Was diet culture in the 2000's THAT bad?! Is history repeating?

[@BryonyClaire]

Here I was wanting to keep this to 30 mins and I made a 58 minute version instead (on Patreon) and just kept the even worse stuff that was normalized then which is in THAT video. KZbin kept age restricting this video due to the clips I was using so you KNOW it was bad! I hope that anyone who dealt with all the diet culture, fat shaming, body shaming is doing better these days. Again, there are resources in the description box if you need them, nobody needs that nasty voice in their head telling them how ugly and unworthy they are (heck I know some of you have mothers who do that enough already!)

[@sissyfuss]

If they couldn’t make us feel horrible about ourselves, then they couldn’t sell us tons of stuff. Most advertising boils down to “Whatever you are, it’s not good enough. Buy our snake oil!” It’s definitely not restricted to diet culture. Just look at ads for tooth whitening products, deodorant, hair care, etc.

[@user-jb3qm7im5g]

I really hope you don't actually think that the body positivity community and fat activism is a good thing. Especially since the main influencers in those communities are shaming people for not being fat enough. Body positivity should have been about fighting your own demons and actually learning about how to take care of yourself. I also feel like obesity should be more addressed as a problem. I'm not talking about normal sized people. I'm talking about people who are morbidly obese and get a lot of diseases after they reach 30 years old. This problem should be especially addressed since it's one of the leading causes of early death in western culture. Health at every size doesn't exist, you wouldn't say that an anorexic person is healthy and I really hope you don't say the same about mobility obese people.

[@tvtvtfan3767]

@@user-jb3qm7im5gI totally agree with your statement. I do agree some of these interview were toxic

[@jk5238]

@@user-jb3qm7im5gI want to agree with you but I have to disagree with you on the obesity argument. Obesity IS being talked about, the issue is HOW it’s being talked about. My main issue with obesity isn’t even the people glorifying fatness (which is obviously problematic), but it’s with the people who believe every person can easily lose weight if they “put down the fork.” Obesity is way more complicated for a lot of people that can’t just be solved with eating less and exercising. Of course it helps, but some people have underlying conditions that cause obesity, and it needs to be approached differently than someone who can lose weight with a lower calorie diet. I think we need to have a proper deep dive into obesity as a society becomes it’s way too simplified to the point where people are ignoring obese people who are actively telling everyone that they need different treatments than other obese people. Not to mention we also have people who can’t believe an obese person can be anorexic, as if anorexia is exclusive to underweight people.

[@mollusckscramp4124]

Thank you for doing your part to help discourage unhealthy body image trends in today's generation! I hope these girls are able to see the forest for the trees and never have to go through what we did in the 2000s

[@oomay1925]

As an Asian, thinness is still pedalled a lot. People think Asians are "naturally thin," and while yes a lot of Asian people have a genetically smaller frame, people really don't understand that there are also a lot of not thin Asians, and ED is just very normalized.

[@transsexual_computer_faery]

oh

[@seeleunit2000]

I have heard. That has to be very stressful.

[@Raddiebaddie]

Very true... The korean vegan on youtube and instagram talks about this a good bit... When I was in thailand it was just like a normal comment to say someone looked fat 😅

[@ladygrey4113]

I’ve heard about these ideal Korean proportions and they’re scary thin

[@escabasket153]

I’m sorry to hear how difficult that is. I hope someday things can change and people can become more open-minded. I have a lot of Asian friends, especially at my job (most are Vietnamese) and they tell me the same.

[@tteokbokkibxtch]

2000s media: "Too fat. Disgusting. Cease food consumption immediately." Also 2000s media: "Too skinny! Yuck. Eat several sandwiches and think about what you've done." Our society really just hated women existing in any form. Even celebrities with the idealised body type were subject to scrutiny about how they maintained their figures, and the media was always waiting for a slight bodily change to appear so that they could unleash endless bs about how a celeb's 5lb weight gain meant their life was falling apart.

[@msd7544]

OMG your comment unlocked a bunch of memories in my head lol. All those times, grocery shopping with my mom as a little girl, and seeing those awful magazines at the register: “BREAKING NEWS! Celebrity gains 5 pounds! Is she pregnant? Or has she just given up on life?” Meanwhile, the only difference I see in the before after is that she’s wearing sweats lol. I never thought about how damaging that was before today, which I think goes to show how omnipresent that type of messaging was back then!

[@BryonyClaire]

Exactly! Nicole Richie is a perfect example of this, seeing her treatment side by side really exemplifies it, it's awful. There was no way for a woman to exist where she was genuinely content, you had to be in a constant state of doubt

[@dollinterrupted]

@@msd7544omg I felt the same way reading this comment like all these tabloid news about Kirstie alley endlessly and just thinking how she looks like my mom she looks happy who cares

[@oshunmohansen1091]

And then further in the magazine there's recipes for unhealthy food, like what do they want?? 😭

[@entertainmentfan1463]

You also forgot the 2000s again: "What's that awful dress? This is the most fugliest thing I've ever seen." - when the media can't rip apart women's bodies, they rip apart what they're wearing.

[@GioGio-fq1vl]

I'm actually shocked Howard Stern still has a career despite the disgusting shit he said and did to female interviewees during the 90's and 00's. The fact that we've collectively swept his behavior under a rug is appalling.

[@anwarpine6797]

He still has a career? 🤢

[@GioGio-fq1vl]

@@anwarpine6797 Unfortunately yeah, he's still hosting that same show and is still interviewing people like Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus and Aurora.

[@lauraigla6319]

That the thing... he doesn't have a career in spite of the disgusting behavior. He has a career BECAUSE of it. There's plenty of people that are fans solely because he is being vile in ways they would like to be too.

[@GioGio-fq1vl]

@@lauraigla6319 You know what? You're absolutely right. It's the same reason why people like Joel McHale and Joan Rivers were famous at one point. It's very disturbing.

[@larissabrglum3856]

I've always hated that man

[@giaparmer]

Telling Nicole Richie of all people that she looks especially thick in person is unbelievable to my human eyes. Also no coincidence that she spiraled into a years long eating disorder 😢

[@clairewillow6475]

That interview was horrifying

[@Neonrain08]

to be hones nicole is still underweight i dont think she ever fully recovered

[@contemporarydncethot0382]

Who could blame her 😢😮 she looked so toned and fit. Same with poor Ginger spice 😮😮😮😮 I will NEVER forgive society for trying to convince us that Ginger-Spice was fat 😮💯🫠🤬😡😤

[@seannanana84]

I always thought Nicole was super cute and I've always been a heavy girl like truly and watched those interviews with this face 😮 because she looked tiny to me she just has a different shape than Paris.

[@graciemargot8689]

The way the sparkle goes out of her eyes while she’s processing what that interviewer is saying 😢

[@anwarpine6797]

Bridget Jones really boggled my mind. How can anyone say she is fat

[@angelaholmes8888]

Yeah me too it reminds me the way delta burke the actress from designing women

[@seeleunit2000]

She wasn't fat, but tell Hollywood that. It was awful.

[@angelaholmes8888]

@@seeleunit2000 yeah exactly she wasn't the industry view on weight was wrong

[@alyzu4755]

When she walked out in that bunny costume all I could think was "hubba hubba!". 😊 I should be so fat.

[@unamejames]

Me: "Bridget Jones is hot." All my classmates in 8th grade: "EW GROSS! She's fat!"

[@elena_1776]

I was a teenager during this time, it was WILD. Like absolutely unhinged behavior from everyone. Part of my ED was literally cutting pictures and articles out of magazines and making a scrapbook of them to "inspire" the disorder. Absolutely horrifying time.

[@comfortm1506]

this has morphed into today’s ED twitter

[@michaelneedssleep]

I had friends who did similar things that time 😢.

[@JauntyCrepe]

Same

[@annalau2596]

Did the same...😢

[@glumshoe6954]

(warning for talking about eds) as someone who is has been struggling with a restrictive ED since middle school around 2017 or 2018 up to now, the online ed community (the proana/mia community mostly, not really the support/vent groups) - particularly on platforms like twitter, tumblr, and pinterest - still commonly use pictures of thin women and celebs from the 2000s as fuel in my experiences. though nowadays I do think I see more pictures of kpop idols and models and of other regular girls clearly very UW more than anything. It’s gotten especially bad I feel like with the rise of different aesthetics like y2k (obviously), coquette/nymphette (obviously), and even just goth/other alt (the clothes and makeup, not necessarily the actual subcultures). I genuinely do wonder sometimes how much influence the fashion industry, more than even celebrities and social media, has in pushing young girls toward anorexia, bulimia, and restrictive EDNOS. so many of the people I see online talk about how imagining fitting into and looking good in any clothes they want keeps them going. don’t even get me started on how cult-y brandy melville fans are 😭

[@electron-Volt]

I grew up in the 90s and early 2000s. I fear that the damage is permanent and I can never unlearn this toxicity.

[@BryonyClaire]

it CAN be done, it's something I still have to be conscious of when I feel those thoughts starting again. I would really encourage looking into body neutrality, it's helped me (and others) a lot

[@lawliet6910]

@@BryonyClaireI second the body neutrality

[@GrayTimber]

@BryonyClaire Also seconding this. I still have some body dysmorphia if I look at pictures of myself, but body neutrality has made it so much easier to live without those thoughts tainting my daily life.

