Why we shouldn't return to the era of 'heroin chic'

Thin is in again. Apparently. Just when we thought we had made it past the repercussions of supermodel Kate Moss’ famous statement “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” the term ‘heroin chic’ has started to make a comeback.

For the past decade, the fashion industry has worked hard to celebrate all shapes and sizes. So why does it feel like we have suddenly time travelled back to the 90s where the term ‘heroin chic’ was first coined.

The toxic term refers to a style characterised by pale skin, dark under eye circles, thinning hair and wafer-thin bodies – traits usually associated with drug use.

There has been lots of discussion on social media recently sparked by a New York Post article with the headline ‘Bye bye booty: Heroin chic is back.’

Influential celebrities like the Kardashians have faced scrutiny for their recent weight loss and for glamourising strict diets and thinner models like Bella Hadid and Kaia Gerber are all over the runway.

There are so many problems with the return of this trend that it’s hard to know where to begin. Idealising and promoting unrealistic and often dangerous body types can be extremely triggering and harmful for those with eating disorders and those that struggle with their appearance. There's also the fact that this trend glamourises drug use.

Even the discussion of ‘heroin chic’ as an ideal body type can have disastrous effects on people’s mental health.

The rise in social media has led to accounts pushing this narrative in our faces everyday with hashtags such as #thinspo trending on TikTok and Instagram.

Understandably, that New York Post article caused an uproar on social media from celebrities and the public.

Actress and presenter Jameela Jamil posted on Instagram: “No. No. F*ck this.”

“We are not going back. I am of the generation of the first wave of this. We never fully recovered. I lost two decades of my life.”

She is not alone hundreds of people have spoken out against the negative impact articles like this can have on people’s health.

Our bodies are not trends. We do not need to be told how we should look. We cannot undo all the progress we have made over the years trying to discourage people from being sucked into dangerous diet culture.

I know I am not alone when I say that publicity encouraging people that ‘thin is best’ has had an extremely negative impact on my own physical and mental health. Women should not be being encouraged to abuse their bodies to ‘fit in’ to societies standards.

I refuse to let society dictate how I should look and how I should treat my body. We need to call out diet culture and it’s lies. We need the media to know that a woman’s body is not a trend and it never will be.