Latest news with #thinness
Irish Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
‘Skinny is social capital': Extreme thinness is back and it's more dangerous than ever
The internet was meant to democratise culture. Mobile phones. Online bulletin boards. Social media. Writers such as Howard Rheingold and Clay Shirky praised its role in political mobilisation – anti-globalisation protests, Arab Spring, riots in the Philippines. They rarely mentioned the pro-ana (anorexia) movement, where girls and women gathered online to share starvation tips and 'thinspiration'. Photos of jutting ribs were captioned like inspirational posts. Instead of 'all dreams are within reach', they said, 'nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'. A social media trend has made extreme thinness aspirational once more (if it ever wasn't). But SkinnyTok, as it's known, shuns old-school diet culture. Instead, thinness is coded as luxury, wellness and discipline. I could unpack the ideology but influencers are doing it for me: 'Skinny is the outfit,' says one creator. 'Being skinny sends a message. You respect yourself. You prioritise yourself ... It's ... not just about looking hot; it's high value.' 'I feel like it's such a currency to be skinny,' a thirtysomething woman gushes alongside her before and after photos. It's easy to mock this as teenage drama but its reach is wider, especially for women who've already lived through several beauty regimes. When I was a teenager, I liked to watch music videos on weekend mornings: Beautiful, Dirty, Toxic, Cry Me a River. In my memory, the women in these videos merge into one hard torso in low-rise jeans. I'd stand on my dad's EZ recliner so I could see my reflection in the mirror over the fireplace, lifting my pyjama top to survey the contours of my less-ideal body. READ MORE One of these videos was Beyoncé 's Crazy in Love. She prowls down an LA street in hot pants and heels. I loved her confidence. I loved her body – her strong calves and thighs. 'Huge legs,' my sister declared, wandering in. 'I think she looks amazing,' I remember saying. 'Well, if she looks amazing then I look amazing,' she replied, as though that settled it. (She was tall, slim and athletic, but my dad had recently called her 'thunder thighs' for wearing a minidress.) [ Bridget Jones and me: 51 and in slimming knickers Opens in new window ] For those of us who came of age in that era, noughties body culture is like a stretch mark on the psyche: it fades with time, but it's never quite gone. This was when Bridget Jones was 'fat' at 130lb. When tabloid magazines ran 'circles of shame' to highlight celebrity cellulite. When a swarm of size-00 women styled by Rachel Zoe lugged giant handbags down the red carpet, their stick-figure arms straining beneath the weight. Terms like 'thigh gap' and 'muffin top' entered the lexicon, shorthand for how our bodies could succeed or fall short. Of course, thinness has been the western beauty ideal since the early 20th century. No longer a sign of poverty, a snatched waist was a sign of a woman who could afford, but didn't want, food. By the time 1990s 'heroin chic' emerged, the link was firm. As Susan Bordo argues in Unbearable Weight, womanness on the cusp of the millennium dovetailed with desirable social and economic values: self-discipline, restraint, ambition. Sophie Gilbert, meanwhile, author of Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women against Themselves, claims noughties diet culture weaponised shame 'in a way that would neutralise women's ambitions and ... protect patriarchal power'. In the 2010s something changed. As Keeping up with the Kardashians became prime viewing, the ideal softened – not away from thinness exactly, but toward an aesthetic that embraced 'thick' thighs, a Brazilian butt, muscles. 'Clean eating', 'wellness' and 'glow-ups' outpaced the language of calorie-counting. Slimness (and whiteness) were still idealised, but there were more ways to look beautiful – or at least more ways to optimise. Plus-size models such as Ashley Graham graced the covers of Vogue. The culture became less openly hostile to flesh, more critical of body shame. Books like Rory Freedman's Skinny Bitch (2005), 'perhaps you have a lumpy arse because you are preserving your fat cells with diet soda' now felt off-key. Fatphobia hadn't died but we were saying the quiet part quietly. [ Emer McLysaght: Can we please send the Kardashians some big knickers and a slanket? Opens in new window ] If Kim Kardashian 's curves once stood for 'body positivity', the end came in 2022 when she crash dieted into a Marilyn Monroe dress for the Met Gala. In 2025 the size-zero body is back – now cloaked in the aesthetics of self-care and girl dinner. Last Tuesday, after European regulators expressed concern, TikTok blocked the search for #Skinnytok. But when I input 'skinny' into the search bar, I'm met with a page full of videos. In one, an ostentatiously thin woman outlines the difference between regular and 'wealthy skinny'. Wealthy skinny has less in common with TikTok's book wealth trend (basically having lots of books as furniture) and more with 'clean girl beauty' or 'quiet luxury'. Regular skinny is tacky and trend driven, she explains. Wealthy skinny, on the other hand, is about control. 