The Resurgence of Heroin Chic

When it comes to body trends, we have had it all, from the rise of the Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) in recent years to the infamous thigh gap of the early 2010s. The expectation of the female body is constantly changing, and as of recent, not for the better. 

Between 2015 to 2020 it is undeniable that there has been a clear shift towards the predilection of a fuller, curvier figure as the ideal body type for women. Looking “like a coke bottle” as Renni Rucci once said, has been the standard for quite some time now and we have seen its rise in popularity through influencers and celebrities, most notably, the Kardashians. Kim Kardashian has been well known, not only through her hit TV reality show Keeping Up with The Kardashians or her infamous sex tape with her ex-boyfriend Ray J, but also due to the size of her derrière. 

There is much speculation around whether or not the celebrity has undergone enhancement surgery regarding the specific body part although she has never confirmed it herself. It is undeniable however, that her overall physique has drastically changed into a smaller, more petite frame and it is this change that has ignited the idea that the ‘heroin chic’ body type is making a comeback.

‘Heroin chic’ is a term used to refer to the glamorization of the characteristics associated with heroin addicts. These include hollow eyes, emaciated and pronounced features and general physique, along with pronounced cheek bones. Essentially, ‘heroin chic’ praises the effects the drug has on the body since it is known to have a slimming effect due to its addictiveness.

The question people are asking now a days is: Is heroin chic back? In short, yes. However, it is not that simple. Due to the catastrophic effect the heroin chic movement had on female body image during the late 90s and early 2000s through its promotion of eating disorders and minimal exercise to prevent becoming “bulky”, people are now catching on to the shift in body expectations before they become a trend. Tik Tok is full of videos commenting on Kim Kardashian’s alleged removal of her BBL and drastic weight loss leading people to speculate on whether being incredibly thin will become the norm again. They say fashion trends are cyclic and take about twenty years to come back around so in theory, this would be the exact time ‘heroin chic’ would become popular. People are fighting back though.

Actress Jameela Jamil, known for her roles in The Good Place and She Hulk as of recent, is also an advocate for body positivity and has openly spoken about the issue with holding women to such high expectations when it comes to their bodies. She posted a video onto Tik Tok followed by its reposting on Instagram and Twitter where she addresses a tweet by the New York Post that reads ‘bye bye booty: Heroin chic is back’ alongside a picture of Khloe Kardashian, another member of the Kardashian family who has been rumoured to have removed her BBL.

In the video Jameela says ‘we tried this in the 90s and millions of people developed eating disorders.’ She goes on to mention her own experience before ending the video with a simple ‘our bodies are not trends; our body shapes are not trends.’ Her opinion reflects that of many on social media who added their own two cents to the conversation. Twitter is filled with retweets of users commenting on the article and they are not so pleased with it.

One user comments: ‘”Heroin chic” is one of the most depressing terms I can think of to describe women’s bodies. Oh yeah, it’s so chic to be so frail that you resemble someone who’s dying from a devastating drug addiction.’

Another retweet reads ‘not happy with how the media is pushing the 90s heroin chic bodies back. The diet culture seriously does a lot of harm to lots of people, especially young, impressionable girls and women.’

Overall, people don’t seem to be too thrilled with the possibility of ‘heroin chic’ becoming the norm again. In fact, the general consensus seems to be that women’s bodies, or all bodies as a whole, should stop being the epicentre of a person’s value and humanity should instead focus on remaining happy and healthy over damaging their physical and mental health to achieve a “look” that will inevitably stop being trendy and cause severe mental health problems in the long run.

• eating disorders
• fashion
• fashion trends
• heroin chic
• mental health