Millennial women—born from 1981 to 1996—are leading a cultural reckoning against the "toxic" beauty ideals of the 1990s and 2000s with which they grew up.
Across social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, millennial women have been revisiting the relentless body-shaming culture that characterized their formative years. Creators behind posts on the topic, like Becky Jones, seek to understand the roots of the body image issues many in their demographic cohort have faced, and dismantle their lingering effects.
Jones, a health and fitness coach based in Somerset, U.K., is at the forefront of this online conversation. Known on Instagram as @the_empower_coach, Jones, 40, posted a video on November 4 highlighting the impact of these decades on women's self-esteem.
"We grew up watching the media scrutinize women's bodies relentlessly," Jones told Newsweek.
Her video stitched together images of celebrities who enjoyed huge fame in the early 2000s, like Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears and the fictional Bridget Jones, portrayed by Renée Zellweger. Accompanying the images were captions detailing moments when these famous women were publicly body-shamed, often by the mainstream media.
"Like many others, I experienced firsthand the relentless focus on women's appearances and the toxic messaging around body image," she said. "Magazines would highlight 'imperfections' with red circles, films portrayed normal bodies as undesirable, and these messages were inescapable."
Jones' post resonated widely, having been liked more than 110,000 times, sparking conversations among women in the comments who share similar struggles.
"It is heartbreaking when someone tells me they cannot fully enjoy moments with loved ones because they are consumed with comparing themselves to others or feeling self-conscious," the health and fitness coach said. "But it is also encouraging to see women determined to break the cycle and set a better example for their children."
The online discourse extends beyond individual experiences, showing that many millennials are collectively reflecting on the beauty standard pressures that shaped them. The '90s and 2000s were marked by the rise of "heroin chic" fashion, emaciated models and diet culture.
Headlines from the era, and movie scripts like the one behind Love Actually, often labeled the healthy bodies of young and attractive women "fat," perpetuating unattainable ideals that continue to affect many women today.
Twenty-five percent of adult women report feeling "shame" around their body image, in contrast to 15 percent of men, according to a Mental Health Foundation survey. The study also found that 26 percent of women said they feel "disgusted" by their body image, compared with 12 percent of men.
Global eating disorder prevalence increased from 3.5 percent to 7.8 percent from 2000 to 2018, perhaps a result of the contentious media that growing millennial women were exposed to in their youth. A 2019 survey found that women ages 20 to 29 experience significantly higher rates of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder than women and teenagers in other age brackets.
Those women, now in their mid- to late 20s and 30s, would mostly fall into the millennial demographic.
"I work with many clients currently in their 30s and 40s who grew up in the time of 'heroin chic' supermodels or the pop princess era of Britney Spears and her unforgettable 'I'm a Slave 4 U' 2001 MTV VMA snake performance," Monique Bellefleur, a psychotherapist who specializes in the treatment of negative body image, told Newsweek. "All of our moms were on Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or the Atkins diet in the 90s and we were surrounded by messages about thinness, whiteness, and sexiness equaling worthiness.
"It is no wonder that so many of us have struggled to unlearn the diet culture that was deeply ingrained in us through constant exposure to these stimuli during our most formative years."
Bellefleur, a millennial herself, says that this messaging can become more triggering for millennial women as they age, and that the discourse cropping up online about the damaging impact of '90s and 2000s beauty standards is much needed.
"We still picture these 'ideal' versions of beauty based on unrealistic standards," she said. "Although it felt like we were making some strides during the body positive movements of the 2010s, the movement has taken a hard hit as GLP-1 drugs have become popular and now we are seeing all those same celebrities that were aging with us, start to drastically drop weight with the help of Ozempic."
In her coaching practice, Jones emphasizes the importance of mindset work in efforts to undo the damage caused by these beauty standards, and to feel confident amid the growing popularity of Ozempic and the weight loss trend it has kick-started.
"You cannot out-diet a bad relationship with food or exercise your way out of poor body image," she said.
Her goal is to help women understand the origins of their insecurities and empower them to reject harmful societal norms. "We are at a pivotal moment for change and we need to normalize showing up as we are, without shame," Jones added.
Another video, shared by @thediaryofrihanna, showed the content creator behind the clip react to a scene from the sitcom Full House, which ran from 1987 to 1995. The scene saw Lori Loughlin's Rebecca Donaldson teach teenage castmate Candace Cameron Bure, who played D.J. Tanner, how to keep her body weight down by altering her diet.
An overlaid text on the video reads: "Young millennial girls didn't stand a chance."
Helping the Next Generation
While many viewers pointed out that there is nothing wrong with adding healthy staple foods to one's diet, most commented that the character's messaging would be tone-deaf to a 2025 audience. Viewers on Instagram were able to see the creator, Rihanna, express her shock at the moment the young teenager was schooled in dieting.
Newsweek reached out to @thediaryofrihanna for more information via email.
Jones says that the rise of social media platforms, like TikTok and Instagram, has given women a space to share their stories and challenge dated ideals. But the coach notes that these platforms also present new challenges, with filtered and edited images perpetuating a newer kind of "ideal" beauty.
"Even in the fitness space, there is immense pressure to conform to certain standards," Jones said. "That is why I am passionate about breaking the mold and showing that real, unfiltered bodies are enough."
The coach hopes that the conversation her post sparked has highlighted how millennials, now in their late 20s, 30s and 40s, are using their experiences to create a more inclusive environment for future generations.
Jones worries that the popularity of these platforms in children and teenagers could lead to damaging implications in the future. The coach is not far from the truth, as a 2024 study by vitamin and supplement company Thorne learned that some U.S. teenagers are already planning to go under the knife.
Thorne found that one in four of the surveyed group of 13- to 17-year-olds plan to get cosmetic surgery to combat signs of aging.
"The comments and conversations my post has led to show just how universal these struggles are," Jones said. "Women are feeling seen, heard, and validated—that they are not alone in how they have been affected by diet culture and unrealistic beauty standards."
As these women continue to share their stories, Jones hopes that the toxic cycles of the past will give way to a culture of self-acceptance and empowerment.
"No one should feel too self-conscious to be themselves," she said.
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English (US) ·