The past couple of months have been filled with many newsworthy stories: hurricanes, disaster relief in Puerto Rico and the resurfacing of Colin Kaepernick’s “take a knee” controversy. But I have been seeing another trend in the news, especially with celebrities. Headlines surrounding Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and even Kanye West have been focusing on one thing — their weight. Something else these celebrities have in common? They have all been called “thicc.”
So, what does “thicc” mean, anyway? To my knowledge, and with a little help from the internet, thicc usually refers to a woman with a more curvy, shapely figure — with an emphasis on their hourglass figure. However, what most people don’t know (or might forget) is that this unusual spelling of thick spawned from a meme known as “One Thicc Bih.” Mostly intended to be a joke, thicc became synonymous with a woman who is not only curvy — but extremely curvy.
Over the past year, thicc has made its way into mainstream media and began to make its presence as an acceptable word to describe women. When Rihanna, one of the most successful women on several fronts, began to gain weight, it was automatically picked up by tabloids and the entertainment media. But instead of succumbing to obvious headlines about Rihanna being fat, headlines about her “thiccness” started to pop up everywhere on the internet.
Not only are other women, such as Amber Rose, gaining the title “thicc,” but male celebrities are getting attention for their weight gain. One of the most notable “thicc” guys is Kanye West. Kanye has never been known for being too skinny, but recently, people have started to notice his weight gain and have called him “thicc.” It isn’t news that people are talking about celebrities’ weight, but rather the way they approach it. Although there has been and always will be those horrible stories about celebrities being “fat,” that no longer seems like the norm. Now, it has started to seem like being “thicc” is trendy.
But what does that mean for an everyday college girl? Watching this “thicc” conundrum play out has showed me one thing: Being “cool” is confusing. What the tabloids and other outlets say is “trendy” will always change. Growing up, I never had a issue with the way I looked — until I hit high school. I think a lot of girls can agree that it is never really easy when it comes to pride and confidence about our bodies. With that being said, it is always satisfying seeing real women’s bodies in Hollywood.
We are truly living in a time where long-standing beauty norms are being smashed by strong, successful women like my girl Rihanna. And, wow, I cannot think of a better spokeswoman. This culture shift is exciting and honestly a bit odd, but I have never been more ready to celebrate being whatever it means to be “thicc,” changing body standards and being true to who you want to be!