are advertised in the media tells young women what body types are deemed as attractive and which are celebrated, and gives them the impression of what they should be aspiring to."

However most of what we see in the media has been edited, airbrushed and altered—a process with which the Kardashians are notoriously familiar. This leads to imagery that is even more unattainable and can result in people taking dangerous steps to try and achieve the unachievable, especially those who are prone to “physical appearance perfectionism.”

Appearance perfectionism, or the act of holding unrealistic goals and expectations for one’s appearance and body, has been associated with many negative body image outcomes, the study explains, including disordered eating symptoms, appearance social anxiety, appearance and body shape dissatisfaction, unhealthy weight control behaviours, low appearance self-esteem, high impression management, high appearance management behaviours and perfectionistic self-presentation.

“Internalized pressure to have [a] slim-thick body type can lead to risky body modification practices, such as waist trainers and plastic surgery…that have no benefit to one's health and are solely about appearance,” Mills tells Yahoo Canada.


If we want to protect young people from the negative effects of over-consuming these images, Mills says regulations around how social media platforms collect data and “use tricks to hack into our attention span” could become essential.

“People should get to choose what they look at,” she says. “The combination of the current business model of social media and the way humans naturally think and feel makes it hard for people to ignore all the images around them. For some vulnerable people, that is going to lead to mental health problems.”

Mills also suggests being proactive in monitoring our social media use if we want to try and avoid the harmful impacts of constantly being bombarded with this unrealistic, unattainable imagery.

“Set your own limits, take a break from social media and the news,” she recommends. “Be mindful about the effect that your internet and social media use have on how you feel about yourself and your life.”

Let us know what you think by commenting below.

News Source:Yahoo!Style


Comments

  1. Women!
    Ladies!!
    Girls!!! Love yourself just how God created you to be. BBL and its likes has serious side effects you won't be warned about. Work on your complexity if need be and cease from comparing yourself to women on social media.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Will they listen?

    ReplyDelete
  3. The craze for big butt,fuller hip and big boobs is causing more harm than good in the society. Ladies seeking for all manner of things to grow thier hips,butt and boobs leading to life threatening damage.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Type your comments here

Popular posts from this blog

Major Hamza Al Mustapha-Boko Haram Will Cease In Six Months, As President

Major Hamza Al Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer to late military Head of State General Sani Abacha is a presidential aspirant under the platform of Action Alliance, AA. Al Mustapha in an interview with the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said that if he becomes the President of Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency will end within six months.  "I swear if it is not possible to defeat terrorists in six months, I will demote all these senior officers and send them home, they will be prosecuted and must return the money given to them because I will probe them. “If I become the President I will live in Sambisa, I will stay there during weekends, and holidays and see if anything will touch me,” he said.

Hollywood Stars Jennifer Lopez And Ben Affleck Marry In Las Vegas

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have tied the knot in a Las Vegas wedding. Thereby Obtaining Marriage License in Vegas. Months after revealing their engagement in April 2022, the couple obtained a marriage license in Clark County, Nevada, over the weekend. Clark County Clerk's Office in Nevada - where Las Vegas is located - shows on its record system that Lopez intends to change her name to Jennifer Affleck. "We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient," she wrote on her fan website OntheJLo. The pair called off their first engagement in January 2004. Last year, news of the couple getting back together had sent fans into a swirl. The duo are known to publicly displayed their rekindled love and affection towards each other on social media. Giving an update on her OntheJLo website, the actress and music superstar announced that they had flown to Las Vegas on Saturday and queued for a marriage licence alongside four other...

BREAKING: CBN To Stop Selling Forex To Banks This Year

  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has put Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) on notice that it will stop selling forex to them by the end of 2022. CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele made this known in Abuja on Thursday at the end of the Bankers’ Committee Meeting where he also introduced the RT200 Programme. Emefiele said the time had come for the banks to go out there and source for forex by funding entrepreneurs with ideas. Emefiele also disclosed that the apex bank’s policies and measures have led to a significant improvement in diaspora inflow from an average of US$6 million per week in December 2020 to an average of over US$100 million per week by January 2022. The CBN, he said, would be reviewing these intervention programmes going forward to ensure that they continue to achieve the desired results. Source: The Nation