Hollywood Beauty Standards Are Changing — For Better or Worse
By Movieguide® Contributor
Lots of stars are slimming down, igniting a Hollywood trend that raises concerns about the return of dangerous beauty standards.
“There has been a noticeable trend of slimmer appearances on the red carpet. This could be attributed to a combination of factors, including the influence of social media, changing beauty standards, and the accessibility of weight-loss medications,” Beverly Hills cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Jason Emer told Fox this week. “Additionally, a focus on health and fitness, along with advances in aesthetic procedures, may also contribute to these trends.”
Many celebrities, like Kelly Clarkson, have admitted they take drugs that help them lose weight. Demi Moore admitted in her memoir, “Inside Out,” that she battled with an eating disorder in the ’90s.
“I didn’t feel like I could stop exercising,” Moore wrote. “It was my job to fit into that unforgiving military uniform I’d be wearing in two months in [1992’s] A FEW GOOD MEN. Getting in shape for that movie launched the obsession with working out that would consume me over the next five years. I never dared let up.”
When the mid-2010s hit, being skinny wasn’t as popular as it once was. Lizzo, Demi Lovato, Mindy Kaling and other celebrities became vocal about body positivity.
Now, once again, being thin is popular.
“The pendulum is swinging back toward an era of dangerous thinness, fueled by social media’s relentless spotlight on unrealistic beauty,” Dr. David Amron, founder and medical director of The Roxbury Institute, told Fox.
“There’s been a decrease in size across the board and that includes already straight-size models,” one fashion insider told the Guardian late last year. “A lot of models that used to be plus-size are now mid-size.”
“After more than a decade of progress in body positivity, we’re witnessing the resurgence of an impossible standard — one that pressures people of all shapes and sizes to shrink themselves at any cost,” Amron said. “Even more troubling, many are turning to extreme, unproven methods without medical oversight, risking not just their health but their lives.”
Many are turning to drugs to help with their weight, like Ozempic and GLP-1 medications. Ozempic, WeGovy and Mounjaro help manage blood sugar for Type 2 diabetics. WeGovy is FDA-approved to treat obesity and similar drugs are getting prescribed for weight loss more and more.
Mindy Kaling has lost significant weight, which she attributes to lifestyle changes. Others, like Kathy Bates, Oprah Winfrey, Sharon Osbourne, Amy Schumer, Chelsea Handler, Rosie O’Donnell, Josh Gad and Tracy Morgan have tried weight-loss medications.
Bates said her weight-loss drug was only one factor that played into her weight loss journey.
“There’s been a lot of talk that I just was able to do this because of Ozempic,” said Bates, who lost 80 pounds before taking Ozempic. “But I have to impress upon people out there that this was hard work for me, especially during the pandemic. It’s very hard to say you’ve had enough.”
READ MORE: HOLLYWOOD EXPECTATIONS LED TO GROWING PAINS STAR’S EATING DISORDER
Anti-aging expert Dr. Michael Aziz said, “Secrecy, shame and stigma once surrounded GLP-1 medications, but that is starting to change as more people are getting on board.”
Sharon Osbourne warned others about taking Ozempic. She said, “At first, you feel nauseous. You don’t throw up physically, but you’ve got that feeling and I was about two, three weeks where I felt nauseous the whole time. You get very thirsty and you don’t want to eat. That’s it.”
“That’s why I keep saying, you’ve got to keep this stuff away from younger people because they will go berserk on it and it’s not right,” she added.
GLP-1 drugs mimic a hormone that stimulates insulin production and suppresses glucagon, which raises blood sugar. The drugs create a sense of fullness, which helps its users eat in moderation and causes them to feel ill if they eat too much.
“You can lose so much weight and it’s easy to become addicted to that, which is very dangerous. I couldn’t stop losing weight and now I’ve lost 42 pounds and I can’t afford to lose any more,” Osbourne said.
While Osbourne had a negative experience, Oprah Winfrey is grateful for the drug.
“I realized I’d been blaming myself all these years for being overweight, and I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower is going to control,” she said. Obesity is a disease. It’s not about willpower — it’s about the brain.”
“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for,” Winfrey said. “I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself.”
While using weight loss drugs could be a good option for some, this new skinny trend could hurt society as people try to conform to new standards in dangerous ways, as Moore did with her eating disorder.
READ MORE: X USERS REPORT RISE IN EATING DISORDER CONTENT: ‘VERY TOXIC ENVIRONMENT’
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