Don't let yourself shrink: what is the threat of the fashion for painful thinness
The trend of painful thinness, which has been overclocked in social networks, is gaining popularity in Russia. In particular, TikTok is full of videos with girls without uniforms that resemble teenagers. Escort service workers were the first to react to the fashionable image. How body weight deficiency affects reproductive health, whether fashionable weight loss can "develop" into anorexia, and which women (skinny or with shapes) men actually like — in the Izvestia article.
Who shapes fashion
Fashion is cyclical — trends repeat themselves about once every 20 years, says clinical psychologist and sexologist Sergey Volkov. Trends in movies, clothes, and certain body shapes are being revived. At the dawn of the new century, emaciated skinny girls were already ruling the ball. Just remember Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham. It is believed that the current fashion for slender girls came from the field of escort services. But Sergey Volkov explained to Izvestia that, like any trend, "body fashion" is the result of marketing and social engineering. So escorts are losing weight in order to meet the needs of the market: recently, men have been showing interest in "flat" girls without a hint of shape.
— Escort is a very wide "market". It always follows the fashion and interests of customers. But escorts do not produce independent trends, and pornography is one of the main channels that dictates attitudes towards the body," comments Sergey Volkov. — Yes, there is fashion in this area too, and it is also cyclical. To maintain interest, requests for appearance change. In turn, fashion indirectly always detaches from the sexual interests of society, since demand generates supply, and not vice versa.
Even those who prefer other women in principle have been showing interest in "relevant" skinny young ladies for some time, paying tribute to fashion, the expert explains. But the trend does not take root in the minds of all representatives of the stronger sex, since this is a temporary phenomenon.
— It is impossible to single out a certain type of men who like thin women, it is a matter of taste and personal preferences, — explains the clinical psychologist. — But thinness is associated with youth, and subconsciously a man strives for young partners, because at the level of biology, the younger a woman is, the more fertile she is and has a better chance of bearing and having a child.
According to Sergey Volkov, many foreign fashion houses of the first magnitude invite models with very thin bones, pronounced cheekbones and angular facial features to photo shoots.
— All these are signs of a teenager. In fact, a teenage sexualized image is being made of the model. Whether this can be considered an instillation of something unhealthy is more likely than not," comments Sergey Volkov.
As a result, women are forced to move in the direction dictated by trends, for example, to lose weight dramatically, which is what is happening now. This creates additional opportunities for the beauty, fitness, nutrition and cosmetology industries, the sexologist emphasizes. Thus, the fashion for girls who are thin to the point of exhaustion is also a phenomenon provoked by the invisible hand of the market.
What is anorexia?
With the light hand of social media users, all the skinny girls flashing in public have already been listed as anorexic. However, experts advise separating the concepts. It's one thing to lose weight for the sake of fashion, but it's quite another to suffer from a serious illness.
— Anorexia is a specific mental disorder, a variant of an eating disorder that is accompanied by conscious restriction of food. A girl (most often a teenager) is sure that she has extra pounds. She deliberately refuses to eat in order to lose weight," says psychiatrist Alexei Vilkov.
In this case, the refusal of food is irrational (biased, devoid of logic and common sense). Such patients are characterized by a distorted perception of their body — even in an emaciated state, they tend to consider themselves fat.
— A girl may have an ordinary figure, or she may be very thin, but she perceives herself as overweight. And this idea defines her life," the psychiatrist comments. — And the excessive thinness to which she comes as a result of refusing to eat gradually affects her physical well—being - up to the point of life-threatening, when complete exhaustion occurs.
According to Alexey Vilkov, the causes of anorexia are most often psychogenic. They are associated with low self-esteem, increased anxiety, and excessive insecurity. Criticism from parents and relatives, as well as the social environment, is important. Of course, the fashion for thinness adds fuel to the fire. Strong information support and promotion contribute to the creation of an illusory image of an ideal girl — without disadvantages and disadvantages. This also encourages young people to go on diets.
The psychiatrist warns that in pursuit of a fashionable image, anorexia nervosa can develop in girls who are predisposed to this disease due to their anxiety, low self-esteem and fixation on a distorted perception of their body.
— A girl, showing her "achievements" on social networks, gets positive emotions, as endorphins are released. And in order to experience such emotions over and over again, she loses more and more weight. There is a constant need for approval. This behavior is fixed," Vilkov continues.