'It's not about looking hot for the summer. It's about restraint, polish and discipline. It's effortless.' Above the videos a disclaimer reads 'you are more than your weight'. Social media helped drive body positivity. Now it sells disordered eating as a lifestyle choice. In this world, skinny is social capital. It's high value. Not dieting but 'gut health', not hunger but 'balance'. It's not always clear if this content is earnest or rage bait. Comments swing between 'how do I get this rib-cage?' and 'eat a sandwich'. Either way, it doesn't matter. Extreme content, like extreme bodies, drives engagement. But I suspect I'm drawn to this debate because, right now, I don't feel very skinny. Metabolism, medication and excessive biscuit eating has converged so that, despite being a healthy weight, I feel less than ideal. Feeling bad about my waist feels shallow, stupid even – like I've drunk the diet Kool-Aid. But women aren't stupid. Or duped. Or vain. We've been shown the shape of the world in the ideal shape of our bodies, and we've absorbed the message. To be skinny still feels like it is to be accepted in the world, if not the body, we live in.
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge Shows the Limits of Impressively Thin Phones
A decade ago, Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and other smartphone manufacturers all battled over the same thing: making the thinnest phone possible. But the industry later pivoted, with technology giants focused instead on jamming in as much battery life, the brightest screens and the fastest chips available. That led to the tradeoff of thicker devices. It's now 2025 and the war over smartphone thinness is back on. Of the major brands, Samsung is kicking things off with its new Galaxy S25 Edge. It arrives just a few months before Apple is expected to release a similarly skinny iPhone.
Digital Trends
13-05-2025
- Digital Trends
I've held the Galaxy S25 Edge, and I'm completely smitten
Table of Contents Table of Contents All about the thinness What about the durability? Isn't it just a thin S25? How much will it cost? The S25 Edge will be a trendsetter The Galaxy S25 Edge's reason to exist is its thinness, so it really needs to be something special as otherwise, what's the point in it being made at all? The great news is, it really is something special and it looks unlike any other smartphone available at the moment. I fell for its lithe frame during my short initial time with the phone, but is the thinness enough to make it worth considering over another Galaxy S25 model? Here's my early impressions. All about the thinness I handled the Galaxy S25 Edge for around an hour and when it was time for me to leave my hands-on session, I didn't want to put it down. This is the essential reaction to the phone, as without it, you may as well buy a regular Galaxy S25 series phone because internally, there isn't any benefit to owning the S25 Edge. It's the comfort level that impresses so much. It doesn't seem Samsung has simply shaved a few millimeters off a Galaxy S25+ and hoped for the best. The point where the titanium frame meets the glass is minutely chamfered, banishing the awful sharpness introduced with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Because it's so much thinner and lighter, it's totally different to holding the Galaxy S25+ too. The numbers — 5.8mm and 163 grams — may not sound all that groundbreaking, but believe me, when you hold the Galaxy S25 Edge it feels like no other modern smartphone. For the hour I handled and photographed it, it never once felt fatiguing, I didn't find an unpleasant angle, and I never felt like it was about to break free from my hand. It's light but never flighty, and when I put it in my pocket, it didn't weigh me down. What about the durability? I know what you're thinking. If it's so thin and light, is it still going to be durable, or will it bend in anything more than a stiff breeze? The frame is made