Now more than ever it seems like those around us are making the choice to partake in diet culture to improve their physical health and appearance. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel better, diet culture can be extremely detrimental to a person’s health and well-being, often leading to the development of eating disorders and other body-image-related insecurities. However, TikTok sensation Brittani Lancaster is combating diet culture and its potential consequences one short video at a time.
In January 2020, I downloaded TikTok as a way to entertain myself by watching videos from various creators. Not long after downloading the app, I noticed how much diet culture and disordered eating was (and still is) promoted by some of the app’s content creators. At this time, I was a year into my on-going struggle with an eating disorder. After seeing all of this fat-phobia, I continued to spiral further into a state of reliance on my eating disorder to make me feel better about myself. I believed that if I continued my harmful habits, I would eventually fit the conventional beauty standard of being skinny. Soon thereafter, Brittani Lancaster, an alumna of The University of Oregon, became the face of body positivity and self-love movements by sharing the story of her personal struggle with two eating disorders. While I am still struggling every day, Brittani Lancaster has given me, and millions of others, the opportunity to believe that we are not defined by our relationship with food or by how our body looks. It is for this reason that Brittani Lancaster is the most influential TikTok creator.
Brittani Lancaster’s TikTok account gained traction when she began to share stories of her experience battling two eating disorders. What started as short videos aimed at spreading awareness of the prevalence of eating disorders, quickly turned into “What I Eat In A Day” videos to promote non-restrictive eating habits and clips of her showing off her stomach rolls or herself in bikinis to show that no-one body type can dress in specific clothing. While simple, these types of videos can encourage a young woman or man who was going to restrict themselves all day to sit down and eat a meal to fuel their body, or to put on that piece of clothing on that they have been avoiding due to fear of it not looking good.
Not only does she provide encouragement, but she educates the app’s users as well. Lancaster teaches her audience, and any passer-bys, that not only skinny people are suffering from eating disorders. As mentioned previously, Brittani Lancaster struggled with two eating disorders: binge eating (at two different times in her life), and anorexia. Binge eating disorder occurs when a person frequently consumes copious amounts of food and feels as though they cannot stop eating. Anorexia is an emotional disorder that manifests itself in a refusal to eat. After experiencing binge eating disorder in her youth, Brittani Lancaster, who was considered to be “heavy”, developed anorexia in her teenage years/young adulthood, dropping weight rapidly and experiencing a lack of proper bodily functioning, and then falling back into binge-eating disorder habits. By sharing detailed recounts of her experiences with binge eating and anorexia, Brittani Lancaster opens the floor for dialogue about eating disorders and actively disproves the belief that “fat” people are not suffering from them.
It should come as no surprise to learn that Lancaster is an advocate for removing the term “fat” from people’s vocabularies, especially when being used to describe one’s body. The term has led to a lot of men and women resenting natural physical traits that everyone has. As previously mentioned, Brittani Lancaster makes videos of herself in bikinis, crop tops, bras, etc. The purpose of these videos is to combat the idea that “fat” bodies are unappealing. There is NOTHING WRONG with having stomach rolls, bloating and losing your “morning skinny”, or having cellulite. Additionally Lancaster emphasizes the fact that it is no one’s place to comment on another person’s physical appearance or weight, as a person is not defined by the number on the scale or the size t-shirt they wear. Everyone’s body looks and is shaped differently for a reason. It does not matter how a person appears physically–if they are happy in their own skin, it is not anyone’s place to label them otherwise.
Finally, seeking the necessary eating disorder treatment is another topic Brittani Lancaster addresses in her videos. There is a stigma that seeking help means a person is too weak to handle things on their own accord, but that is not true in the slightest, especially for eating disorders. By opening up to someone about your eating disorder and taking the steps necessary to enter recovery, a person is showing how strong they actually are. Brittani Lancaster talks extensively about her hesitation to come clean to her family about her struggles as a young adult, but details how much of a relief she felt when she finally took a leap of faith and sought help from her family and health professionals. Coming clean and starting the recovery process is no easy task, but Brittani Lancaster makes it known that there is no shame in seeking help–only praise.
Although her work is far from over, Brittani Lancaster has made a massive impact on the lives of those who are struggling or who know a person struggling. It is with ease that I say the following: Brittani Lancaster is one of the few creators on TikTok who deserves praise and recognition–she has become a role model and influence for millions. If you or a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder or body-image-related issues and insecurities, you are not alone. The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) can be reached by phone and text message at 800-931-2237, and via online chat here.