[@EmilyGilbeywilbey]

Sadly it's true. I now weigh 160lb and am a size 4 following years of yo-yo dieting, objectively I'm the perfect size and shape healthy and looking and great, the best I've ever looked and felt! But I still feel stabbing pangs that I weigh SOOO much over the 110lb I grew up thinking was the only acceptable weight for a woman! I know it's wrong and stupid and unhealthy, but it's stuck in my Psyche!!!

[@sidneylowery1543]

Same. I'm a pear shape, and I don't remember ever feeling confident about my body growing up. Being self-conscious was all I knew.

[@wplants9793]

Not to fixate of body appearances but I am absolutely perplexed as to how people could body shame Britney in the 2007 VMAs because she looks not only fine but good. It’s nuts that they wanted her to be Barbie thin perfect at all times, the second she gains like literally 5 pounds she’s fat shamed. The world owes her an apology. Same with Jessica Simpson!

[@seeleunit2000]

As someone who had to live through that period of time, they were relentlessly harranged her. If anyone remembers the clip from the guy, who was saying: leave Britney alone ! He had a point. Trust me, if you were a woman celebrity during that time, and you weren't rail thin, you caught so much flack for your weight.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

She was flabby and giggly and flaunted it in really ugly outfits. I think that was the beginning of her growing tired of the fame.

[@YurinanAcquiline]

Agreed. Britney looked great.

[@Zectifin]

dude, Thicc Jessica Simpson is so hot.

[@Plottoberry]

​@@YurinanAcquiline i remember being confused as well...she looked healthy

[@gabriellef3351]

I remember watching gilmore girls and thinking the only reason our culture was co with them eating all the time was because they were still thin. You're allowed to eat as long as you don't gain, or aren't already big.

[@NettleAbsentmindedly]

Our society loves women who eat a lot because they're considered, "chill" and "down to earth." Basically, not vain and self absorbed. The pro typical "cool girl" But if they gain weight? Attacked immediately

[@user-sg4ov7ng4h]

Gosh.. they really ruined eating healthily. I'm glad body building is popular because at least they don't eat as restrictively as what was pushed. (At least for non competitive women) Sadly i still think they make things look pretty but it doesn't taste that great. The horrible wheel i was kinda stuck in because i thought that only good food was basically things i disliked/didn't enjoy that much. Where the focalisation isn't getting the needed nutriments to fill you up and give you energy but to just eat less and the things with the least calories. That exercice feels bad because you only get hiit workouts. It was so focused on sport instead of good eating. Those 100 calories you ate? You feel bad and workout now. If only i knew that restricting and eating things i'm not excited to eat and feel hungry all the time isn't the way. It was never the way. Why the demonization of the gym, carbs and protein? The things that help make you satiated? And how all we did was for men, girls couldnt be fat but the dudes could. That we need to settle for a dude we don't find attractive and cook and clean for him. But you HAVE to be skinny and beautiful

[@kyonshi61]

I remember thinking the same thing. I'm glad this was brought up in the video. The ideal at the time was to be ballerina thin, but also to impress dudes with how much nachos, pizza, and beer you could put away because you're "not like other girls"

[@APFC95]

I was a chubby kid in the early 00s. I remember always thinking the women they were calling 'fat' in movies and magazines where thinner than me, there is no hope for me. I remember comments from my family on my weight since I was like 7. My mom would make stuff like fries for the family diner and she'd call me out in front of everyone when I went for seconds....At 14 I actually successfuly lost some weight and my family of course praised me.....I'm 29... To this day everyone still makes sure they always say something about my weight everytime they see me... Edit: to be clear, I'm not even overweight anymore since a good 4 years now, and everytime it's like they are surprised I look nice, like I was a monster before or somethig.... it always 'oh you look thin, you look so nice, now this is how it should be'. Can't win.

[@arianaweinert7869]

Oof I relate hard. In hindsight it feels so creepy to judge kids on looks like that. When I see a child today they don’t look thin or fat to me they just look like kids.

[@Bunnidove]

I understand this...

[@abbyrose1868]

I basically was exactly the same situation as you. I'm 28 now and have put weight on again. I can never escape the hellscape of EDs and feeling shame about my weight 😢

[@stuffinsthegreat]

Same age as you and was just never a thin body type, ever. My parents and other adults in my life were /mostly/ pretty good about how they treated me (treated themselves worse) and the 2010s were a breath of fresh air, even though it was just glorifying a different "ideal." But the 2000s (and even early 2010s) were absolutely awful, the standards really were unreal. Now, I've lost a concerning amount of weight due to health problems, and it's taken some /conversation/ to convince these people that actually my weight loss is bad. A lot of it really is people being hard on themselves and their own internalized body image issues, but it still sucks dealing with that. I never developed ED/BDD so I can't say this will work for anyone else, but I remember as a teenager finding scary documentaries about eating disorders helped manage the lows sometimes. Other than that, getting off social media (as much as you can) really does make a difference for a lot of people I've talked to.

[@ALuiza-pm2dp]

was... this written by me??

[@erinnadia0409]

The one that always stood out to me was Bring it On with Brianna being called fat, because I honestly thought she was the hottest character, her body is amazing and all they did was call her fat?!

[@annabelledrake2027]

her body is the most realistic for a cheerleader imo as someone who has been in cheer for a decade. I credit competitive cheer for giving me healthier body standards than I would’ve had otherwise.

[@erinnadia0409]

@@annabelledrake2027 yes that's what thought! She looked strong and toned, perfect for cheerleading! And they just subjected her to fat jokes and shaming.

[@EKL-qu7ih]

I just commented the same. I'm straight but I thought 'she's hot' and could not believe she was the one who was meant to be the joke. Ridiculous and stupid now, downright dangerous for young women to see that back in the day.

[@CaulkMongler]

@@annabelledrake2027oh yeah for sure. Those rail thin bodies are only good for fliers to toss about easily, you need a strong body to be doing all the flips and lifts.

[@annabelledrake2027]

@@CaulkMongler even flyers are often much more muscular than most of the athletes in this movie. Tumbling often grows muscle and many flyers are also tumblers. You should see the abs on some high level flyers it’s crazy. We have a saying in cheer that there’s no such thing as a flyer that is too heavy, there are just bases that aren’t strong enough. Many of my flyers weigh about the same as I do at 5’8”, they’re just shorter (and that’s not always even true). I flew this past year for the first time with literally only one girl, who was a a head shorter than me, holding me up by herself. Honestly cheer has nothing to do with how you look/what you weigh. Most girls are pretty “athletic”, that’s true, but I’ve seen tons of different body types in cheer, at every different level. The only issue would be if you’re like underweight (which I was at one point while cheering and I do not recommend) or something because then you likely are losing muscle and don’t have much energy for throwing and catching humans or flipping around.

[@larissabrglum3856]

I remember being a normal-sized eight-year-old in 2004 and thinking I was fat. No wonder I felt that way, this messaging was everywhere!

[@colorbar.s]

"normal sized" doesn't exist

[@PerfecktLady]

Mood, I vividly remember feeling insanely fat all the time as early as 7 yrs old and I really wasn't back then. It makes me sad, like where did that come from :(

[@GeekyC.]

Jesus you just brought back a lot of memories for me as a 8 year old and feeling the same .. I’m 30 now but I remember feeling like I’d crush the other kids if I fell on them and I looked massive in photos etc

[@PandoraBear357]

I had a 25" waist and my ex could put his hands around my waist and touch his fingers together, and I thought I was fat.

[@thoughtworn]

SAME. The time spent in front of the mirror, the constant comparison in my head with other classmates' bodies. And I was in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

[@SWIMMINGDOWN]

As a bisexual woman growing up in this era, I'm still hella confused. I'm attracted to such a diverse range of women and female body types, i dont have a particular preference (ignoring fashion styles i particularly like), yet i can only think of one acceptable body type for myself, which is always skinnier than i am. I'm in my early 30s mow and looking at clothes that used to fit recently. I was so sick in my early 20s, and clearly pretty slim, but i never felt "skinny", because "skinny" really meant "good enough". Basically its all a pile of crap, engineered to damage women and girls and it's so enraging. Love your vids, thank you for keeping us sane.

[@janemokujin]

👏👏👏 I resonate with so much of what you said !!!

[@esmee6308]

My first girlfriend and I ended up making this era a lot harder on each other. We found each other (as people in love do) absolutely perfect. But being a similar height and so intimately close with each other it was hard not to notice things. Our frames varied slightly and we'd hyperfocus on where one of us had our clothes fitting loose or where we saw more 'beauty standards'. (Collar bones, tigh gap etc.) We'd find 'inspiration' in each other and just made the habits movies and media portrayed worse. I know what I look like at nearly all sizes and I know I'm at my optimal health/appearance right now. It's the best I can be, but my brain defaults to 'too fat' at all times.

[@amethystdream8251]

Bisexuality certainly reveals a lot about the world and people lol

[@CaulkMongler]

Literally I find so many people beautiful but when it comes to myself I’m my harshest critic 😢

[@sircharlesmormont9300]

I grew up in the 90s and was a young adult in the era being portrayed. The wild thing is that I didn't really recognize myself as bi until the media started to show curvier women as attractive again. I mean, yes, I had the requisite Xena crush. And Jessica Rabbit is basically my template for womanhood. But all the women I thought were just... awesome... were presented to me by the media as what I shouldn't want. It took me getting thicker, myself, and starting to see more positive representation in media for me to realize, "Oh, no, I just think curvy ladies are attractive. I have a type!" This body image stuff had me questioning my sexuality for far too long.

