A couple of years in the past—lengthy sooner than the Ozempic impact started reshaping good looks norms—we have been in spite of everything beginning to see our bodies like mine on mag covers past simply King Mag and hip-hop track movies. And whilst the ones platforms have been cultural cornerstones that introduced the curvy modeling careers of many Black and Brown ladies, the visibility I’m speaking about got here from a deeper shift—one who the Ozempic impact now threatens to undo.
I’m speaking about plus length and curvy ladies being featured in mainstream good looks campaigns and throughout social feeds—now not as “courageous,” however as standard. We weren’t simply being tolerated; we have been being styled, celebrated, and observed.
Then, nearly in a single day, the tide started to show. Skinny is again—however this time, it isn’t tied to crash diets or juice cleanses. It’s injectable, medical, and suspiciously quiet. The Ozempic impact has arrived, and with it, a rising shift clear of the body-positive visibility such a lot of folks fought for.
Input: the Ozempic impact, Wegovy, Mounjaro. As soon as recognized basically as diabetes medicines, those GLP-1 receptor agonists are actually reshaping excess of blood sugar ranges—they’re reshaping our bodies, beliefs, and, quietly, the physique positivity motion itself. I spotted the shift among the Kardashians, to start with, unusually. Even with out affirmation that they have been the usage of the drugs for weight reduction, my instincts kicked in—particularly with the surprising buzz round Kim Kardashian’s want to narrow down.
Whilst there’s not anything flawed with ladies short of to reshape their our bodies, the growth that introduced their careers used to be lit via the very highlight put on their curvy figures. For others, they spotted their favourite plus length and curvy entertainers and influencers all of sudden shrinking in length, and not using a rationalization now and then. Possibly, they accompany their development with captions like “feeling like myself once more” or “prioritizing my well being”, which is all the time commendable regardless of who you’re. However different occasions, the silence or imprecise explanations would go away fans to suppose that they sought after not anything greater than to only are compatible in with society’s good looks requirements.
What Is the Ozempic Impact—and Why Is Everybody Speaking About It?
Ozempic (semaglutide) and its sister medicines like Wegovy and Mounjaro have been at the beginning advanced to regard Sort 2 diabetes. However in recent times, they’ve grow to be the go-to weight-loss answer for everybody from Hollywood A-listers to stay-at-home mothers and TikTok influencers. In keeping with Trilliant Well being, over 9 million GLP-1 prescriptions have been written within the U.S. in 2023, a host that continues to upward thrust.
Social media is a big driving force. Whilst few other people publicly title Ozempic outright, the aesthetics inform the tale. Even the language round weight reduction has gotten sneakier—“intestine well being,” “balanced hormones,” “prime efficiency.” However we see it for what it’s: the similar skinny perfect, now masked in wellness language and virtual filters.
The Silent Undoing of Frame Positivity
The physique positivity motion—as soon as radical, messy, and community-driven—is now eerily quiet. What began as a push for varied physique illustration in model and good looks has been softened into “physique neutrality” and “self belief at any length,” which ceaselessly looks like a well mannered means of claiming, simply don’t discuss it. The loss of plus length ladies throughout media advertisements and campaigns may be considerably other, which may be tied to many companies pulling again on their DEI efforts. Sure, that affected physique variety, too.
However the Ozempic impact wave has made something transparent: manufacturers are nonetheless uncomfortable with visual fatness. The quiet shrinking of fashions in campaigns, the drop-off in size-inclusive clothes strains, and the fading presence of fats influencers all discuss volumes.
And it’s now not simply anecdotal. A 2023 KFF ballot discovered that 1 in 4 U.S. adults say they might imagine the usage of a prescription drug for weight reduction, despite the fact that they don’t have a scientific want. What does that let us know concerning the power to adapt, even in a post-body-positive international? Or how manufacturers will hop on a “development” only for financial acquire after which go back proper again to their unique target audience objectives, particularly if society makes a decision that inclusivity is now not cool or related.
The Double Usual in “Wellness”
Let’s get one thing immediately: nobody is right here to disgrace somebody for taking a drugs. Our bodies are private, and well being is nuanced. However the way in which we discuss the ones possible choices—particularly when it comes to celebrities or influencers—is the place the chance lies.
Skinny ladies who take Ozempic are applauded for “taking regulate in their well being.” In the meantime, plus length ladies are nonetheless judged for current, irrespective of what possible choices they make. Plus length and curvy ladies nonetheless take care of destructive remark about their fitness center routines, their outfits, and so forth. If we drop some weight, we’re accused of promoting out to the societal good looks same old. If we don’t, we’re observed as irresponsible and lazy.
I’ve misplaced weight, and I’ve won it again—and at each and every length, other people had one thing to mention.
And let’s now not fail to remember that those medicine are dear and in large part inaccessible for the individuals who would possibly in truth want them maximum. So now we have now a “wellness answer” that’s most commonly to be had to celebrities, influencers, and the ones with elite healthcare get admission to, leaving the remainder of us to take care of the fallout.
The Possibility: Erasure Disguised as Empowerment
There’s not anything flawed with physique autonomy. However there’s something deeply unsettling about how briefly the tradition flipped the script once more—how briskly we’re erasing the development made towards inclusive good looks within the title of “blank” or “disciplined” aesthetics.
We’re seeing fewer plus length fashions on runways. Measurement levels that after prolonged to 4X are quietly being pulled again. Even the once-bold advertising round inclusivity is now extra muted, impartial, and, frankly, slimmer.
I’m now not in opposition to weight reduction and I by no means will probably be. I’m in opposition to the concept our our bodies have been simplest welcome after they have been trending,” I write. “In case your marketing campaign can’t to find room for a length 18 anymore, it used to be by no means about inclusivity—it used to be about optics. And ultimately, industry monetary targets within the model and good looks trade will ultimately face the results of unique advertising.
Preserving the Line on Inclusive Attractiveness
We’re at a pivotal second. The physique positivity motion is being examined—now not simply by trade requirements, however via silence. However let this be a reminder: plus length ladies constructed platforms, sparked conversations, and helped manufacturers develop. We don’t seem to be a segment or a footnote. And we will be able to now not be erased via every other generation of aspirational thinness, on this case, the “Ozempic impact”—regardless of how shiny, filtered, or pharmaceutical apparently.
The Ozempic impact is actual. However so is our energy. And we’re nonetheless gazing.
