During the 2021 Met Gala, Kim Kardashian wore Marilyn Monroe’s infamous dress. This created a whirlwind of scandal, particularly around Kardashian stating that she had to “starve herself” to fit into the vintage, one-of-a-kind garment.

This set off a new era for the new “in-trend” body type. Kim Kardashian really grew her fame off of her cartoon-like curved body. This set off a new beauty standard surrounded by being “slim-thick.” Kardashian marketed off her curves paired with her impossibly tiny waist.

Girls worldwide tried to achieve this look, and the number of “BBL” (Brazilian Butt Lift) procedures done rose by 77 percent. This surgery is also known to be one of the deadliest plastic surgeries. So, it’s clear that young girls are willing to do anything to be a part of the current beauty standard, even if it means risking their lives.

Now that Kardashian has traded those curves for a more slender look, the “new” beauty narrative has leaned more towards the early 2000s, impossibly thin standard. The icons of the early 2000s were celebrities such as Victoria’s Secret Angels and models such as Kate Moss. This created an impossibly thin beauty standard that drove young girls into obsessive spirals about their body type. It is no secret that this standard led many girls into dangerous eating disorders, and at one point, Kate Moss was even bashed for promoting Anorexia.

There is no direct confirmation of how Kardashian lost the amount of weight she has, but we can assume she did it safely. With her salary and fame, many outlets are accessible to her, such as a personal trainer and a bariatrician. However, a majority, if not all, of the young girls are dying to fit into this impossibly thin standard. This is leading society back into a dangerous trail of eating disorders – one of the most deadly mental disorders.

This is not entirely Kardashian’s fault; trends get stale and change. It’s normal to want change, and in the fashion industry, change is inevitable. However, a woman’s body should not be a trend subject to such drastic alterations to be “beautiful.” In recent years there has been a spotlight on body positivity, but when it comes to it, A-list celebrities are all resorting to one body type, which is often what trumps the beauty standards. When will we finally realize, as a society, that a body is not a trend?