[@elizabethwillis885]

In the 90s, I was bullied for being fat for years. What people don’t understand is that if you are bullied for being fat, no one ever stuck up for you. Because the culture was extremely fat phobic. So when you looked in women’s magazines, women’s tv shows, and anything for women in general, the fat shaming just reinforced the bullying I experienced every single day. There was literally no one saying, “be happy in your body. You are beautiful the way you are.” So I was being bullied in person and bullied by culture.

[@foxiefair123]

Same.

[@owlygemart]

I've always been fat (using fat as a neutral descriptor, not an insult) and my body has never even been a little close to the size of the "fat" women in these movies. No wonder I felt like I wasn't even human until very recent years. Once the wool has been lifted from your eyes you see this stuff and grimace at how overtly evil it all is.

[@abrielle13]

It's insane that growing up girls like Hayden Panettiere and Hilary Duff were criticized for their bodies. I thought they had perfect bodies in my eyes.

[@rosenhale]

I'm still so brainwashed from growing up in the 2000s that when I see them I think they look fat 🫠

[@katherines.3767]

I remember when even Hilary got very thin for a while, I think around 2005-ish. I thought she had a beautiful, healthy figure.

[@lulukulu5489]

Heck, I thought Hilary and Raven had the most perfect body

[@aporue5893]

people were so mean about britney's weight :(

[@neonennui]

They were so cool!

[@aprildawnsunshine4326]

Pagents from age 2, model from 6-8yo, dancer 2-18yo. I was a walking ED textbook. My first pregnancy was high risk because I was under 100lbs. Afterwards I had an appetite for the first time I could remember and I suddenly understood why people enjoyed food so much. I blew up fast. My second was high risk because I was over 230lbs. Both born on the bigger side and healthy today thankfully. I lost a lot during my second pregnancy but not enough and it snuck back up so I tried to diy the Atkins diet. I lost my gallbladder as a result of that and all the damage I did to my digestive system is still ruining my life. I have afrid (extreme restrictive eating due to anxiety related loss of appetite and nausea), gastroparesis, ibd, ulcers and multiple hernias. I have other health issues unrelated to my ED and I can't tell you how often I get told, even after explaining my history with ED, that the "easiest" thing to do is lose weight. By DOCTORS! It's ridiculous. I struggle to eat anything at all half the time and then get shamed for the couple hundred calories of candy I manage to force down so I don't starve. It feels like it's never going to get better. Edit: got ads for diet fads and baked goods from the grocery store and healthcare. It's just depressing.

[@b.c.9358]

Signed up for a gym, told them I had a history of eating disorders, was told to step on a device that would measure my body fat. Canceled my gym subscription.

[@wen6519]

It is depressing. It is unfair. I am sorry this is happening to you. I'm sending you a virtual hug. I truly hope things will get better and you'll match with a physician who sees more than your weight, and actually works with you to ensure your health.

[@InsoIence]

I've been this. Still am, really. Stress induced lack of appetite and nausea with a sprinkle of aversion to certain textures and flavours. I was usually around 60kg (132lbs) at 162cm (5'3"), then I started losing weight so I was praised. Recently I got to 70kg (153lbs) due to change of life style (and work) and I get funny comments from close ones. For some reason they think that me slowly running myself into death; working in a physically demanding job, while basically being in a sauna environment; suffering from depression, anxiety and neurosis while masking was better than them seeing some extra of me. I'm bitter. I'm sure they care about my health too. It's just very frustrating that skinny = happy in many people's eyes. You're good just the way you are. Best wishes to you and your kids.

[@aprildawnsunshine4326]

@@InsoIence idk if this helps, but after my first I gained up to 140lbs and I'm 5'3 as well and I'll be honest I loved how I looked then. Now, nearly 20yrs later, I'm 160-180lbs and I still feel like I look good. Also, studies have found time after time that once you hit a certain age being "overweight" is linked to having a longer and more active life. Every body is different, but as long as you feel good physically and emotionally in your body you're healthy imho. I've learned since becoming disabled that when people make comments about another person's body it's really themselves and their fears they're talking about. They see you gaining and worry they're going to as well and as an act of defense pressure you. 90% of the time when someone talks about what you should or shouldn't do it's that and I've found they stop pretty quickly when I point it out 😉💖

[@aprildawnsunshine4326]

@@wen6519 I appreciate the thought, but I'm doing well with it. It's super frustrating, but I consider myself lucky in that I know how to advocate for myself and I don't let them push me around just because they have MD after their name. Drs can still be idiots too. What depresses me is how many people don't have my skills and privileges so can't get the care they need. It makes me want to fight for every single person who needs it, but I can't of course. I don't share my struggles and journey for pity but for education and to remind them they aren't alone, aren't crazy, and can still have a good life regardless. If you're moved please learn about afrid and get involved in spreading awareness. 💕

[@emilysydes199]

breast and butt and hip fashion has always fluctuated but (to me anyway idk if this is true generally) but it seems like waists have always been expected to be small

[@smithereens7105]

The beauty standards swing back and forth from unrealistically skinny with big boobs to unrealistically thin waist with large hips and ass. The point is for it to be a very rare almost unrealistic body type so that most people don't meet the standard and have to spend their time and money chasing this ideal. It's either people starving themselves and getting lipo or people wearing waist trainers and going to get dangerous ass shots. It's tragic

[@randomname24680]

Fat was sexy when people didn't have access to food... It's about status.

[@naenaeo]

@@randomname24680Not really, no. Even going back to colonialism europeans and white people have always been smaller and skinnier and poc have always been chubbier regardless of status. We associate rich posh elite women with a toned and skinny body. Not with a chubby or fat one

[@randomname24680]

@@naenaeo I didn't say I was talking about medieval Europe or race discrepancy, so I really don't see the point on contradicting me based on that specific exemple...

[@jlbeeen]

@@randomname24680 Same with skin tone. Being paler used to be seen as better because you didn't have to work outside, but now tan skin seems to be more in style because it means you can afford to go on vacation. At least in some parts of the world, and a lot of things vary by region. I wish there was more diversity in media other than it being pretty much all US content.

[@mfuentes4961]

Looking back on the 2000’s I’m horrified at how society and the media would treat women who were above a size 0 to 2. It’s even more ridiculous considering that clothing sizes still vary based on the designer/store. I’m so terrified for our younger and future generations because if that form of diet culture would come back, it would become astronomically more toxic, damaging and dangerous because of the wide accessibility to image editing apps and the state of social media today.

[@Sleipnirseight]

The crazy thing is I WAS a size zero/00 and still got teased for having "thunder thighs" ☠️☠️

[@Girlnextdoor-kg6ub]

@@Sleipnirseightdamn that is wild

[@JauntyCrepe]

@@SleipnirseightI remember having a thigh gap was everything for my teenage self 😢

[@niaedmonds3342]

The young doesn't have to conform.

[@jessicahitchens6926]

Far worse than the 2000s. At least people communicated and weren't on their phone 24/7.

[@Kestra84]

Just mentioning, since you featured her as an exemplar of beauty for the 1950s, Audrey Hepburn experienced extreme calorie deprivation as a child growing up in Holland during WWII, and it lead to life-long health affects, including how petite she was; it literally stunted her growth. So yeah, *a literal survivor of childhood privation* was able to achieve that body type due to war and starvation. (I'm not criticizing Hepburn at all, just saying how many people who are considered "naturally thin" are actually combatting EDs and/or other medical conditions, giving even more lie to the facile thin=healthy math our society keeps pretending is real.)

[@BryonyClaire]

Oh I agree, I'm not taking away the fact she went through extreme hardship, hell, I'd say. It's more that people heralded her beauty more than anything, it doesn't matter if someone went through hell, hence they look like that, it's about "the look" at the end of it. In the same way people reminisce on her movie roles but not about the incredible work she did AFTER her movies, all the humanitarian work, it's less glamorous, you know?

[@PandoraBear357]

Most actresses in the 40s and 50s had contracts with extremely controlling studios who dictated what their weight was supposed to be and people on set and in their entourages would actually take food from them if the studios thought they were gaining weight. There's a story of Judy Garland eating candy canes during a parade when she was supposed to be throwing them to kids, because she hadn't been allowed to eat all day.

[@AlbusMaximus-xi5dy]

Okay, you know this video topic hits hard as a 2000s child when at the start you're like "Oh, is that really relevant tho" and then realize, the further the video goes "Oh yeah, I totally forgot that I'm still in the middle of unlearning that subtle fear of gaining weight my mom instilled in me" 💀

[@BryonyClaire]

I'm really sorry, I know the diet culture was inescapable then, and hate the fact so many people internalized it and passed on these horrible messages to their kids too. Be kind to yourself, it's a tough journey unlearning it as we have to eat everyday to survive so it's easy to have that stuff crop up constantly in your mind

[@marlyd]

And the fact that it's coming right back and we can see it coming and we're shouting about it but there's nothing we can do to prevent it 😢

[@CaulkMongler]

I saw a comment the other day vehemently saying Jessica Simpson was fat because she wasn’t fit. As if there’s zero middle ground between fat and fit… so yep, women’s bodies are still under attack.

