Low-rise jeans are back: Social comparison on social media and women’s body image
Recently, my roommate and I could not believe our eyes. We never thought 2000s fashion would come back in style, but on Lexi's Instagram feed was Olivia Rodrigo wearing a pair of low-rise jeans, a clothing style defined by the waist of the jeans resting below the belly button and hip bone. Even though I was born in 2000, I remember 2000s fashion all too well. This was highlighted by juicy couture, bright colors, baby tee tanks, and of course, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Rihanna, and other fashion icons and celebrities sporting low-rise jeans. I have joked with many of my friends about how even though trends recycle, like 1980s fashion with mom jeans, 2000s fashion would never come back, and we prayed it would stay in the past. However, the fashion industry clearly did not hear our pleas. The concern and shock might sound misplaced or dramatic, but the fashion industry has infiltrated and thrived in the world of social media and influencers who have started molding and controlling new fashion trends(Tomovska, 2020). Olivia Rodrigo, with her 28.3 million followers, has influence. When we see celebrities and fashion influencers sporting remerging styles like low-rise jeans, it is only a matter of time before soon it would trickle down to the more accessible fit inspiration micro-influencers and subsequently into the stock of Urban Outfitters and on the bodies of millions of women in the United States like myself.
But when looking in the fitting room mirror and seeing my waist size 30 instead of Olivia Rodrigo's 25 or smaller, how will it make me feel? The concern and shock come from a wave of understanding inundating our minds with how low-rise jeans will negatively influence our body image and, subsequently, our bodies.
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The fashion industry is known for negatively impacting women's body images. Several research studies have shown women suffer "detrimental effects" from being exposed to the fashion industry's use of idealized and curated photos (Tiggemann et al., 2019). These photos offer unrealistic and sometimes visually manipulated normative beauty standards through the overpromotion of thin, white models in traditional media like magazines and television (Tiggemann et al., 2019). Similarly can be said for the prominent use of social media. These photos previously found on television or in magazines are now accessible through a good connection and an Instagram account.
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The normative beauty standards, developed over decades, have been bolstered and popularized through western media. Over the years, this norm has become thinner and thinner as models and beauty icons have decreased in waist size. According to a study conducted by analyzing Playboy centerfolds from 1978-1998, there was a shift toward skinner models "with 70% of the women being underweight and greater than 75% of the women were less than 85% of their ideal body weight" (Morris et al., 2003). These beauty standards that promote skinniness negatively impact the body image of women who do not perceive themselves as skinny. This can lead to unhealthy relationships with eating and exercise when attempting to reach this beauty goal.
These social media platforms led to the rise of social influencers who garner thousands to millions of followers and are coveted by large and small brands to help market messaging, products, and services to their audiences and the influencer’s loyal followers. For example, fashion influencer Chriselle Lim with 1.5 million followers, connects with luxury fashion brands like Alexander McQueen and posts Instagram reels and content showing how to style the items of clothing, usually tagging or offering some acknowledgment to the brand she is representing. Other smaller fashion influencers like @duringjuly will connect with or represent smaller brands in each post, tagging each item. Unlike brands, brand ambassadors develop strong perceived relationships with their followers on social media(Kim J, Kim M., 2022). Due to the likeability of an ambassador, loyalty is grown from followers and, subsequently, fosters perceived relationships, which can bring loyalty to the brands these influencers represent. The role of the relationship between influencers to brands and influencers to their followers can increase the likelihood of loyalty and trust toward a brand(Kim J, Kim M., 2022). Still, the content they produce to represent these fashion brands can lead to adverse health effects for women who view and compare themselves to the content.
When I see Zendaya in a low-waisted skirt with a cropped top in her matching set flawlessly posed in a photo that accentuates her flat stomach and thin arms, it makes me feel upset about how I would look in that outfit, how my stomach would fold over or be pressed into by the skirt, and how my arms would hang in the top. Social media platforms like Instagram foster this social comparison (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2016). On Instagram, we follow and engage with content from celebrities, influencers, and others from our social circles(Tiggemann et al., 2019). This leads viewers like you and me to compare ourselves to those in our Instagram virtual reality(Kim J, Kim M., 2022). This is why I compare myself to model, actress, singer, and fashion icon Zendaya, even though I know the repercussions of doing so to my mental health. On top of this, the overt curation of social media content through filters, taking many photos, and photo manipulation through Photoshop and apps like Facetune promote idealized versions of people on these platforms (Tiggemann et al., 2019). So when we compare ourselves to what we view from the people we follow on Instagram, like Zendaya or the girl from your high school who has garnered 30 thousand followers on Instagram, most of the time, we are comparing ourselves to false or idealized versions of them. This social comparison can lead to a negative impact on mental health and overall bodily dissatisfaction, especially for women and girls who already struggle with image issues (Tiggemann et al., 2019).
