By GORDON ADAMSON
Over the past several years, numerous female celebrities have faced public scrutiny over their bodies, notably accusations of being “too thin.” Prominent among them is Ariana Grande, whose appearance had, as of late, sparked intense online discussion.
Ariana Grande’s most recent music video, “Petal,” has been an especially hot topic. In the music video, Grande stars as Pepper, a young aspiring actress who faces a panel of older male executives who repeatedly reject her, handing her dismissive evaluation sheets. The lyrics of the song itself describe not needing validation from others, with lines such as “I don’t need someone to save me” and “this is not a cry for help.” Shortly after the video’s release, Grande faced a wave of online commentary describing her appearance as “too thin,” “emaciated” or “gaunt.” Although a multitude of comments criticised her appearance, many others pushed back, arguing that the remarks about her body needed to stop.
However, the issue of body analysis did not start with Grande, or any other modern celebrity for that matter. “I think women’s bodies have always been, unfortunately, sites of public discourse,” said Regina Duthely, Associate Professor of English at the University of Puget Sound.
Different body types frequently go in and out of fashion as beauty standards shift. For example, in the 1990s and early 2000s, pop culture idealised thin physiques, often referenced as the “heroin chic” aesthetic. In the 2010s, the ideal began to shift toward more pronounced curves, heavily popularized by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez, celebrating a thin waist with fuller hips.
Then, in the early 2020s, the ideal began to shift back toward thinness. When discussing the shift of standards, Professor Duthely stated, “I wouldn’t even say it’s a standard because the standard is constantly moving and shifting to always keep people seeking out some ideal that nobody can ever measure up to.” Student Vivian Martin (‘30) commented on the rise of thinness in pop culture, “I think the more and more out of reach it gets, the worse people feel about themselves.”
This renewed emphasis on thin physiques emerged alongside GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic, which are approved for chronic weight management. While the rise of GLP-1s doesn’t necessarily explain the shift in beauty standards, it adds another layer to the conversation. “Now, actually everybody should just get ultra, ultra-thin, and everyone and anyone can do it because we all have access to this medical drug that makes everybody thin,” Duthely stated, indicating the correlation between the change in beauty standards and GLP-1s.
Eli Lilly and Company, the creator of several GLP-1s, recently partnered with Vogue magazine, which frequently sets the standard within the beauty industry for the average consumer, Open Magazine reported. When asked her opinion on the sponsorship, Martin stated, “When I think of Vogue, I think of it in terms of trend-setting, specifically for fashion and stuff like that, so that would exacerbate the issue that we already have of ‘fashion bodies.’”
However, whether or not female bodies should be publicly discussed in the first place is highly debated. Professor Duthely demonstrated one side of the argument: “If you are a public figure, then people will look to you and your body as a model for what they should want or aspire to be, so then, for better or worse, your body is sending a message that people are making interpretations about.” Those who agree with this sentiment tend to argue that celebrities are responsible for the message that their public image says.
When asked about Ariana Grande specifically, Duthely divulged the second side of the argument, “She has a right to bodily privacy and autonomy.” Many people online comment under the pretense of concern over the celebrities’ bodies. Martin stated, “It would be very difficult to hear your body talked about and discussed so frequently as hers is, especially when it’s approached with judgement instead of sympathy.”
“Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what your intentions are. It’s about the impact of those things, and often people use worry about someone as a way to, I would argue, discipline their body in a particular sort of way,” Duthely responded when asked about intent behind commentary.
“If there are concerns about her body, let her family and her loved ones intervene on her behalf. But I think the millions of people on the internet talking about her body is probably not helpful,” Duthely declared. Even when concern is the intention, it still sends the message — especially to young girls — that women’s bodies are something we can inspect, interpret, and comment on publicly.