[@JNatt]

That Nicole Richie interview?! I cannot believe someone really thought that was an appropriate thing to say to someone??? As someone who suffered/s with Ed and dysmorphia this would’ve sent me spiraling. I can only imagine what she was feeling in that moment.

[@beasttitanofficial3768]

When "fat Natalie" came on the screen I was like???

[@alyzu4755]

Right?!?!? Martine McCutcheon is so gorgeous!

[@abigaelrarts2257]

exactly! i was like what are you joking she is absolutely gorgeous

[@katc2040]

​@@abigaelrarts2257 more comments implying that fat means that you're automatically ugly 🙄🙄 the irony

[@pottetplant9975]

​@katc2040 omg yes exactly what i was thinking. This is so weird

[@wendy-woodhouse]

For REAL. A waist that small and she's considered "chubby"?

[@Starsongzz]

This is especially hard as a dark black skinned woman because I’m often seen as lesser than woman, and lesser than human if I’m not presenting correctly. Not to mention the mammie troupe I get lumped into, especially with my natural hair. Now I love my body, and my color, it’s just hard to be seen as a pseudo-man when I’m around “truer” women (white, skinny, blondes). That or I get called a “thick black woman” by people who don’t know, which is so dehumanizing because it shows me they just see me as that , or a type to collect.

[@BryonyClaire]

The misogynoir is REAL, and I hate that it still happens today, it's incredibly dehumanizing and I'm really sorry you still deal with it. I'm really glad that you love yourself and the way you look, society has so much catching up to do, it makes me really angry that people feel it's ok to dehumanize people like this

[@Starsongzz]

@@BryonyClaire Honestly what I hate most about intersectional issues is how it divides people. We’re told envy and jealousy isn’t cute, but at the same time it’s encouraged in every facet of life. Especially for women and femmes. But if we talk about it, then we’re desperate. One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn throughout my life was how to not direct my feelings towards individuals, but to focus on connecting with people to move forward. Ultimately, their goal is to separate people, so we can’t communicate and heal.

[@seeleunit2000]

I feel you're frustration. As a heavyset black woman I can relate.

[@denishawalters1813]

I totally agree. I on the other side of the stereotype issue have always been invisible to an extent bc I don’t fit any of the old stereotypes for black women. I’m under 5 ft tall and petite so I’m not thicc or statuesque, I’m not heavier to be the funny fat black girl, and I’m not outspoken to be the loud black woman, and I look young so I’m not the mame. It’s like I get stuck in the glitch in their matrix like a coding error. People literally do not acknowledge me in lines or nearly walk over me, or assume I’m a kid and speak to my friends or sisters over my head. It boils my blood that our existence is a battle for basic respect bc we don’t fit the limited cut outs set out for us.

[@tinag7506]

It's so sad that you don't see yourself as a "true woman" around white people. Really heartbreaking. Popular culture is really poison and we need to reprogram the general psyche to respect people irrespective of their looks.

[@eliza6971]

I grew up fat in the 2000s and it was made worse by my parents ignoring my valid concerns about anemia and hormone imbalance. Somehow, despite that, I have now have a relatively average to high level of confidence despite being fat in a wildly fat phobic society. The best things I've done for myself are (in no particular order): - intuitive eating - therapy - finding a doctor that takes me seriously (OneMedical was very helpful) - exercise as joyous movement (not as an outlet for self hatred) - removing triggering content from my social media feeds - avoiding triggering shows and movies - seeking out more genuine media with people who look like me (more like "Shrill" and nothing like TLC) - healing conversations with supportive friends - no longer discussing my body with my relatives - taking myself less seriously (most strangers I encounter aren't thinking about me at all) - taking other people less seriously (why is that stranger so obsessed with me? what an emotional damaged weirdo. good thing I'm about to forget them forever because they don't actually matter to me at all)

[@PthumerianDusk]

These are all great tips! Thabjs for leaving them here ❤ I'm struggling and this helps a lot

[@blacKKorat]

Thanks for sharing! I think I'll write these down as a reminder for myself. These are actual good health and self care ideas!

[@alexrose20]

This is actually good advice!

[@jrojala]

It was very terrible, I personally knew two girls who were hospitalized because of their dangerous weight loss- one had her organs failing and everything

[@SuicidalH]

It's still very common unfortunately

[@eos7053]

I've always felt too thin since the end of high school (I was very stressed so I'd cook and give it away because back then I listened to my appetite instead of info like if I had eaten that day). I'm finally to a weight I'm comfortable with, but whenever I'm stressed I get someone who tells me "you look good, did you lose weight?" And it just sends me into a spiral about my health and stresses me out to the point I'm forcing myself to remember meals again. My brothers have gotten to a point where they ask me if I've eaten daily to make sure I do, and society today just thinks that's healthy again.

[@BryonyClaire]

I'm so sorry, I WISH people wouldn't ever compliment people on their body size, because it really does more harm than good imo

[@eos7053]

@BryonyClaire Exactly! Everyone is comfortable with different weights and body types for themselves and you never know whether your comment will make them feel better or worse! I'd rather let people know if they're looking cute on how they present themselves. I'd rather not take the risk with people I don't know on that kind of thing!

[@fermentedstrawberry]

@@BryonyClaire It definitely does. I'm recovering from an ED and at my thinnest (dangerously underweight) the first thing my grandma said when she saw me was "You look amazing!" and she had never complimented my figure before when I was at a healthy weight. I can't put my thoughts into words as eloquently as I'd like but to say the least it really messed with me and I'm still struggling to heal my relationship with food and my body to this day.

[@alyzu4755]

Yup. I've learned to stop at "You look great!". If I know them well and they have a sense of humor I might add on something like "Have you been sleeping well? Drinking water? Ingesting the blood of your enemies?"

[@BryonyClaire]

@fermentedstrawberry uuuuuggghhh I'm so sorry they did that! I really hope you keep getting better, and that people stop saying stuff like that

[@East_blue2014]

As a teenager I remember crying because my sister said my body looked like Brittany Spears. She ment it as a complement but woman's magazines told me it wasnt 😢

[@thegadflysnemesis4102]

I grew up in the 2000s fairly sheltered from pop culture and ohhhhh my god the best decision my parents ever made for us was canceling their cable subscription. even having been spared the tabloid articles and TV shows (and to a large extent the popular movies of the era) I still experienced the fatphobia that my family enacted, I cannot imagine how much worse it would have been if I'd been exposed to the turbo-charged fatphobia that was going on in pop culture

[@wplants9793]

As a mom I def restrict things for my kids now. But I have seen it go many ways, I had friends that parents didn’t allow them to be exposed to mtv and magazines and cable but learned their ED through their family or church. But the point of this video is the cultural impact so in that way I totally agree with your point :)

[@janiedaisy66]

The early 00s was an absolutely brutal time to be a chunky teenager. Pretty sure I'll never completely unlearn a lot of this toxic mindset despite how hard I try.

[@moonie6368]

this was my biggest fear 3 years ago when the y2k started trending, like someone said in an instagram post I once saw speaking about the same topic "they are bringing back low waist pants, but they are also bringing back the impossibly thin figures that goes with it" edit: grammatical error

[@Sleipnirseight]

THIS. Low-rise and ED's went hand-in-hand.

[@EKL-qu7ih]

I'm slim but because I'm female have love handles and they looked odd over low rise jeans. I didn't realize it was the jeans that didn't suit me - not me failing to suit them. But they were the only style in fashion at the time.

[@jlbeeen]

Am I the only one who prefers low-rise because they don't squish my stomach and make me feel sick? I hated when high rise was in because I couldn't sit down, and if I got ones that fit in the waist, then people made fun of me for not having a butt. It was rough. Now I just buy men's pants or elastic waist because they fit my body shape better than any women's jeans could.

[@_texas_s]

​@@jlbeeen same😢 I prefere low rose bcs they for better for my body

[@kianamoore5390]

It’s something about Serena, a world renowned athlete, getting as many accolades and accomplishments as she has, saying that 😢

[@BryonyClaire]

It made me really sad watching it honestly, I really admire her so it was a bit of a gut punch watching that episode

[@kianamoore5390]

@@BryonyClaire yes! To think that THE Serena would even feel that way. The diet culture has done so much to us as women. We can be accomplished with so many accolades but that toxic culture will have us thinking that it’s not comparable to being thin. Ugh 😭

[@lulukulu5489]

​@@kianamoore5390athletes are highly superstitious so I'm not surprised

[@AmiRiddle]

My mother has been telling me to lose weight ever since I was a late teenager. I was size 8 at that time (UK) and now, at 34 I'm 12. I don't really think I'm fat, but my mother thinks so. And I absolutely hate how she covers it with phrases like "It's for your health and I'm just worried about you, because I love you so much". Although it used to be much worse. She used to say "You should lose weight because boys/men prefer slimer and more slender girls/women"... It also doesn't bother her, that my older sister had ano-ED. Thank you for this video :)

[@LotteLane]

She sounds toxic AF. Well done for recognising how harmful this is. So sorry about your sister.

