Frances Millar, Associate Editor, has condemned the growing trend of skeletal celebrities, arguing that the availability of weight-loss drugs has made extreme thinness more attainable than ever. She notes that the phenomenon is not new, citing Wallis Simpson's quip about never being too rich or too thin and Empress Sisi of Austria's 16-inch waist.
Red Carpets Like Ghost Trains
Millar describes red carpets as resembling ghost trains, with skeletons wearing haute couture. She highlights Ariana Grande's recent emaciated frame, which prompted concern and a step back from the spotlight, but notes many others are just as bad. She imagines stars requesting a matchstick-thin physique and a haunted, hollow look, like a zombie but glamorous.
Millar writes that we no longer have to pretend these lollipop physiques result from clean eating, green tea, and Pilates three times a week. Extreme thinness is increasingly normalised and glamorised on social media, where filters and AI trickery turn already impossible bodies into cartoonish forms.
Thinspirational Videos on TikTok
Millar reports that on TikTok, millions of thinspirational videos feature thin girls flaunting thigh gaps and minuscule waists while lip-syncing to aggressive rap songs. She notes that Amelia, from Droitwich, is one such creator, mouthing lyrics she does not understand. Millar says she is past caring, now influenced by extra wide-fitting loafers and budget kitchen renovations instead of #skinnygirlhacks.
Exam Results and the Gender Pee Gap
Turning to exam results season, Millar expresses astonishment at the number of clever teenagers achieving top grades, recalling her own A-level results of a B in Performing Arts, a D in Art, and a D in Psychology. She encourages students that GCSE results, out tomorrow, are not the end of the world, noting her own C in Textiles and D in English Language, despite now writing for a living.
Millar also reports on a woman in Vienna suing the city over being charged 50 cents to use a public loo while her male friend used urinals for free, calling it an example of the gender pee gap.
