The well-known "heroin chic" body type that had been contaminating mass culture since the early nineties appears to have been supplanted by another body image. Unfortunately this new one, popularised by celebrities like Kim Kardashian, may be even worse, according to a new study.
Researchers from York University in Toronto delved into how the world's body ideals are shifting to so-called "thick-slim" from "thin-ideal". For those of you who haven't been following Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner or Beyonce on TV or Instagram, the new ideal body type is described as "a curvier or more full body type” with a “small waist and flat stomach but large butt, breasts and thighs".
The team examined the impact which forced social comparisons to slim-thick-, thin-, and fit-ideal imagery have had on women’s body image relative to a control condition.
The scientists asked 402 female undergraduate students to take part in the experiment. Women from this age group (18-25) are among the most active Instagram users. The women were asked to view 13 photos of influencers with three different body types: slim-thick, thin and fit.
It turned out that women who compared themselves to the slim-thick ideal “experienced significantly more weight and appearance dissatisfaction, and less body satisfaction” than those who viewed the thin-ideal images.
“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 explained to 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.”
The problem with the "heroin chic" body type ideal was that girls would submerge themselves into strict diets in order to reach it. When it comes to those who are willing to look like Kim Kardashian, the study notes, the strive for "perfection" can lead them to plastic surgery.
McComb noted that the "ideal" bodies are promoted in the media, but it is important for people to always keep in mind that the images distributed in magazines and Instagram accounts are heavily edited on most occasions. Even - and especially - when it comes to celebrities like Kim Kardashian.