[@eliana1853]

i'm a late teen and my mom has recently started to make these comments as well! it's comforting knowing i'm not alone, especially since she uses these exact phrases. thank you so much for sharing this experience

[@Universal_Pig]

that generation were even more brainwashed about this stuff than we were, it’s so sad

[@cheesecake7274]

As a type 1 diabetic, I HATE having to weigh out all my food, add it to a carb calculator etc. I would jump at the chance to never have to do it again. I understand it's not that simple, I suffered from an ED for a long time, but those of you who are still sound of mind enough NOT to weigh food, count macros etc, please don't. It takes up so much mental space you could be using for better things, like meditation, education, connection, creativity etc...

[@BryonyClaire]

I'm so sorry you have to do that! Plus as you dealt with an ED, gosh I can only imagine the triggers that must have been constantly happening (and possibly still do)

[@blkkh9517]

T1 diabetic here too. Can relate. I remember one member in my family asking me if I was on diet, to loose weight. And with all the calm I could gather, I said to them IT'S 23 YEARS I'M ON A DIET BECAUSE OF MY F- DIABETE. I've became kind of intolerant to women (because it's mostly women, let's be real) talking about loosing weight and feeling insecure about their body. If they want to oblige themself to be sick, their problem, I don't care 💗 My body betrayed me long ago with this disease but it gave me strength. For 2 years, I have a normal person amount of sugar in blood. The price is terribly high and need a discipline of steel, but I've made it !

[@triloization]

This time killed 1000s of girls and women and it is still something that is popularized. For me that is kind of a warfare against women. The way anorexia was hyped is incredibly cruel. I know what I am talking about, I grew up in this time and I still struggle with the way I see my body.

[@central_scrutinizr]

It’s sobering to realize nothing in pop culture was ever meant for our benefit, even if it had a veneer of pretending to be. It was always about money. No care for the real lives sacrificed. I will never allow this poison to touch my children.

[@escabasket153]

I was born in 1987, so grew up as a teen in the early 2000’s. In a way, I kinda lucked out being a Latina woman (Mexican) because in our media and culture, being stick skinny or super skinny has never been considered the beauty standard. To see a woman be criticized for having wide hips and a bigger booty was definitely a culture shock to me whenever I watched 2000’s Hollywood movies or TV shows. All of the “chubby” (normal sized) girls and women in these movies and shows are considered the standard beauty in my culture. Don’t get me wrong, fat shaming does exist, especially if you don’t have a small waist, but NONE of these women or girls called fat in these media examples would EVER be considered fat in Mexico. And yes, I am aware there is fat shaming in Mexico, because like Bryony said, you have to be “fat in the right places” still skinny in the waist to be considered societally beautiful. I really hope things can change and people don’t just keep commenting and judging peoples weight. It’s really no one else’s business. No one should be made to feel less than for being bigger.

[@Dave102693]

Same deal in the black community

[@NettleAbsentmindedly]

Seriously, I lucked out being Latina even though I grew out in the US (when it comes to weight). Still ended up with a bit of a disorder but it was not as bad as it could have been and I think it's because of this. While not a healthy thing to say to a child, my mom would tell me she wished she had my thighs and butt because because growing up people would say she had chicken legs. I still experience body shaming in school for having a butt and thighs, but at least I didn't get it at both ends

[@catvalentine4317]

I'm just so tired of all these body ideals, just let me liiiiiiive society 😭 All I actually wanna be is healthy

[@seeleunit2000]

Same here.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

Nobody is telling you that you can't. I don't really get this video at all. These are all works of FICTION and you're not supposed to side with the fat shamers anyway.

[@sugarzblossom8168]

​@@KFrost-fx7dt she focused on more than fiction

[@Sleipnirseight]

BUT how will companies and influencers sell you products if you feel happy with yourself and your life?? Lol I kid, but you know that's a major part of why all the body shaming exists. That and keeping women "in their place" by making them feel unworthy and un-valuable 🙃

[@missmangopudding]

​@@KFrost-fx7dtthen you missed the entire point of the video. Maybe you should watch it again.

[@SteppefordWife]

Something that stuck with me is how when I was undereating (an apple for breakfast, an eggroll and some berries for lunch, and dinner (my only full plate of food in a day)) and overexercising (1 hour on, two hours off every weekend and before / after school) in year 5/6 of primary school, my mum saw nothing wrong and even complimented how skinny I was. Whereas my older sister was genuinely concerned and tried to get me to stop. Through the insecurities and general distrust towards her because of the many times she was mean to me by projecting her own insecurities before (about her art skills, appearance, productivity, etc.) I was a lot more dismissive than she deserved given she was right and her concern turned out to be genuine. It took me passing out from overexersion on the playground for me to finally realise my body needed more food and rest. I was sofa-bound for a weak, barely able to muster the strength to get up and go to the toilet. I overcompensated in the other direction and gained a lot more weight. Now I've found a balance and just exercise / eat according to my body (I eat when I'm hungry, try to keep it varied - except when it comes to my safe food - and exercise to help with aerial and try to walk up stairs without getting too out of breath). Hunger and breathlessness have become an insight into how I'm feeling and if I might have caught something such as covid or a cold, rather than some shameful sin to ignore. I've always been stocky and muscular, even at birth apparently (according to my mum I was a heavy baby, largely due to being a late birth). And so I struggled to shift any weight because any exercise got very efficiently turned into muscle instead of burning fat. I will never have skinny legs and will always have an arse and a broad back. It's taken twenty years, but I'm finally not only ok with that but actually love my body to the point that (beyond tattoos or piercings) I am too attached to how it looks tp forcibly change anything about it.

[@annawitter5161]

Many of us are solidly built, it's got nothing to do with fat. I have a broad back, strong legs and bum, and all exercise builds muscle very quickly

[@stainedglasspixie]

History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. -Mark Twain. I love that quote and I hate that quote because it is so true. Glad you're bringing it up.

[@vwatchem]

Every women’s magazine back in the early 2000s interviewed a slim movie star and shared their “what I eat in a day”-always lunch was a salad and dinner was “fish or chicken and veggies”

[@bexfairy]

I still remember Posh Spice/Victoria Beckhams meal plan 😂😅

[@carmelasantana3091]

At the time, I thought that all these very slender women being portrayed as fat was a commentary on how the concept of being "fat" is all in our heads; looking at these videos again within the context of the last 20 years... yikes! The messaging is so messed up.

[@pinokosthewife]

Growing up, I just thought it was movies and TV being goofy like the "Hollywood homely," they can't seem to actually have a genuinely "ugly" person on-screen or these characters just have terrible self-esteem and are genuinely deluded about their appearance.

[@carmelasantana3091]

@@pinokosthewife I remember seeing a movie from the 50s or 60s about a homely librarian that goes on vacation and has a massive glow-up. The homely librarian? Raquel Welch in horn-rimmed glasses and a tight bun hairstyle. Can you imagine? There is literally nothing that could make her seem homely except some special effects prosthetics, lol!

[@abigaelrarts2257]

being born in 93' i definitely grew up in the height of this culture, and i recognized it as SO TOXIC and had to actively root against it for years. i felt like i was living in the twilight zone when ppl would say someone "looked fat" and they clearly were not. bridget jones, ppl in love actually and devil wears prada. i was like "you're joking right???!! i'd love to look like these women."

[@arbyswitch5580]

I'm a year younger than you and this really resonates...the way that Anne Hathaway's character was treated in Devil Wears Prada (and Princess Diaries, if I'm being completely honest) kind of gave me a complex. Its really upsetting to see that kind of rhetoric resurfacing with such veracity.

[@noa_thinks]

i’m surprised i survived the 2000’s without a full blown ED. i consumed so much of this media and remember both myself and my mother being shamed by my grandmother for gaining weight as she would add more food to our plates. i think i was so dissociated from my body due to late realised autism and trans identity that the fat shaming didn’t hit as hard. thank you for another fantastic video - the green screen looks great.

[@Sparkling34]

these people aren't even fat wtf

[@Geechee_Chick]

I'm a size 4 (but my arms are a size 6 since they're muscular) and I would be considered chubby in the early 2000s. That era was ridiculous

[@anwarpine6797]

The thought did cross my mind that it is related to suppressing women. But truthfully, men are not escaping fat shaming either. It is more socially acceptable to some degree for them but I think my son was about ten when he burst into tears admitting to me he was afraid to get fat (he was like the smallest scrawniest kid in his class).

[@Deus589]

there is actually a really interesting correlation between the rise of 'heroin chic' skinny as the standard and crisises in society and economic decline

[@lia701]

As a Brazilian, it’s funny to see how in 2000s America, people used to make fun of girls with big butts and toned legs. Here, that’s always been the standard - of course, with the 'requirement' of a flat stomach). It’s crazy how beauty standards can be so different between cultures.

[@annabeinglazy5580]

Ok, while i agree that diet culture in the early 2000s was a different beast, i want to Point Out that devil wears Prada's whole Point is that Anne Hathaway is thin. Thats the crux. It doesnt say that shes actually fat, it's meant to Point Out Just how insane everyone Else is. Hey, we even have her size, an objectively Not big size. The whole cheese Cube Thing is also that, diet culture driven to the utmost extreme. Just want to Point Out that this movie isnt a good example of the 2000s shaping our View of fatness. Cuz it's Kind of the fight Club of chic flicks. The insane fatphobia is the Point.

