What do you think about women who strive for the 90s/00s "skinny b*tch" look?

[BeAlertRaven]

I'm asking because I'm one of those women myself. I think it's because I grew up in that era and watched a lot of MTV and shows like America's next top model etc. I also idolised skinny women in my teens. I feel like other women see me as vain and overly concerned with my appearance or assume I have an eating disorder (which I don't have btw).

Yes, basically think of female celebrities and models from the 90s and 00s (maybe not the obviously anorexic ones). For example Victoria Beckham, Kylie Minogue, or any celebrity/model with a similar body type.

I think Victoria Beckham said she has eaten the same dinner every night for thirty years (fish and steamed vegetables?) and that David was delighted when she agreed to try something different when she was pregnant with her daughter. It sounds like an extraordinarily joyless regime - and I love grilled fish and veg! - but if that's how someone wants to live, that's up to them.

I don't like the term 'skinny bitch' and while there's nothing wrong with maintaining a slim physique, the word 'skinny' doesn't sound healthy especially going into older age. Bone density and muscle mass are really important for healthy ageing, quality of life and longevity.

I still have no idea what you mean and I was skinny in the 90s!

I think of Kylie Minogue and Victoria Beckham as being completely different to each other

Interesting, saw this article today
https://www.independent.co.uk/health-and-fitness/mounjaro-wegovy-weight-loss-jab-gen-x-b2791543.html
I think most people wouldnt really care, but would question your health maybe?
Like another poster said, focus today is on a healthy, stronger body and mind, so healthy food, positive minded ( not bitch face) and high energy

Victoria Beckham would be the obvious one. Kate Moss?

Funnily enough, I was talking to my beauty therapist about this sort of thing this morning. As a naturally curvy teen and 20-something, I constantly obsessed about being skinny - and I was slim with a BMI of 20 or so, just not skin and bones thin. I wanted my boobs and thighs to disappear. I look back at my genuinely lovely figure then and wonder what on earth caused me to think it wasn’t attractive enough and ought to live on cigarettes and Diet Coke!

I don’t think people have to strive to be slim or put in huge amounts of time and effort, it’s more about avoiding things that cause them to gain excessive weight. If you’ve never put on too much weight in the first place, (which can be down to luck and circumstance) then apart from not eating everything you fancy, it is not a huge effort to maintain a normal weight.

I think I know what you mean OP. I remember the whole size zero fad of the early 00s and low slung jeans etc with hips bones jutting out being the look to strive for. I was always curvy but went down to a size 4 at that time. Not sustainable and the weight crept back on over the years. But I still find it hard not to want to be that skinny again and find I always admire clothes on very slim people. My mother was also obsessed with being thin (but never managed it!) and passed her neuroses into me.

I think their body their choice, if they want to be skinny away they go. As long as they're not running thinspo tiktoks teaching tweens how to make a single stick of celery last all day I don't care.

I do side eye any woman who is a self described bitch though. Like why would you want to be a bitch.

Those are two very different looks though. I think VB looked pretty awful in those days and much older than her age at the time. The Kate Moss heroin chic look is maybe what I'd think of but then I'd have called it that. The 'skinny bitch' look? Maybe SJP in SATC?

I don't think about it at all to be honest, but actively thinking on it following your thread I guess I would think as there are very few women who are naturally that skinny it sounds like a miserable way to live. Im glad a lot of young women now strive to be fit rather than skinny, it takes more work but is much better for your body and looks great.

I was an actress and model ( amateurs) in the 90s and played a lot of corpses - I didn't need much makeup. Not something I afpure to now I think a 6-8 yes small enough. Size zero is too small

I was painfully thin and hated it. I ate like a horse, but you could see my bones. It doesn’t bother me what other people look like, if you are beautiful I’d think there’s an attractive lady/man- that’s it. As long as you are being healthy, go ahead.

I strive for fit, strong and healthy (determined to lose weight) improve my mobility, joints for my old age - if I’m lucky enough to get there!

I came of age in that era and even at the time I found it a disturbing trend - the lollipop ladies were hard to look at. Portia de Rossi and Calista Flockhart in Ally McBeal, Renee Zellweger in Chicago. They looked like they had eating disorders and probably did - it’s an impossible size to maintain on a healthy diet.

Kate Moss was different, she was naturally very skinny and suited it. Most of the others looked emaciated.

I’m just glad there are other aspirational looks for women these days.

I think that skinny chique look is fine to want in your 20s but in your 40s/50s being that skinny makes a person look older as the fat is needed to smooth the wrinkles out a bit.

