The weather getting warmer brings a lot of joy to the students of the University of Oregon. Suddenly, the quads are full of people, the river is packed and everyone seems happier in general.
There is, of course, the flip side of the weather getting warmer and clothing becoming less layered. The sudden flooding of social media with gym content, and the ‘how to get your dream summer body’ videos.
The gym culture that inhabits social media has become so extreme it almost feels like society has forgotten that the goal is health. Unfortunately, our perception of what it actually looks like to be healthy is skewed nowadays.
In my mind, being healthy means a few things. It means eating the amount of food needed to fuel your body and make you feel full, living a life that makes you feel at peace, eating food that your body can convert into fuel instead of waste and being fit.
The last one is the thing I think we have warped.
People’s relationship with food can sometimes be a huge problem, but I think that’s a symptom of our definition of looking fit.
We can see that in a variety of different ways, one of which is the way the “ideal” body type in women has changed over time.
In women, the body types are vastly different from decade to decade. During the 60s and the emergence of Twiggy, thin was in. However, having no curves was a sharp 180 from the decade before, where Marilyn Monroe and her Hollywood counterparts led curves to the top. From the ‘70s and ‘80s, the supermodel physique began to creep onto the scene. People like Cindy Crawford set the standard as tall and slender, but then it went even further, and Kate Moss reintroduced the “heroin chic” that had been left in the ‘60s.
Now, curves are in. But not all curves.
Now, it seems like the expectation is for women to have washboard abs and large glutes but also still look petite. While also being strong. But not too strong. But also toned all over.
I put out a survey on my Instagram story asking, “How has social media altered what you view as a healthy body?”
The responses were overwhelming, but I kept seeing a few running themes.
“For a long time, it made me think a healthy body was an extremely skinny one,” Ava Tsouo, a recent grad, said. Her response perfectly aligned with McKenna Murray, a freshman at UO, who said, “Influencers always use Facetune/edit/use filters to make themselves look skinnier.”
“That healthy is either ‘model skinny’ or hitting the gym every day,” Vivian Rush, a graduating senior, said. Rush talked about how the “body positivity” posts also often come off as counterproductive, saying, “I don’t see that every body type is acceptable, I just see that sometimes it’s okay.” And those are just a few.
With all of these standards being placed on us from our phones and the media we consume, how could we not feel uncomfortable at times?
I would like to take a moment to explain what being fit should mean in my opinion: to me, it means being able to feel comfortable and strong in your body and mind.
I understand that it is a privilege to be able-bodied and of sound mind, and I think that utilizing that is important. I don’t think, however, that we all need to look like we’re chiseled from marble.
If that’s what you want, I commend your dedication, but it should not be the standard.
