The Girls are Getting Thinner

But are we allowed to show concern?

This week, Ariana Grande kicked off her long awaited ‘Eternal Sunshine’ tour in Oakland, following the release of her 2024 album of the same title. Social media saw the star flaunt her vocal abilities in outfits styled by Law Roach, long time stylist of Zendaya. Whilst she prances along the stage in Alexander McQueen distressed fringe, and lace corset tops highlighting her collarbones, it’s difficult to not become distracted by her physique. A star once providing her fans with tours consisting of high energy choreography and stops at every country, is now taking a steadier approach to performing. Her backup dancers absorb every ounce of energy from the stage, leaving behind unsettling remains of a star falling victim to the skinny epidemic of the Ozempic age.

As a long time fan of Ariana, it’s distressing to see her look so unhealthy. After seeing her live in 2019 with a healthy figure, natural to the consequences of performing every night for almost a year, there’s a noticeable difference in her appearance. The Ariana pre-Wicked was sassy, energetic, and had a ponytail longer than her torso. After acting became her main priority, fans saw a large difference in her looks. The ponytail was shorter, the fake tan was gone, and her bubbly, childlike personality was easily comparable to her ‘Victorious’ character Cat Valentine. When she returned to music, it was assumed that ‘Blackiana’ was back - but that was far from the truth.

In recent years, the use of weight loss injections has become so normalised, that natural weight loss is seen as a myth. Every actress is seen walking red carpets looking gaunt, with a soulless stare comparable to that one friend who does too many pingers on a night out. They approach interviews in a confused state, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. It’s no surprise that actors attend premiers high, but the startling combination of ‘heroine chic’ physique, as well as the inability to propose basic comprehension or mobility skills, is a cause for concern. It’s difficult to tell whether the delirious facial expressions are a result of class A’s, or a diet consisting of cigarettes and Diet Coke (or both).

‘Orange is the New Black’ and ‘Russian Doll’ star Natasha Lyonne was seen at the ‘Euphoria’ season 3 premiere visibly drugged up, being carried along the red carpet by her team. This was just hours after reports that she was kicked off a flight from LA to New York, for failing to comply to the safety procedures before take off. Fans showed concern towards the state she was in, made clear by the comedically large aviators worn for obvious undisclosed reasons. Months ago Lyonne had announced that she had relapsed, following decades of drug addiction and recovery. Actresses including Nicole Kidman, Anna Farris, and (you guessed it) Ariana Grande, have sparked conversation for their confusing behaviour towards those interviewing them. It was only a year ago we saw the internet create a meme out of the ‘Wicked’ actress and her co-star, Cynthia Erivo, for ‘holding space’ with each other and crying repeatedly during press interviews. It’s rare to see a healthy physique and conversation which doesn’t sound lifeless, on a carpet symbolic of the hierarchy between ourselves and Hollywood royalty. How are we in better health than those with a private chef?

Everyone is skinny now. When Ozempic and Mounjaro became more accessible to the general public, it was only a matter of time until skinny became the new normal. But is it normal for everyone to be losing a ridiculous amount of weight in such a short period of time? The UK influencer scene is proof of how detrimental these weight loss drugs are to the self perception of your audience. There are plenty of influencers who choose not to disclose the fact they have taken ozempic, despite it being so obvious, judging from their ‘what I eat in a day’ videos, as well as their weight loss tracked through daily uploads. The general public are smart, and when you post everything about your life, it’s easy to see through lies. Content creator Max Balegde made a comment about the amount of influencers who are deceiving their audience into believing that they’ve lost weight naturally, and this caused uproar amongst his audience. Is it our business? Absolutely. Promoting a body standard and fooling your followers into believing that your new figure you’re celebrating is natural, isn’t a productive way to ‘influence’ anyone. The only thing you’re influencing is the ideology that losing weight is going to give you a better quality of life - but it’s hardly rewarding when you’re already slim.

Fans of those who have lost a worrying amount of weight are under the misunderstanding that concern equates to hate. It’s not hateful to remind people that a body consisting of just bones is not healthy, in a time when everyone wants to be as petite as they can possibly be. Becoming ridiculously slim is no longer desirable when your hair begins to fall out, and you lose your period. The beauty in being skinny disappears when you start to look anorexic. What these celebrities don’t realise, is that skinny isn’t the body standard when you’re stripped of personality, as well as body weight. We fear those who look unhealthy. Whilst it’s true that women will always receive criticism, no matter what they do to change their appearance, I believe that this theory goes beyond that. It’s scary how women want to look like they have an eating disorder. This was desirable in the 90’s when Kate Moss was the face of ‘heroin chic’, and in the ‘America’s Next Top Model’ era of the early 2000’s. Have we forgotten about the repercussions of these trends? The tragic death of ‘Big Brother’ star Nikki Graham, as well as the internet’s collective judgement towards the media of the 2000’s which perpetrated the skinny fantasy, clearly weren’t enough to convince anyone.

In a post-BBL era of the internet, body standards are changing rapidly. Ten years ago, Kim Kardashian popularised the BBL, and curves were very much in. To be flat was to be ugly, and femininity was tied to the growing proportions of the female body. Women were spending thousands on implants, just to remove them years later in an attempt to shrink themselves down to the size of an infant. The current body standard is to look as skinny and malnourished as humanly possible, whilst having large ‘Barbie’ boobs in an attempt to distract everyone from the rest of their body appearing underdeveloped. It’s a trend to have a childlike physique, but everyone wants fuller lips. The female body is only viewed as a symbol of attraction when it’s pornified. Weight loss drugs are a gateway to fulfilling the ‘Lolita’ male fantasy. The girls are getting thinner, but their lips are getting bigger.