Probably why so many celebrities have face lifts and chin tucks etc.

I strive to be healthy, I have no interest in skinny. I think people who obsess about being what is actually an abnormal weight are a bit sad and lacking in confidence.

I wouldn't say anything, because what someone else wants to look like isn't really my business. But if you ASKED my opinion, I'd suggest you made sure you were eating enough, and that you had a balanced diet. A lot of "models" in the 90s and 00s were severely underweight, and it's nothing to do with what they look like - it's just not healthy!

I'm with you, OP. I was a slightly podgy 80s child who became a (for the time, but now quite normal) relatively overweight teen. I had a few years in my 20s when my BMI was actually below 25, but then had kids. I would have loved to have been skinny for at least a little while in my life. I would still love to be skinny now, even as I approach 50. I feel I've never fulfilled my true potential looks-wise because I've always been overweight.

So what do I think of the 90s / 00s skinny bitch look? I love it. And I do think most people look better carrying a bit less weight. And I do think most people, including me, don't look that great nowadays and that overall we looked better in the past.

I do however also really like the strong and toned look, but you do still need to be lean to carry it off. I am actually pretty physically fit from sport but don't look it. I'm the kind of person who surprises medical professionals with my low heart rate and BP, as the body doesn't fit their expectation.

Victoria Beckham/Paris Hilton/Nicole Richie size zero was definitely a thing. Not a bit of bum in sight, they were like twigs. I worked with young girls at the time and they all wanted to be tiny. I think the really low cut jeans/trousers emphasised it.
I really love fashion and can remember when stylist Rachel Zoe came out and she was almost skeletal, as were her clients.
Models who were a size 10 were considered plus-sized.
I was a huge fan of The OC and the actress who played Marissa was very tall and actually had hips, and she just got thinner.
Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox became almost skeletal by 2000 if you see them on Friends. Gwyneth Paltrow’s 1999 Oscar’s dress was swimming on her, she was so thin.
I always liked that Jennifer Lopez did her own thing. Beyoncé really slimmed down for a full role once and it was awful - she looked instantly better after it.

I’m early 50s now, so I was around at this time but didn’t know anyone who described it as the skinny bitch look. Like, I’ve heard that term now and then but wasn’t aware it ever had the status of ‘a thing’.

I’m not sure it’s as much of a defined cohort of women as your op suggests? It just sounds like you’re asking, what do we think of women who really care massively about being thin.

And I guess my response to that is, it seems like a shame for them? There’s a lot more to life

'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels' - that sort of vibe. It was much easier when we had a 20 year old metabolism and a packet of Marly Lights.

Being like that when you're older is just an invitation for osteoporosis. It also must be so difficult and miserable to maintain. If I considered it at all, not sure I would, i'd probably feel a bit of pity (and I mean that in the least patronising way as possible)!

I don't generally notice, but when I do it's usually because I'm shocked at how old they look. Usually I find out someone is a lot younger than they look, and when I think about it it's because they are very thin and over 30, and I think it's massively aging.

But other than that IDGAF

I think a lot of people would have to strive to be eg a size zero if it's not their natural body shape/size.
VB obviously does work very hard at being that size and probably does have an ED.
I have a work colleague who is naturally very thin. She eats more or less what she wants and does almost no exercise, that is her natural body shape. But I think a lot of women esp those in the public eye are not naturally very lean they have to work at it

I used to be anorexic, I'm now a healthy weight and have been for 20 years. My bmi is 21, I eat fairly healthily and run 4 x a week up to half marathon distance. I would love to look slimmer and have a bmi of 20 but that would involve a lot more effort/restriction

I wouldn't know anything about you other than you were thin. Lots of people are different shapes and sizes.
I guess I'd assume you counted calories, didn't eat much or did lots of exercise. But I wouldn't care or judge anyone on their size.

I wouldn't think any thing of your weight tbh. I've always been slim, was definitely 'skinny' in the 00s when I was in my late teens early 20s that was just my body really, I've never had much in the boob or hips or any department really.

Now I'm almost at 40 I'm definitely aiming for muscles over bones. I don't want osteoporosis or to be a delicate twig waiting to snap. For the first time in my life I have more than skinny little legs, I have defined muscles and I love it even though I'm slightly bigger than I was. I've definitely reached a place where I appreciate my body for what it can do rather than how it looks.

It’s to me a look to me that often looks great in clothes particularly in magazines or on TV , but in real life face to face can easily often tip over into looking ill, especially over 40 .