Ozempic has made it easier than ever to comment on people’s appearance, and it is a threat to the body inclusivity movement.
The popular medication originally prescribed for type 2 diabetes mimics the GLP-1 hormone, which stimulates insulin production and reduces appetite.
Ozempic’s application for rapid weight loss is somewhat of an open secret, particularly in celebrity circles, where there are instances of its use for cosmetic weight loss. Media figures, including Oprah Winfrey, Amy Schumer and Tracy Morgan, have spoken about their experiences with the drug. The growing awareness of Ozempic came with increasing speculation in Instagram comments. Take a scroll through any of the Kardashians’ social media posts from the last few months, and you will likely find a comment section filled with suggestions that they are on Ozempic.
The obsession with celebrity weight loss and Ozempic has gone as far as the development of new terminology like “Ozempic face,” used to describe fat loss in the face leading to a gaunt appearance.
Focusng on changes in people’s bodies is a step in the wrong direction. It is a step away from inclusivity and acceptance, and it threatens the recent progress of the body positivity movement.
To be clear, Ozempic itself is not the issue. Studies have shown time and time again to have benefits for those who struggle with type 2 diabetes or obesity. If Ozempic addresses an individual’s health concerns, that conversation can remain between them, their doctor and whomever they choose to share their experience with.
At its core, the problem with Ozempic is not its use but the conjecture surrounding its use. Since the diet culture of the 2000s, young people have re-written the rules about bodies in popular culture. From radical acceptance to body neutrality, there are endless ways to reject the cultural dogma of the perfect body type. Yet, trends on social media suggest strides in the wrong direction.
For example, the rise of the term “big back” in Gen Z slang, which people use to describe someone who is overweight, has solidified fatphobic language on social media. Similarly, consider the “good luck finding my waist” trend, where users post ironic statements about looking thinner by abstaining from sugary sodas or getting a salad instead of fries. In both instances, people make bodies the butt of the joke.
Since the rise of social media, the world has learned that what can start as a fun trend can have dire consequences. If it continues, internet culture will bleed into real life as the lines between the two worlds become progressively blurred. Based on these interactions on social media, it is clear that slowly but surely, the body positivity movement has lost momentum.
Until we live in a world where the adjectives “thin” and “fat” do not carry with them the impossible weight of decades of diet culture, it is imperative that people do not comment at all.
People’s bodies change. Their bodies may change because of Ozempic, or they might change for another reason. Regardless, commenting on someone else’s body is unnecessary and unkind.
The sensationalization of Ozempic as some miracle drug makes it so that any celebrity weight loss is the result of the medicine while also suggesting that any weight loss as a result of the drug is lesser than some other form of weight loss.
There is this idea that Ozempic is a cheat code to losing weight and therefore acts as an invitation to comment on people’s bodies.
We learned the lesson not to comment on changes in celebrity bodies four years ago when “Black Panther” actor Chadwick Boseman lost his battle with cancer shortly after an image of a visibly thin Boseman circulated with the caption “crack panther.”
We learned this lesson when Selena Gomez’s weight gain was not a secret pregnancy but instead a side effect of medication to treat Lupus, an autoimmune disorder.
While discussions about the misuse of appetite suppressants for cosmetic weight loss are certainly necessary, any significant conversations about this issue will not take place in a social media comment section.
The deeper problem is not Ozempic, just as it was not the lemon water, intermittent fasting or any other weight loss tactic thinly guised as a way to boost health. The true issue that underlies this all is the impressionable people on social media who think that they need to take extreme measures to look like their internet idols. If not them, then the children who think the only way to get attention is by whittling their bodies down to nothing. Fear of alienation and desire for acceptance keep users clicking and make people think that buying collagen powder will also buy unconditional love.
These body-positive movements, as superfluous and superficial as they may seem, remind people that their bodies are not wrong. Do not comment on people’s bodies. Full stop.