TikTok's latest obsession with extreme thinness is being framed as more than another beauty trend, with feminists arguing that the pressure to become smaller can reinforce patriarchal expectations of women—and, controversially, overlap with ideas associated with authoritarianism and the far right.
The debate follows a Feminist article titled 'How Skinny-tok and Fascism ended up on the same FYP', which argues that the growing fixation with weight loss, SkinnyTok, and GLP-1 drugs reflects a wider culture of controlling women's bodies. The article, widely shared on Reddit, has fuelled debate over whether thinness is simply a personal beauty preference or part of a broader social and political pattern.
Crucially, research suggests that appearance-focused TikTok content can have real effects on how women view their bodies. A 2024 study of 273 female-identifying participants found that exposure to pro-anorexia TikTok content reduced body satisfaction and increased the internalisation of societal appearance ideals.
When Being Thin Becomes a Form of Obedience
For critics of SkinnyTok, the concern is not that wanting to lose weight is inherently political. It is that women are repeatedly presented with the same message: smaller is better, thinness signals discipline and controlling your body represents personal success.
One Reddit commenter responding to the article summed up that argument bluntly: 'To be thin is "obey" patriarchal expectations of women'.
Another welcomed the discussion, writing: 'Glad to see this being addressed.'
The criticism goes beyond appearance. One commenter argued that the fixation can also act as a distraction: 'It is also a distraction. If we are focused on our physical appearance we are paying less attention to the violation of our rights.'
The idea echoes a longstanding feminist argument that beauty standards can consume women's time, money and attention while reinforcing expectations about how their bodies should look.
But calling the trend 'fascist' remains a controversial interpretation rather than an established fact. The Reddit discussion itself included users questioning whether the comparison goes too far, particularly as the popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs offers another explanation for the renewed cultural focus on thinness.
@lilylightss You can get your GLp-1 if you’re in the USA https://effecty.com/Lilian100
♬ Formation - Beyoncé
The Algorithm Feeding the Thin Ideal
What makes today's version different from earlier diet crazes is the speed and personalisation of social media.
A research published analysed more than one million TikTok videos delivered to 91 participants. Users with eating disorders were shown substantially more appearance-focused, dieting, exercise and pro-eating-disorder content than healthy controls, providing preliminary evidence that personalised feeds may exacerbate eating-disorder symptoms.
Another 2024 study found that young women exposed to pro-anorexia TikTok videos experienced lower body satisfaction and greater internalisation of appearance ideals. Researchers warned that even content users who did not necessarily seek out could have consequences.
This is where the feminist argument becomes particularly uncomfortable. If women are encouraged to spend increasing amounts of time monitoring calories, weight, exercise and appearance, critics argue they may become absorbed in controlling themselves rather than challenging the systems around them.
The leap from thinness culture to fascism, however, should not be presented as proven causation. There is stronger evidence for links between harmful TikTok content, body dissatisfaction and disordered-eating risk than for a direct pathway between SkinnyTok and far-right political beliefs.
Ultimately, the debate is less about whether every woman who wants to be thin is making a political statement, and more about why thinness has once again become such a powerful cultural ideal.
For its critics, the danger is that a woman's body becomes another measure of obedience: how disciplined she is, how little space she takes up and how successfully she conforms.
