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Let's Talk About: TikTok and Body Image

I remember fondly the beginning of the year. When the world didn't wait with bated breath. eyes glued to the news. Zoom wasn't a replacement for your local bar and everyone wasn't stuck indoors playing Animal Crossing. When we were all just a little more carefree and the plans for summer were held firmly in our grasp. I also remember when TikTok wasn't really a thing.


I'm putting my hands up and admitting I was one of those people who swore they would never download that god damn app. As if not being a part of this new fad made me way cooler and mature because it was totally for people under 20 (it still kinda is but whatever).


Over 1.5 billion downloads later and TikTok is no longer that weird new app people are dancing on. Well, there's still lots of dancing but... oh my, it is so much more. From comedy, to fashion, to a grandma killing it on the drums, musicians, artists and everything in-between, it has become a place for people to pour their creativity into when the world seems to be trying so hard to suck it all away. 60 seconds of true, modern day escapism.


No social platform is perfect though. We all know this. We see it time and time again - hate speech on twitter, troll accounts on Instagram etc etc. The list goes on and if I sat here trying to culminate every example into words I'd lose myself in a spiral of some of pretty rough what's-the-fucking-point kinda thinking.


"But after the horrible comments I haven't posted on there in around 5 weeks".

There's a lot I could say about harmful trends on social media, but I'm here to explore a topic that hits close to home, not just for me but for all the people growing up trying to find their place in the world. Today, I want to talk about TikTok and it's tricky relationship with body image.


Firstly, some facts. Around 41% of TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24 and with around 800 million active users every month, that's a lot of impressionable young people still learning how to live with their body, being exposed to content that could damage their ideas. On top of these numbers, 44% of users are female - of which most are already feeling the pressure from traditional media on how they should look, act and think.


Maybe you've seen this trend before - you know, the one where young girls stand in front of the camera with a filter that makes them look 10x bigger than they actually are. Followed by their belated expressions when it's gone and they're left looking at their slimmer body, a wave of confidence crashing over them. But what if you looked like the girl with the filter on? What message does it send to plus size women? Well.. in reality, the same message we've been sen tall our lives. That our bodies are not good enough. That we're less worthy of love and respect compared to our straight-sized sisters. A trend that probably came to be through honest intentions is just another way plus sized bodies are removed from the conversation.


Anna aged 22 says that she can "rationalise the idea that people are just being silly" but that if she had "seen that stuff at age 12 instead of 22 I don't know what I'd think". It's not difficult to image how warped perspectives of the body can affect a young woman as she grows up. There's a lot of noise being made on the app about how certain trends such as the one mentioned and videos of 'what-I-eat-in-a-day' are normalising and romanticising severely unhealthy food habits, eating disorders and promoting a toxic diet culture. Not to mention the app frequently removes videos of plus size women participating in trends or showing skin in a way slimmer woman are not penalised for.


As someone who has struggled with their body image for a very long time and was susceptible to this kind of behaviour back when Tumblr was rife with similar content, I can feel the ache in my chest watching video after video where the underlying message is that being slim is the key to happiness and success. And, if I wasn't as confident as I was today, I would be letting every single second get under my skin.


Women of larger sizes have worked so hard to disrupt the narrative of slim equals good and fat equals bad. For these trends to be part of some comic relief on one of the worlds biggest social media platforms, really feels like all that work is being undone. One 60 second video at a time.


I also talked to Chloe - a prevalent mid-size content creator on Instagram - about her experiences with TikTok. She told me how when she first downloaded the app she was too scared to post. Stating that she "didn't fit into the skinny teenage aesthetic" that her home page was full of. A sentiment I can relate to. She noted that the comments would be filled with young girls stating that they weren't going to eat that day. Reinforcing these toxic ideas that food is heavy with the weight of guilt. After a while when Chloe had started to post her own content on the platform she noticed that there was in fact a small community of women who she said "were seeing the videos and finally felt represented on the platform". So if there's a need for more inclusive content, why is it so heavily drowned out by the exact opposite?


In the end, after negative comments about claiming Chloe was "fat" and "shouldn't be posting" or critiquing what size clothes she would buy, Chloe says she hasn't posted in 5 weeks due to "personal and nasty comments" and believes that TikTok is not ready for the body-positive forward content that works so well on Instagram.


"TikTok gave me inspiration to get fit. I feel really good about my body."

Things are apparently not all bad on the app. It's easy for me to sit here and criticise without acknowledging the other side of the story. Tilda told me that since downloading TikTok she's found the "inspiration to get fir and eat better food." Saying she has "more energy", is still "enjoying everything" that she eats and has noticed weight loss and a healthier, fitter feeling towards life. A thriving body confident movement does still exist among the negative comments and backlash and TikTok has truly brought us closer in a time when we're more isolated than ever.


So, to beg the question. Is TikTok really all that bad? Should we be scrutinising young people for simply having fun? It's one of the most controversial apps of today and arguably one of the most important. Careers are being made but at what cost?


I don't have the answers. Only opinions. The way the platform runs undermines everything I worked so hard to achieve in my personal journey and until I see the work being put in to control potentially harmful content and elevate plus sized voices my feelings won't change. I'll stick to watching the shoulder shimmy guy thanks.


TikTok is an app that can be enjoyed by all, but it is built for the desirable to continue being desired.


Love,

The Sunday Mag x




 


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This post was written by our founder Sophie. You can follow her over on her Instagram page.





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