Jameela Jamil isn't here for people who promote body types as trends

Jameela Jamil isn't here for people who promote body types as trends

After the New York Post published a story with a rather disturbing headline: “Bye-bye prey: Heroin chic is back” – celebrities, nutritionists and activists alike took to social media to denounce the harmful effects of such news. Actress Jameela Jamil summed it all up on TikTok, reminding fans and followers that "bodies are not trends."

In contrast to the disturbing article, Jamil posted a video on TikTok in which he speaks to the camera over a background photo of the problematic headline. “No, we tried this in the 90s and millions of people developed eating disorders,” she says. "I had [an eating disorder] for about 20 years. We're not doing it again, we're not going back. Our bodies are not trends. Our body shapes are not trends. Fuck off," she concludes.

Over on Instagram, the actress elaborates a bit more, sharing both a photo of the article's headline and an impassioned plea for fans to "defund diet culture" in her caption.

“I ASK you to forcibly reject this and FORCELY REJECT any people, magazines or news outlets that are involved in spreading this hell,” she writes. “We’ve worked so hard and made so much progress and we’re not going to back down.”

Progress has been made to promote holistic healthcare and dismantle diet culture as celebrities and influencers alike have embraced body positivity and body neutrality in recent years. ICYMI, both the body positivity and body neutrality movements were led by marginalized communities who didn't see themselves represented in society's thin, white beauty ideal.

But recently there has been a troubling return to the messaging that was perpetuated by mainstream media in the '90s and 2000s - fueled in part by non-size-conscious fashion brands and celebrities promoting unhealthy weight loss measures. This shift seemingly culminated in tabloid headlines like what the Post recently published, once again putting the spotlight on extremely thin white women at the forefront of beauty. While the original story acknowledges the negative effects of maintaining unattainable beauty and body standards, its treatment of body types as trends is inherently problematic.

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Jamil, an outspoken eating disorder advocate, also brings attention to the relationship between toxic media images and eating disorders in the caption of her recent Instagram post. “Anorexia is the leading cause of death from ANY mental illness,” she writes. She's not wrong. According to BEAT, an eating disorder charity based in the UK, anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder with anorexia.

Furthermore, the term “heroin chic” is inherently problematic, as Jamil points out in her Instagram caption. "There's nothing *fancy* about a deadly drug addiction that makes you so thin because you're slowly dying," she writes of the term that glorifies drug use and has its roots in the '90s fashion industry.

The She-Hulk star isn't the only one urging people to reject the idea of ​​body types as trends. Nutritionist Shana Minei Spence, MS, RDN, CDN reminded followers on Instagram and TikTok that only the nutrition industry (worth more than $70 billion) benefits from people buying into toxic beauty standards. "Bodies come in different sizes, different shapes, different weights, and that's okay," she said in a video shared on her social media accounts. Fat and disability activists such as Imani Barbarian reminded followers that it wasn't just the uninclusive that was thin, The white ideal of beauty never really goes away, but it is deeply rooted in racism and ableism and leaves out a large portion of the population.

Instead of going backwards, Jamil suggests embracing "happiness chic" - aka the "right to be happy with ourselves" - in her recent Instagram post. Well, that seems like a much better option.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, NEDA's toll-free, confidential helpline (800-931-2237) is here to help.