from titanium, and it's actually part of the subframe, meaning it's for more than just looks. The front glass is Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, and it's the first time it's being used on a smartphone, while Gorilla Glass Victus 2 covers the back. It certainly doesn't feel insubstantial, and there's no immediately obvious flex when you try and twist the phone. I'm sure that if you go out of your way to break the Galaxy S25 Edge you will succeed, and I don't think I'd want to sit down with it in my back pocket very often. But I feel this is true for any phone. I'd also be shocked if Samsung hadn't stress-tested the S25 Edge into oblivion, as it won't want the awful press if it suddenly turns into Bendgate 2. You could put it in a case if you're worried, but this would ruin the joy of the thin chassis, or you could just be mindful of the S25 Edge just like you would a piece of expensive jewelry or a pair of sunglasses. The Galaxy S25 Edge exists at the intersection between the functional design of the S25 Ultra and the mass appeal of the standard S25. It's design-led, and should really appeal to the fashion-conscious. I doubt it will appeal to people who want a workhorse phone. It's slightly upsetting Samsung hasn't been more adventurous with the colors for this reason. Of the three — Jet Black, Titanium Silver, and Icy Blue — it's only the Icy Blue which gives the S25 Edge some pizazz. Isn't it just a thin S25? The Galaxy S25 Edge's specification is typical of the S25 range. It has a 6.7-inch screen with a Quad HD resolution and a 2,600 nit peak brightness, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor with 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of internal storage, and One UI 7 software over Android 15. It has all the Galaxy AI features including Now Brief from other S25 phones, and the software will be supported for seven years with major OS and security updates. What about the camera? The 200-megapixel main camera is the same as the one on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but the module has been reduced in size by 18% to fit into the new chassis. The S25 Ultra's 200MP camera hasn't impressed all that much, so this may not be the selling point Samsung hopes it will be. It's joined only by a 12MP wide-angle camera, but there's no telephoto camera at all. If you want one of those, you have to buy the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, or Galaxy S25 Ultra. It's a serious downside, as even mid-range phones have telephoto cameras today, and the S25 Edge is relying on its thinness to drag buyers away from them. Then there's the battery life. It's a 3,900mAh cell inside the phone, which Samsung says it has optimized to deliver 24 hours of video playback from a single charge. In the real world, as the cell has a smaller capacity than the regular Galaxy S25, expect a full day from it if you don't play many games. It's also unfortunate Samsung has only given the S25 Edge 25W wired charging, not 45W. When we spend more time with the phone we'll understand more about camera performance and battery life, but there's not much here to fill us with confidence. How much will it cost? The 256GB Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge will cost 1,099 British pounds, and the top 512GB version will be 1,199 pounds. It will be released on May 30. Samsung will introduce the Galaxy Club to the U.K. and other regions, giving you the chance to pay for your phone with 0% interest with the option to upgrade after 12 months, and get at least 50% of the device's value back. The Galaxy Club also includes two years of Samsung Care+ accident and damage protection. The Galaxy Club is already available in the U.S.. The S25 Edge will be a trendsetter The Galaxy S25 Edge's thinness is highly likely to encourage other brands to push forward with their own thinner-than-usual smartphones, and because it's the first big-name brand to get one on sale, it will be considered a trendsetter. The phone feels fantastic in your hand, it looks great, and is genuinely different. It's going to turn heads. However, it's only the thinness that makes it different. It has the same size screen, the same processor, and the same software as the Galaxy S25+, but a less technically impressive camera and a smaller capacity battery. It couldn't replace the Galaxy S25+ in the range because of this, and the only reasons Samsung is offering to tempt you into buying it over the S25+ is its size, weight, and accompanying design. This is the Galaxy S25 Edge's selling point. Not everyone will get it, but those that do are going to love it.
