Every season there’s a never-ending deluge of what the new look is. Sadly, the new look many people are talking about involves how a woman’s body should look with “strong is the new skinny” becoming an obsession for many.

For years, women have felt pressure to pursue skinniness at all costs. Eat a salad at every meal, only eat a grapefruit for breakfast, avoid carbs at all costs — all the previously mentioned mantras were totally acceptable — and followed by many people. Now, though, there is a “new” body look that’s gaining momentum. Strong is the new skinny bodies are all the rage.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think it’s awesome that women want to lift weights and workout. Women naturally have curves, so working out can help accentuate our rockin’ bods! Also: Working out, in general, is an incredibly healthy practice. Working out can improve mood, help people lose weight (if they want to), and in general, can just make you feel pretty awesome.

The problem with this “new look” trend, though, is that a “fad” — a media generated fad — is telling women what they should look like.

Jezebel reports that news outlets, such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, are writing articles that describe how some women are “ditching” their skinny bodies to become strong. Because, as these articles point out, “strong is the new skinny.”

No, no, no.

Strong is awesome! So is skinny! Any body shape is amazing, really. These articles are equating a person’s body type to a trend. As if it’s as easy to change what you naturally look like as it is to change your shoes. Every woman knows that this is not so. You’ve got the body you’ve got and you work with it. Sure, you can lose weight. You also can put on muscle weight! Whatever you choose to do with your body is the right choice because it’s your decision — not some strange trend that allows you to now be “hot” in a new way.

We all can agree that “too skinny” trends that encourage women to try for an absolutely unattainable “thigh gap” are unhealthy. But there are many ladies who are just naturally thin and fit. And I’d venture to say that spending too much time training can be detrimental to a person’s body, too.

Long story short: Can’t we all just love what we have? These insane “body trend” pieces need to stop.

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Image: Rikard Elofsson

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