[@BryonyClaire]

I agree with you, I even said Anne Hathaway has never been fat, and how it's highlighting the issues of the fashion industry. But when I asked people in my community tab about what affected them in the 00's this movie was a key example for them. And like I explained throughout the video, thinness was the most important thing, being called "big" in any way, especially as a woman, was the WORST thing

[@aprildawnsunshine4326]

It really depends what perspective you come to it with. For those of us who were already deep into diet culture it just reinforced it.

[@allyli1718]

It really IS the fight club of chick flicks. Even tho it’s criticizing/satirizing it, the people were in too deep to clock it. Just like the bros who started fight clubs lol

[@genera1013]

​@@allyli1718Wh ich is really concerning. I remember watching this movie in middle school and getting the message.

[@stuffinsthegreat]

I agree that your take is how I viewed it, even as young as I was when I came out, and that actually holds for some of the other examples she gave here. One of the really interesting things for me is learning how differently people react to/understand the same content though. I know some people like to call it "lack of media literacy" or whatever, but it's mostly just the experiences people bring into watching a movie (and the emotional impact of those experiences). I can also kind of see how maybe the Devil Wears Prada, in retrospect, maybe had some opportunities to better frame those plotlines or moments.

[@amandatyler4324]

25:31 one thing I noticed immediately when Anna Nicole lost weight is she went from being portrayed in media as a frumpy, space head, who wasn’t all there and said dumb things to someone glamorous and beautiful.

[@seeleunit2000]

As I have I lived through the 2000s, I must say it sucked due to the fixation on thinness. Not to mention for the life of me, I could not understand, in the movies where the supposed "fat girl" being the source of mockery, was not even fat. And this was not even in the movies. Anytime a woman or a girl was not rail thin, she was designated the fat chick. None of these famous women were fat. It was so surreal. Remembering all this brings up a lot of painful memories and anger. I really don't want to have to have to go back to that. No one really wants that.

[@BryonyClaire]

There was SUCH a fixation on thinness, and it's why I worry seeing what's happening today. I big time agree, anyone who wasn't incredibly small got labeled as fat (Drew Barrymore was "the fat one" in Charlie's angels, for example, even though when you watch the movie she was so slim)

[@seeleunit2000]

​@@BryonyClaireIndeed.

[@Kipasaur]

Diet culture is so awful. My mom was the worst of it. I was fit as a kid, did sports and all that. She put so much pressure on me to watch how much I ate, but then sometimes would turn around and force me to eat TOO MUCH of certain kinds of foods. It turned into binge eating that I'm still struggling with.

[@SMcGowan287]

I love your channel. And you. As someone who grew up as a teen in the early 2000's, I absolutely love seeing you speak about how messed up the culture was at the time, and why we're still getting over it. Amazing.

[@j.elizabeth4621]

This existed when my grandma was young too. She and I had the same exact measurements once I hit puberty, and she had a lot of trauma from people calling her fat and overweight. When I showed her beauty trends over the decades where women with our body type were popular, she cried. I remember telling her “if you were 25, with that body, in this decade, you would be commissioned in a new painting everyday” and she got super emotional. It was a really old wound - this sort of thing is so hard to leave behind.

[@sc6658]

I’m in the US and my father is a 56-year-old type two diabetic who takes a GLP-1 medication as part of his diabetes management. For several months he had a hard time getting a hold of this medication due to the shortages (which I know is on the companies at the end of the day, but the rich people who want to lose 15 lbs without thinking about it are not helping). Please don’t forget diabetics in the ozempic conversation! Not saying you specifically, this is just a general message.

[@kittykitten666]

Seeing someone as beautiful as you who has my body type has really helped to combat some negative thoughts I have about my body

[@AngryTheatreMaker]

The diet culture in the 1990s and the 2000s was no joke--how I wasn't more affected by my mother's yo-yo dieting I'll never know. Having said that, I was always praised for being thin. It was just that I had a high metabolism. Fast forward to my own pregnancy and the postpartum phase (I gave birth to a daughter back in May) and the emphasis on thin is still there. So many weight loss tips. The biggies are diet, exercise, and emphasis on breastfeeding. Fine. Lovely. I am all for a healthy lifestyle and doing what's best for mother and baby. And yes, I am shedding pounds over time. But the subtle fear of fat is something I can't help noticing.

[@The_New_Abnormal_World_Order]

I think it's over the top to say that weighing out food is toxic, sometimes it's appropriate.

[@zom6ie]

Yes. It's just a tool. But like anything, some people are more likely to become obsessed with it and get carried away

[@The_New_Abnormal_World_Order]

@@zom6ie Agreed.

[@aquari.fairiie]

My mom is 68 and still obsessed with her weight and dieting. She still jumps from fad diet to fad diet. I had an ED as a teen and young adult, and have healed a lot, but the comments from her about my body still hurt 😢

[@ghadabm1589]

Being on the fatter side as a preteen in the early 2000 was the worst, I was bullied daily by family, friends, strangers in the streets, doctors, everyone really. I cried and self-harmed daily

[@ravenonthewindow]

I wish Project Runway was here in this video, the show had designer who blamed size 0 models for being fat or not having the body to carry their dresses. And of course, beloved Jillian Michaels and her biggest loser or 30 day shred challenges. Dear Gen Z, please don't do it to yourselves. I'm almost 31, I know what diet culture did to me and yet I still count calories (my mind does it automatically) even though it's useless. I count those almonds and feel better if I happen to eat 1-2 less of them, then I feel bad for feeling good about it. It is horrible. There is a reason why we don't want Y2K fashion trends back and that is they come with a certain body type and dietitians who convince you that you have extra weight.

[@floraidh4097]

Oh yeah and the way that the designers behaved as if they'd been given an insurmountable task to make clothing for the 'plus size' models who were really just busty with curvy hips.

[@chanuppuluri8726]

Second paragraph spot on!

[@Petunia3001]

TW: EDs I was a chef at a residential eating disorder treatment facility in the 2010s. I hadn’t ever been exposed the devastation of EDs before, just witnessed peers in the aughts engage with the behavior. Seeing the very sick women, some who had to be hospitalized and tube fed to gain enough weight for it to be safe enough for them to come for treatment was heartbreaking. We had an adult unit and an adolescent unit, it was so hard seeing teenagers going through that, but the adult unit demonstrated the danger of years of unchecked eating disorders, those women were so broken down 😔 By the time someone gets to treatment, they know almost all the tricks to hide the ED, but some learn how to become even more successful at hiding it, that is true. Some became sicker while they were there. Some recovered and it always felt like a miracle, as EDs have the highest mortality rate of psychological disorders. Another misconception is that people with EDs are thin, but I saw every body shape during my many years there. I am also very sad to see a resurgence of thin obsession. It was hard to live through as a woman in my 20s during the aughts, it was hard to witness the outcome of a lot of that culture in the Tens at my job. I can only imagine the problems the ozempic craze is going to cause. P.S. howard stern, stfu!

[@jlbeeen]

I didn't lose weight due to an ED (although media definitely affected me, and often it was worse when it was family comments and even having to buy "husky" pants as a kid), but I struggled with extreme gluten senstivity/intolerance. It's hereditary and onsets around puberty, and even though I'm not the only one to have it, I didn't connected the dots right away and got so sick. Gluten is in so many things that I avoided a lot of foods because I wasn't sure what was safe. I ended up going to an evidence based naturopathic clinic after the mainstream healthcare system said nothing was wrong, and they led me though an elimination diet to prove for sure what it was that bothered me, and gave me a bunch of stuff that helped with recovery. I lost so much strength, and had so many other issues with digestion, that I don't think I fully recovered until almost 10 years later. It was hard mentally to gain weight initially, but I feel so much better and stronger, and I wish there was more attention put on how much damage can be done due to food restriction and/or being underweight.

[@throwawayaccnt144]

My step-mom used to always tell me that "size 6 is plus sized which means fat" so she put me on a diet and daily gym regime plus my 2 hours of daily dance (I went to an arts highschool). I wore size 4 in pants but had a large chest and no matter how much I starved myself or worked out until I passed out, I was still a size 6-8 in dresses and thought I was so disgustingly fat. She put locks on the fridge and I remember feeling so guilty after just eating kale and plain tofu after a grueling workout. I definitely was not fat. It was a really screwed up time to grow up and I'm so glad that kids are growing uo in a more body positive culture

[@pyjamadays]

i hope you’re doing okay now! i’m so sorry your stepmom did those things to you. that is awful

[@Plottoberry]

I remember being so confused that so many women in movies were considered fat while they were slim or looked good/normal to me. In The Devil Wears Prada I read it as very sarcastic commentary on the culture in fashion. The main character is very obviously slim.

[@edlucia1]

And yet very satisfied to announce her weight loss. This is so sneaky and confusing.

[@sojabursche]

My sisters eating disorder therapist made her weigh her every meal. My sister also has ocd. The one of the worst therapists.

[@BryonyClaire]

Far out that's TERRIBLE! Wtf were they thinking?! I really hope your sister is doing better now

[@sojabursche]

@@BryonyClaire yes she’s been officially recovered for 2 years now, she wasn’t even triggered when I was diagnosed with a condition that makes me unable to have carbs or sugar.

[@seeleunit2000]

Oh, my God. That's screwed up. I'm so sorry for your sister.

[@SusanPevensie-l2u]

Is anyone else starting to wonder if Hollywood swinging back and forth between promoting heroin chic and bodies like Tess Holliday's and then back again was just a small part of a larger social experiment?

