Hey, guys – welcome back to TNTH.
As the months pass on by, trends are created and become viral much more quickly than (sadly) an actual cause that can help save or cause a change in society. I say this with disgust over a certain “trend” that I came across social media one day, and that trend is the “skinny legend” trend.
According to Urban Dictionary, the term “skinny legend” originated on social media, used to describe a fandom’s “fave”, or person that is worshipped in a certain group of “stans”.
A phrase used by a social media sub-group called “stans”. It is commonly used to refer to celebrities such as Mariah Carey who are glamorous and talented, no matter their weight. It is also used ironically to refer to cute animals, people, objects etc. Twitter trolls use it often in their memes.
It’s meant to be something ridiculous and stupid, yes, and the community who came up with the trend didn’t intend any harm by creating it, but no matter how you look at it, those who see it for the first time are going to think the obvious definition of it: someone who is skinny and iconic. And that’s when a harmless trend then becomes harmful.
A lot like the “triggered” trend that was circulating on the internet in the last two years, “skinny legend” holds that same discriminative aura. Those who will use the term “skinny legend” will use it in every conversation, talking about good-looking people who are society’s definition of “legends” and “iconic”. I mean, what fat person is going to write #SkinnyLegend on their caption knowing half of the social media community will look at them sideways? It’s a trend that makes it so being pretty and good-looking an exclusive club for skinny people, which yet again is going everything against those who aren’t “blessed” with being skinny.
Am I reaching? Maybe. Do I feel salty? Maybe. But I could care less about feeling included in a trend such as “skinny legend”. While its original concept was okay and passable of being a decent good meme or whatever, it still leaves way too much room for people to misuse the term. They will be people using the word for its literal meaning: BEING A SKINNY LEGEND.
So please, don’t just use it because you hear everyone else saying it (which I bet 9 out of the 10 times it’s being misused in society) and it’s the new black. Don’t call out your skinny friends and say “damn girl you’re a skinny legend”. Don’t even idolize your “favs” by calling them that either because, again, the made-up meaning of that trend doesn’t make sense in the first place and celebs are human beings too. The fact that the word “skinny” had to be added to that trend already insinuates that skinny equals perfection and beauty.
It’s 2018, cut the crap.
-Liz. (:
Letters From Liz. 