The female body has been a topic of discussion since the beginning of time. From abortion debates all the way to the perception of the female body within the fashion industry, our bodies seem to be a continuous battlefield. Being constantly on display for society to judge and critique, it is no surprise that as a result, we strive to achieve the ‘ideal’ body type. However, the issue that seems to persist is the ever-changing nature of that ‘ideal’ body. What was considered ‘body goals’ just a year ago, is no longer the body goal, and what was considered the ‘body goal’ of the 90s, is now the body goal of the 2020s.
That being said, if the goal is always changing, how can we ever reach it? Particularly with the digitisation of the female appearance, the ideal female body has become somewhat of a trend that changes by the season. The Kardashians have had that trend in a tight chokehold for some time. I honestly don’t remember a time when they didn’t have that influence on the perception of the female body. With the recent weight loss of Kim and Khloe, that fact is emphasised. Without a doubt, the perception of the female body as a trend has negative repercussions on all women; on their mental health and on how they are perceived by society in general.
The Evolution of Body Ideals
The evolution of the ‘ideal’ body type is ever-changing. From impossibly thin waists to curvy hips, women have seen various beauty ideals throughout the ages. However, the 90s-00s has been characterised as an age which set the tone for the most damaging beauty ideals. Tristan Lee from Bazaar explains how she, “grew up in the 90s when Heroin Chic was something to aspire to; we were constantly fed images of underweight models and the weekly magazines were awash with articles on how to be a size zero.” The 90s-00s was an infamous era for equating thinness to beauty. Kate Moss in particular was the pioneer of this. One of her most well-known moments was a 2009 interview, where she stated that her life motto was,
“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”
Come the 2010s, the Kardashians enter the celebrity scene. Suddenly, the “slim-thick” ideal was all the rage. From BBLs to large boobs and impossibly thin waists, society began to absorb this image of the female body, and they began to absorb it rapidly. Before we knew it, the Kardashian body was hailed as the ultimate goal. However, recently, the obsession with curvy bodies has died down. The standard remains without a doubt, but we are now entering a new era which is all too familiar. The 90s-00s are back, and the Kardashians are once again at the forefront of it. Kim revealed she had lost 16lbs in just three weeks for the Met Gala look back in May, and there has been much speculation that both Kim and Khloe have removed any implants they previously had. With Kim and Khloe’s dramatic weight loss, we have come full circle and we are back in Kate Moss’ world.
The Mental Health Aspect
The perception of the female body as a fashion trend, coming and going as the seasons change, neglects the role that mental health plays in weight gain/loss. The Kardashian’s Hulu show has decided to make Khloe’s mental health the focus of this season, depicting the reality of its state due to recent events in her life. We see Kim and Kendall express concern for Khloe’s weight loss following relationship drama with Tristan Thompson. We see Khloe being told that she has suffered brain trauma due to the ongoing stress occurring in her life. However, the media has ignored the painful reality of her suffering, instead focusing on the way she looks, or what surgeries or implants they believe she has had. The media has taken her weight loss as an attempt to undergo some sort of, ‘body transformation,’ in order to fit into the thin, modelesque, Hadid/Jenner body type. The media is constantly questioning her diet, workout routine, surgeries, etc when that alleged ‘diet’ is obviously immense stress. Her body is constantly in the spotlight; whether she has gained weight or lost it, the media always seems to obsess over Khloe’s body. This much emphasis should not be placed on the way in which the Kardashian’s bodies change. It is not something to be glamorised and labelled as a fashion transformation, and it most definitely should not be taken as a trend to be followed or copied. The Hulu show evidently goes to great lengths to depict the real effects of mental health on a person’s physical health. It does an excellent job at portraying the harrowing effects of toxic relationships on eating habits and disorders, bringing attention to the fact that toxic behaviours such as that of Tristan’s towards Khloe, are very likely to lead to poor eating habits/disorders. Thus, Khloe’s dramatic weight loss should be taken as a red card to care for your mental health and reach out for help.
The female body is evidently perceived through the lens of ever-changing fashion trends. Today’s culture views the body as something that is to be seen and admired. That is its sole purpose by society’s standards for women. Instead, the body should be seen as something that should be nurtured and taken care of.
This all boils down to the female body should not be seen as a trend.