[@seriouslywhatever1031]

20 mins in and I'm hoping that maybe the fat shaming was aimed at everyone but so far it's only aimed at women.... gee, wonder why that is!

[@SuicidalH]

Fr

[@JP-ve7or]

Hm... I'm a bit older, and I think the 80s were peak male fat shaming 🤔 After that, it was like normal for any big guy to have a hot skinny girlfriend/wife on tv

[@wrongfuture]

No, there was definitely a lot of male fat shaming, both in media and in real life. Being a chubby kid would immediately make you the butt of every joke. Guys might have talked about it less because the ideal was to be muscular, but it was still there. (consider how any male love interest in YA even today is said to have a "chiseled jawline", which means zero body fat.)

[@cakepopslingshot9181]

Bryony , you produce such well constructed and meaningful content. I was a teenager with a larger body all of the early 2000’s and I am still working my ass off to heal the disordered eating, dysmorphia and pain of that era. I had a massive weight loss about four years ago (mostly) from a newly diagnosed autoimmune disease that then turned into obsessive calorie counting - wish I could say the first time doing this. I stopped dieting last year and as hard as it is to reject the mainstream, it’s been so freeing. I am hopeful people of our time and future generations can change this venomous cycle of self hatred and shame.

[@LisaFenix]

I was born in 1992 so i was at such a pivotal impressionable age when the 2000s diet culture hit... its only in these retrospectives that I realize the extent of it; not even just how extreme it was, but how socially accepted and normal it was. Looking back at how many of the """"fat"""" examples weren't even remotely fat and were often still incredibly skinny, it really helps me understand why I have such a deeply ingrained unhealthy pressure I put on myself and struggle every day :( But I've found a lot of empowerment and control from videos like this that help break it down and go "hey, isn't this insanely ridiculous? this isn't normal, this isn't okay" and it helps fight back against this awful hateful rhetoric that was fed to us from media. I personally think we've made a lot of progress, but there's also been new challenges that have popped up. But if I ever saw a current late night show host do what Jay Leno did, I think we'd see the crowd storm the stage lol (at least, I hope)

[@crystalmobley2285]

Thank you so much for this video! I grew up in the 80s and 90s and realized pretty early on how toxic the culture was around dieting. My mom was always on a diet and I soon followed suit to develop an ED. I am just glad you've said all this out loud it's been so inspiring and healing. Instantly hit subscribe!

[@ladygrey4113]

For me the autism kept the peer pressure of dieting from affecting my head.

[@claudiaj2138]

Real

[@strawbraryliberry4604]

I'm pretty sure that's why dieting or glorifying thinness wasn't on my radar at all, either. I was able to avoid body image issues and a lot of other peer pressure related things. However, I have a bad ED anyway, but it's ARFID. I'm scared of food, but not of being fat. I guess ARFID is comorbid with autism a lot.

[@ladygrey4113]

@@strawbraryliberry4604 that I have seen in autistic folks. I have a friend that can only eat veggies when cooked a certain way otherwise the textures make them puke up whatever else they ate.

[@Klenovyj]

Unfortunately, not for me. I often have hyperfixations on fictional characters, actors, etc, so i wanted to look like them. I always have these major periods when i dress up like them a lot. Otherwise, I will absolutely despise my reflection and won't be functional at work/socially. And obviously, the majority of popular and likeable characters are skinny, very skinny or somehow athletic, which didn't help.

[@lunatic5162]

Same

[@dazanii]

Can we talk about Shallow Hal and the actual negative outcome of that movie? Everyone defends it because Hal learns to love despite appearances, and yet the movie spends the entire runtime making a bunch of mean fat jokes. Which were then repeated to me by kids who watched the movie. So I roll my eyes every time someone tries to “well ackshually the movie has a good message” to excuse the fact that the movie is one long fat joke they laughed at.

[@BryonyClaire]

AH YES! I've spoken about that movie in another video, I hate it, too. Plus, the fact Gwyneth Paltrow's body double got so harrassed and bullied by people (remembering this is the time BEFORE social media and this happened to her) that she went into hiding, became deeply depressed and starved herself

[@tteokbokkibxtch]

I hate that movie for multiple reasons, but it makes me angry to this day that the film has these two incredibly average looking dudes body shaming women. Like yeah sure it's fiction and they supposedly "learned" but I know for a fact that there are plenty of mediocre men out there who really do feel entitled to romantic relationships with exceptionally beautiful women, body shame like it's a professional sport, and yet will cope and seethe if anyone dares be not attracted to them (because they're "nice guys" and "girls shouldn't only care about looks" or some such nonsense).

[@missmangopudding]

​@@tteokbokkibxtchYes, and why was it perfectly okay for Jack Black to be a little fat but not women? From what I remember, no or very few comments were made about his weight in that movie or at all. Not saying he should have been critisized, but its a major blatant double standard. Like.. if I were him, I'd be seriously embarassed for taking that role.

[@erinnadia0409]

Imagine calling Nicole Richie fat? This is so wrong! I still struggle with an ED as 32 year and never really believed the 2000s were the reason but looking back I think there was some unconscious conditioning there, I still do believe my ED was my way of dealing with stress though

[@sandrashalet]

I rewatched 'a cinderella story' the other day and noticed this. There's a scene where Austin asks Sam does she prefer a big Mac or a salad. When she answers big Mac and asks why that question he answers he likes girls with a "big appetite". Cut to the scene where the girls line up and get introduced to Austin by his friend. One of the girls is plus sized and Austin laughs at this and says to his friend "you are so dead"😐

[@Seabreeze843]

Yep. If you're actually fat you're a disgusting pig but if you diet you're a shallow narcissist

[@zoejaures8392]

Born 1989... grew up on these movies. Anorexia in my teens, orthorexia in my 30s. Thank you for this video.

[@HaleyMary]

Howard Stern sounded so rude to Anne Nicole Smith. So what if she wants to dress as she does? Isn't it hot in L.A. or wherever she lived? And, of course she did die from a drug overdose, but after hearing what Howard Stern said to her, yeah, that would make any woman just feel really shitty about herself. Anna was beautiful at any weight.

[@kat8295]

I was in middle school from 2006 to 2008. I was CONSTANTLY mocked for being fat and called every word for fat in the book. Recently I found an old photo album with pictures from when I was at that age. I was shocked how thin I was. I was expecting to see a plump little girl because that's how I saw myself. When I told my mom this, she was equally shocked and said "How could you think you were fat? Every time I took you took the doctor for your check ups you were always exactly 3 lbs underweight. Why else do you think I always took you out for ice cream after the appointments?" I was dumbstruck how much the bullying warped the view of myself. Even as an adult when I moved to NYC, my boss and coworkers made fat jokes about me. I lost 10lbs and went from a size 8 to a size 6. I'm 31 now and I'm still baffled when I look at pictures from even 3 years ago and marvel at what I look like. I expect to see a fat woman and to this day I'm surprised that how I look in pictures doesn't add up with self-image and rude comments. I'm unlearning body dysmorphia now but I'm VERY scared about younger generations going through the same thing. No one should have to not recognize themselves in pictures because their internalized view is so warped. I beg the younger generations to learn from the early 00s and not punish themselves or others for having normal, non-air brushed bodies.

[@TwelvetreeZ]

I was shocked when I read Bridget Jones' Diary for the first time, and she's only 9st (126 lbs or 57 kg). The book shows a lot more of her atrocious inner monologue about her weight as well, which is meant to be a comment on how ridiculous diet culture is, but god it was tough reading. The film changed this by sizing her up and making the dialogue external, which changes things drastically (and not for the better)...

[@princessjellyfish98]

The way Jay Leno tried to pressure his audience into making Anna Nicole even more self conscious and they wouldn't take the bait... It is absolutely true that the fatphobia of the 2000s (and now) was and is on every level of society, from the interpersonal to the structural, but even back then, the press and media in particular were adamant about reinforcing extreme levels of cruelty

[@bleeb90]

Back in the 00's, I was a teen as well. And I had the dubious pleasure of being an extreme hourglass figure, while being underweight. That meant always hearing people tell me my thighs were too thick despite my hipbones sticking out, while others looked at my thin waist and ribs you could count individually and ask me whether I had an eating disorder, while others asked me, a teen under 16, if I got a boob-job. If they saw me eat a healthy meal, they'd tell me I had boulimia. It was exhausting. It took me passing the threshold of turning 30 during covid time to finally gain ~12kg compared to my teenage self at my thinnest (almost 2 stone) and I got the most wonderful revelation: it wasn't inborn that I never felt warm a day in my life, it was me being that underweight. I finally have a healthy weight and am finally not complaining about feeling cold while it is 30C° (86F°) anymore, and all my stupid conditioned brain will tell me is that my arms look pudgy, and I actually have to tell myself that no, they are really not. I'm simply not a stick-figure anymore. My heart goes out to everyone who's also feeling societal pressure because I certainly learned one thing: no one will ever be considered perfect. No one. It's a mean world out there.

[@breisyaispuro2410]

0:37 I remember that line, always thought that was pretty stupid because isn’t that the point of having a big butt? growing up in that time people still wanted a big butt, but still had the fear of having a big butt made no sense 😒

[@nataliak8102]

Big butts are ridiculous.