Gradually, such a "fashionista" has a fixed obsession, a critical attitude towards her condition is lost, and a distorted perception of herself in reality appears. That's when the risk of anorexia nervosa increases. A complete refusal of food or restriction of the diet causes a deterioration in physical well-being and a threat to life itself.
Women's health
Strict dietary restrictions can deal a severe blow to women's health, warns Lyubov Yerofeyeva, a gynecologist and senior lecturer at the Medical Faculty of the University of Synergy.
— Significant weight loss is fraught with the fact that amenorrhea (menstrual cycle disorder) may occur, warns the gynecologist. — The normal function of the female reproductive system is impossible with malnutrition or a diet that provides for the rejection of foods necessary for the body. For example, the restriction of fatty foods (both vegetable and animal origin) leads to impaired ovarian function.
Lyubov Yerofeyeva reminds us that there are so-called influencers (opinion leaders) in society. These people sometimes come up with useful, and sometimes just monstrous ideas and begin to promote them. These include fashion bloggers who have the ability to influence a wide audience of subscribers. Sometimes very harmful ideas are popularized in this way, the expert summarizes. Such negative trends include excessive thinness.
— Young people are more susceptible to influence, because young people lack critical thinking, life experience, or maybe there is no reputable adult adviser nearby, — says Lyubov Yerofeyeva. — Young people are looking for these authorities among representatives of some special professions or bloggers, who sometimes talk outright nonsense.
It makes no sense to chase weight loss if the body mass index is normal, the gynecologist emphasizes. You can calculate this indicator using a special application. And in the case when a woman of normal build suddenly feels that something is wrong with her weight, body shape and size, the gynecologist advises to recall the popular saying: "Men are not dogs - they do not throw themselves on the bones."
What kind of women do men like
Nevertheless, sometimes girls are provoked to lose weight by their partners. The clinical psychologist emphasizes that escort as an expensive type of service is not aimed at the entire population. Most men do not have the financial means to use it. The algorithms of social engineering work very precisely in this case, the expert notes.
— But body trends affect everyone in one way or another. And men are beginning to see flaws in their wives and daughters, demanding that they lose weight without any common sense. In this case, it is worth remembering that the body of someone else, even a very close person, is his personal business," says Volkov.
The clinical psychologist emphasizes that any fashion is an artificial beauty, a "made picture" that has nothing to do with real life. Especially the fashion that is relevant for the ladies of the demimonde.
— Of course, some tendencies of that other life take root in ordinary life. For example, thongs, which appeared in a New York strip club in 1939, are now a permanent option for everyday underwear," comments Sergey Volkov.
But in general, the expert calls it pointless to imitate escort girls when it comes to women who are far from this industry.
— The annoying attention of men, which is a "job" for escorts, will bring more discomfort to an ordinary girl than pleasant sensations. What to do with this attention in everyday life? — the sexologist argues. — Well, teenage girls need to be given a good education and instill taste in clothing and behavior.
The clinical psychologist emphasizes that healthy sexuality is getting pleasure from oneself in one's body, the ability to enjoy life and the moment. This does not mean that you do not need to take care of yourself and your weight. Slimness has always been appreciated aesthetically. Thinness is considered in world culture to be a sign of the aristocracy and the highest nobility, emphasizes Volkov.
— It is called an obligatory attribute of sophistication, elegance and etiquette. Being slim is a sign of health and youth. But there is also excessive, unhealthy thinness — with protruding bones, sunken cheeks and eye sockets, bruises on the skin due to protruding veins. At the level of neurology, it causes rejection as a sign of severe illness, exhaustion and death," the clinical psychologist comments.
Women who are far from "microscopic" proportions should not worry about their appearance and adjust to trends.
"If the best brands and the entire global marketing are on the side of skinny girls, then biology and common sense are on the side of curvy ladies," says Volkov. — Youth is not the only criterion that is evaluated by the male brain. In addition to youth, he must also assess gender, and it is not thinness that gives it away, but healthy fullness: emphasized rounded hips, large breasts, and the presence of a belly. All this is an indicator of health, puberty and physical strength.
The clinical psychologist emphasizes that in ancient times, thin people simply could not survive. Real thinness actually appeared only in the XV–XVII centuries, and before that, children with a similar body constitution had very poor chances of survival.
"That's why such heirs survived only in aristocratic families," explains the sexologist. — But if thinness is a sign of aristocracy and high society, then fullness is a sign of warmth at home, softness and stability.
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