Thinness remains the dominant beauty ideal after a century

Despite waves of body positivity in recent years, new research shows the movement has had little lasting impact on beauty standards, according to a report by Danish broadcaster DR.

Findings indicate the beauty ideal has remained largely unchanged over the past 25 years, with thin, white models still dominating media imagery.

Coco Chanel in 1937 marked an early shift, as the French designer helped popularize the idea of an active, tanned upper class—an image tied to the emerging ideal of a slender figure, noted Chris Pedersen, a culture journalist and fashion expert.

British model Twiggy became a symbol of extreme thinness as a feminine ideal in the 1960s, while supermodel Kate Moss in the 1990s embodied the “heroin chic” look, reinforcing the notion that “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”

In the 2000s, reality TV figures like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie were defined by their extreme thinness, Pedersen said. Kim Kardashian, who represented a curvier ideal in the 2010s, later drew attention in 2022 for significant weight loss, part of a trend tied to the rise of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which made thinness more attainable and reignited its dominance in pop culture.

Ashley Graham, the first plus-size model on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2017, briefly represented a push for body diversity. Yet recent examples, such as Ariana Grande’s noticeable weight loss during a 2025 press tour and Demi Moore’s slender appearance at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, underscore thinness’s enduring grip on public perception.