This past summer, one album captured the attention of young Americans and shaped the cultural landscape: “BRAT,” by Charli xcx.
The release made waves in the music scene, popularizing the sounds of club and rave culture while sparking a revival of the early 2000s aesthetic known as “indie sleaze, which is characterized by a maximalist approach to clothes, makeup and overall design.”
Indie sleaze embraces a deliberately unpolished look of smudged makeup that mimics a slept-in effect. Many clothes are styled to obscure the silhouette, creating a gaunt and languid appearance.
While “BRAT” introduced the dance music that characterized summer 2024, its accompanying aesthetic bears an unsettling resemblance to past cultural trends, like heroin chic popularized in previous decades.
With the resurgence of the waifish aesthetic, many may fall into unhealthy eating behaviors in an attempt to mirror celebrities. Taking on these harmful habits and glorifying such aesthetics is unhealthy and can lead to long-term adverse effects.
Students must make conscious efforts to maintain healthy habits and stray away from mirroring harmful trends in modern culture.
In the past, heroin chic glorified a waif-thin figure, pale skin, dark under-eye circles and a look that suggested being under the influence of drugs, like heroin or cocaine. The fashion movement dominated the ‘90s and early 2000s, it blurred the line between high fashion and self-destruction and was incredibly popular amongst young people.
While indie sleaze may not explicitly promote the same imagery as heroin chic, it revives an era when looking frail and unhealthy wasn’t only accepted but celebrated. And much like its predecessor, the return of indie sleaze is fueled by the digital world.
Social media platforms, particularly TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest, have accelerated the rise of indie sleaze, turning it from a niche revival into a full-fledged cultural movement. TikTok’s algorithm pushes hyper-specific content to users, amplifying the trend by showcasing fashion and photography references to early 2000s fashion icons like Kate Moss and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen.
At the same time, this shift coincides with another major cultural movement — the rise of weight-loss drugs, particularly GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic. Originally developed to treat diabetes, these drugs have become a staple in Hollywood and across social platforms.
The use of these drugs has also skyrocketed throughout the United States. In 2021, 2 million people in the U.S. took GLP-1s, more than three times as many as in 2019, according to a March 2024 study by the Pew Research Center.
Several celebrities have even come out directly admitting to the use of GLP-1, including Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk and Tracy Morgan. The trend of being thin is also noticeable across runways and in fashion, where models are only one size: small.
Social media platforms reinforce the beauty standards and aesthetics that are glorified by the indie sleaze trend. These platforms fuel the pressure to conform, exposing users to an endless stream of curated images due to an individual’s interaction with specific content, according to WUSF, an NPR member station.
Algorithms ensure that once a user engages with content related to a particular aesthetic — whether it’s indie sleaze, thinspiration or Y2k nostalgia — they are flooded with more of it, reinforcing a cycle that can lead to unhealthy behaviors and comparisons.
Individuals who begin having negative associations with social media should make an effort to get away from these platforms to preserve their health and mental well-being. Teens and young adults who reduced their social media use by 50% saw improvement in their self-image in three weeks, according to a 2023 report by the American Psychological Association.
Students who may feel at risk due to mental health challenges should take advantage of the resources offered at Temple. Students can make an appointment with Tuttleman Counseling Services to speak with a team of clinical specialists in the Eating and Body Image Concerns Unit.
Other on-campus resources students can access include Student Health Services, in which students can make an appointment with a nutrition counselor who can help them develop healthy eating goals and relationship with food.
Younger generations are constantly exposed to unrealistic body expectations and fads that highlight unhealthy standards, including Indie-sleaze and heroin chic. As a result, many may feel inadequate and face unhealthy relationships with their bodies and food.
For many, internet aesthetics and reality are intertwined. It’s difficult to have a life without media influence, so it’s vital for people to create boundaries between themselves and the internet.
Be the first to comment