The role influencers play in decreasing body satisfaction can be seen beyond the scope of just fashion influencers. In a 2021 study, it was discovered that the posting of fitness inspiration or “fitspo” by fitness influencers led to a negative impact on the viewers (Cataldo et al., 2021). The results showed that exposure to “fitspiration” content on social media like Instagram led to increased body dissatisfaction, unhealthy relationship with exercise, eating, drug use, and overall diminished quality of life for men and women (Cataldo et al., 2021). The promotion of this content led to a decrease in the health of the viewers and negatively impacted their body image, similar to those viewing idealized content from fashion influencers.
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Body dissatisfaction can have serious health effects on mental health and can develop into unhealthy eating habits and disorders. When I think about wearing low-rise jeans or when I see an influencer wearing them in a TikTok, it spawns unhealthy thoughts of needed weight loss and overall anxiety about not being thin enough to wear them. Many women struggle with body dissatisfaction and eating disorders like anorexia (Morris et al., 2003). It is estimated that seven million women suffer from anorexia, and around 30 million Americans struggle with eating disorders, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. These can have severe effects on bodies and are found to be the second deadliest mental health illness, only second to opioid addiction (ANAD).
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I am not saying that fashion influencers are the direct source of women's eating disorders. Still, it is essential to acknowledge the role these influencers play in upholding a normative beauty standard of thinness linked to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders that can come from this lack of body satisfaction.
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Overall, the fashion industry has been culpable for decades in diminishing the body satisfaction of women. Through curating idealized beauty standards in media like fashion magazines and now social media through influencers, women are subject to engage and compare themselves to these images that come up as they meander through their social media feeds. This normative body standard promotes thinness as the standard of beauty and subsequent body image goal. Usually, this portrayal of thinness is exemplified by maintaining unhealthy lifestyles to reach and maintain that weight. This ideal beauty standard is coupled with the idealized versions of influencers and social media users who present their "best" or curated self on social media, highlighting their most posed and flexed self. This causes viewers of this content to further compare themselves to the beauty standards and bodies exemplified on these accounts. Time and time again, this comparison has left women with a lowered satisfaction in their bodies and contributed negatively to their overall health. This can be seen in negative habits developed with eating and even contribute to and development of eating disorders.
Low-rise jeans are back, but what's worrisome is what they represent for normative fashion trends and beauty standards. With models and social media fashion influencers seen showing off their seemingly unattainable and highly coveted flat stomachs as they wear low-rise jeans, it leaves my roommate, and I left feeling inadequate and not thin enough to pull off the trend. This trend continues to promote overwhelmingly thin body types, which continues to add to the normative beauty standard that skinny is the goal and the pathway leading there a slippery slope to unhealthy habits along the way.
Work Cited
Cataldo, Ilaria & de Luca, Ilaria & Giorgetti, Valentina & Cicconcelli, Dorotea & Bersani, Francesco Saverio & Imperatori, Claudio & Abdi, Samira & Negri, Attilio & Esposito, Gianluca & Corazza, Ornella. (2021). Fitspiration on social media: Body-image and other psychopathological risks among young adults. A narrative review. Emerging Trends in Drugs, Addictions, and Health. 1. 100010. 10.1016/j.etdah.2021.100010.
Eating disorder statistics: General & Diversity stats: Anad. National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. (2022, June 8). Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://anad.org/eating-disorders-statistics/
Fardouly, J., & Vartanian, L. R. (2016). Social media and body image concerns: Current research and future directions. Current Opinion in Psychology, 9, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.09.005
Kim J, Kim M. Rise of Social Media Influencers as a New Marketing Channel: Focusing on the Roles of Psychological Well-Being and Perceived Social Responsibility among Consumers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Feb 18;19(4):2362. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19042362. PMID: 35206553; PMCID: PMC8872418.
Morris AM, Katzman DK. The impact of the media on eating disorders in children and adolescents. Paediatr Child Health. 2003 May;8(5):287-9. doi: 10.1093/pch/8.5.287. PMID: 20020030; PMCID: PMC2792687.
Tiggemann, M., & Anderberg, I. (2020). Social media is not real: The effect of 'Instagram vs reality' images on women's social comparison and body image. New Media & Society, 22(12), 2183–2199. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819888720
Tomovska, Elena. (2020). The role of Instagram influencers as a source of fashion information. Tekstilna industrija. 68. 58-64. 10.5937/tekstind2004058T.