[@plantday4680]

Either way do people not get bored of watching boring mudane shit all the time. How about some overpowered webnovels or anime.

[@paigerealmuto7252]

The fact that I read the "how to work out" and the "what to eat" sections for my body type that she showed and thought, "hm, maybe i'll try that" shows how horribly ingrained this stuff is in me. Look forward to an age where these types of thoughts don't plague people.

[@sarahosborne7477]

I still do this.

[@Lhene9]

Chiming in with how awful the 2000s were for weight. I was a tiny dance girl and I judged other teens for having "lazy stomachs" (i.e. the little lower pouch that is TOTALLY NORMAL). Completely ignored that I was exercising 2-3 hours a day and was naturally slender. I'm so glad that I grew out of that phase.

[@chellenicki2805]

Everyone talks about the 200's when it comes to diet culture But it began long before the then. I remember being traumatized by the book "Blubber" that I read in 5th grade because it was assigned for school. It was written in 1974. In it, I remember the girl explicitly stating she was 90 pounds and needed to lose weight so and she felt bad for eating 2 pieces of chicken instead of one. My 12 year old body was new and changing and I already felt insecure and I weighed much more than 90 pounds. I'm 39. It really stuck with me. And I have struggled with my weight ever since.

[@chellenicki2805]

It's by Judy Blume. The girl was bullied and nicknamed Blubber for being fat.

[@telepathicmagicshop]

That book was HORRIBLE

[@BlondeGoddess87]

I’m glad you brought up the body positivity movement. My personal experience with it has been rather negative. I’ve lost more than half my body weight and while I was obese I was welcomed into the community. The moment I lost weight I was shunned and shamed out of it. Just because I was now “skinny” I was hated with the community. Forgot the fact I had massive amounts of loose skin, stars etc apparently I had no right to be positive over my body anymore

[@PsychoKat90]

My poor mom and I both developed ED behaviors in the 2000s. I do blame her for being my initial trigger, but in retrospect she was also going through it and projecting her insecurities into me. :(

[@Aries_Superstar_Army]

As a teenager, I would read magazines such as Seventeen, Us Weekly, Star, OK!, In Touch, Life & Style and Time when Obama was first elected as president. I used to do workout tapes after school such as Richard Simmons, Denise Austin, the Paula Abdul dance workout and for Christmas I got a Turbo Jam DVD set at age 13. That scene in Freaky Friday was traumatic for my 11 year old ass. The Biggest Loser just aggravated me because the fat shaming was too close to home for me. I would be told to lose weight by my family before I started puberty because diabetes run in my family, my parents died of a heart attack, my uncle had weight loss surgery but died of organ failure and my grandma survived a stroke. They tell me to lose weight because they love me, I find it hard to take compliments from them seriously after working out with Peloton since the pandemic. It’s too late to tell me I’m beautiful, time has come and gone but the damage is done.

[@rasberry797]

I feel like a bad feminists all the time. I have PCOS and with that insulin resistance. I take Metformin which is a diabetic drug to help with that insulin resistance. In my last doctors appointment my doctor suggested that we could try out Ozempic.... and I got excited, not for the health benefits but because I might loose weight on it. I am an artist and most of my work centres around my experience with PCOS and the stigma that comes with a PCOS body, a plus size body. I like to think I have a positive relationship with my body, but things creep in all the time, like the fatphobia is natural, its not natural Diet culture wants us to think it is. I find myself thinking no I cant do that I'm fat, but there is no way that I would think that about someone else. I hate that I get excited when my pants fit looser, I sometimes leave a meal a bit later because I think it will do me good, or I don't have a sweet treat because 'I don't need it' , sometimes I look in the mirror and think of how I would be perceived by a man.......Like Holy Hell, I am not what a man or what society says I am or says that I should be. It is a never ending battle with what I'm told about myself and what is the truth. And if anything its getting harder to ignore the hate and the self hate, especially with Celebrities now all mysteries getting thinner. It seems the body positivity movement is now being destroyed by straight sized people, because now they can finally be skinny, they are finally in the club, leaving the people, plus size people who actually Faught for acceptance in the packaging of 'skinny needles' they need to be accepted

[@myahbrimmer4616]

I remember my step mom telling me she was huge after her pregnancy. She said her max weight was 175 pounds/79 kilos. I was 150 pounds in highschool and she made me cut out thinspo models to hang on the fridge for whenever I was hungry and went to it :') We also did that at 11 years old.

[@ericamartiin]

I was a just becoming teenager around this time. The amount that they shoved down your throat that if you had weight you were no longer beautiful really took a toll. I’m so glad someone is talking about this issue.

[@439801RS]

Am i the only one thats seen devil wears prada as satire, or at least poking fun at these ridiculous standards and expectations?

[@JP-ve7or]

Yes, but I didn't see the movie until a couple years ago when I was 40 something 😆. I think a teenager watching it back in the day might have seen it way differently.

[@439801RS]

@JP-ve7or that's fair enough, that's why I think it's important for parents to pay attention and talk about potentially confusing media their kids are engaging with

[@tacobellbeefburrito]

I actually grew up very skinny and didnt think diet culture affected me,. When I was a kid people (adults) would comment on my weight and talk about how skinny I am, how good my body looks, I should model, "I used to be your size, wait till youre my age and gain weight." Alot of them were family members, and my family was VERY judgmental on people's weights, theyre own weight, and would make horrible comments about each other. My mom and nana would see an over weight woman wearing shorts and say "she should NOT be wearing that". I would always try to clap back and say they can wear what they want. But now that i'm almost 30, I've gained 30 pounds and don't have that skinny "model" body anymore. It's actually really affected my self esteem and just all these comments swirl in my mind and I dont feel attractive in my body because my entire life I was told I was beautiful bc of my size and would hear awful comments about people who were bigger than me. Idk, ive been really having a hard time the past couple months about it. I told someone (who was a couple years older than me) about how I feel about my weight and she said to just not eat until I lose weight. Millennials women are fucked up from this era.

[@carmengomez3748]

We are all Impacted by this culture even if we don't realise. I was born in the 80's, so I grew up in the diet culture. I remember thinking Kate Winslet was too fat for Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic. I'm 44 now, and I'm still worried about my weigth, even if I now realise this culturel is toxic. Don't feel bad about yourself, I'm sure you are a beautiful person. And speaking on being affected: My brother and my husband think Lady Gaga is fat😮!! How distorsioned their views are!!

[@freefallingstardust]

All of this is so unhinged in hindsight, but I still remember how old I was when people started commenting on my weight. I was four. My weight was compared with my friends when I was eight. I'm now 31, but I still struggle to shake it off. Trying to balance what is "healthy" and not fall down a hole of self-loathing and comparison, and starvation patterns is difficult. I was raised by a parent who had an active eating disorder and was regularly praised for how young and beautiful she was. I still have to remind myself now that it's more important that I am strong so my bones don't crumble to dust at 60. Food isn't good or bad. I see my sister struggle; I see my mother struggle, even my grandmother, who is nearly 80. It's utterly heartbreaking and enraging.

[@bizzybee5791]

It started at age 12 for me when Titanic came out & people said Kate Winslet was fat. It's been a struggle since then. I thought I was fat but looking at pics as a teenager, I was a size 10 and looked fine.

[@JulciaJuliet]

Those Anna Nicole clips always almost make me cry. How was this acceptable

[@BryonyClaire]

Because her only "redeeming" factor was that people wanted to screw her apparently, honestly she got treated so awfully (I have a whole video on her) and it makes me so angry see how people just manipulated and berated her

[@bmet102]

To be honest, i've started feeling the pressure to lose weight again for the first time in years in this big ozempic era. Its not a nice feeling. And i know its not about health because I'm the healthiest I've been in most of my adulthood. It does feel like history repeating

[@ElizabethSyty]

Glad you called out where it's "ok to be bigger" because i feel like anytime i see larger bodies showcased in media/popculture, it's STILL an hourglass (i.e. it's only ok to be plus size if you still have a tiny waist) 🙄

[@middledog466]

janice dickinson was one of the most ridiculous people i've ever come across in media

[@gemstar7286]

And still is

[@vane_lao]

The fatphobia and diet culture is so real and rooted in our minds since early years of live that, even realizing it, it's still really hard to overcome these beliefs and get rid of them. I'm aware of how dishonest and unhealthy it is but I feel I still have a long journey until feeling fine in my own body.

[@marionettilapsi1]

I recently saw a doctor who instead of doing examinations I literally traveled there get done (which took 3 hours) - examinations they said I HAD TO go there to do, no option to do remote meeting at all - decided to talk good 15 minutes about my weight. It was majority of the whole meeting. I am aware that I am overweight (technically up to 20kg), and that for my health it would be good if I lost some weight - but telling me about weight loss medications, how I should probably see nutritionist or other "supporting people" in medical industry felt very uncalled for. Especially since my weight is caused big time by disability that limits my energy levels and makes cooking healthy meals daily in reduced calorie amount extremely difficult. And the new medications that same doctor gave me, now increases my appetite by a crap ton - a thing she failed to mention midst her useless talk. I could have really used that warning, since not being able to feel full almost at all is tough with already bigger than normal appetite... Also, had she looked more than BMI, she would know I have considerable amount of muscle from weightlifting, do move as much as I am able to, and have bettered my health markers for years now in a very slow pace that fits my disability. But nah. She would want me on ozempic.