It’s no secret that Ozempic, injectables and plastic surgery are making a comeback in the beauty market. Celebrities like Kelly Clarkson,Oprah Winfrey and Amy Schumer have admitted to using the weight loss drug, typically meant to treat type 2 diabetes in adults. Ozempic is popular because of its hard-to-believe, quick weight loss results that can appear 4-8 weeks after taking the drug.
Hence, it gets a lot of celebrity endorsements. Your average Joe, on the other hand, is critical of Ozempic, notorious for its ethical dilemmas and plethora of potential side effects including pancreatitis and kidney failure, in extreme cases.
The main qualm people have with Ozempic, though, is that it’s often seen as a “cheat” to losing weight rather than adopting a healthy diet and exercise routine. It’s also inaccessible for a lot of people, as it can cost nearly 1,000 dollars a month to use.
What’s particularly fascinating is the divide Ozempic is causing in the body positivity movement, triggering discourse among embracing bodies at all stages of life, even if a former plus-size person becomes thin.
Barbie Ferreira, who plays Kat on Euphoria, is a prime example of how weight loss can garner negative comments from the “body positive” movement. In the past year, Ferreira’s body has seen a transformation from being bigger and plus-sized to thinner and snatched. Her face has become angular and the chubbiness has disappeared.
Lots of Instagram users praise her weight loss and equate it with a “glow-up”. Some even say “This weight fits her better”. While these comments may seem supportive, they’re damaging because they shame her at her biggest and boost her self-esteem when she loses weight, which makes her “uglier” and “glow down”.
It’s body positivity towards thinness, which is the antithesis of the movement.
On the flip side, though, Ferreira also can’t escape harsh criticism against her weight loss and the word “Ozempic” dominates her comment section.
One Instagram comment on a recent post reads, “Ozempic has claimed another angel,” and has over 32k likes.
Other comments read, “cheat queen,”, “oh, oh, oh Ozempic”, and “We know u still think ur the Tumblr skinny queen and will do anything to go back to it do your Ozempic.”
Another one of Ferreira’s posts has fans disappointed in her thin figure further, with some claiming, “the body positivity movement is over I guess,” in her comment section.
As a big woman myself, it’s hypocritical to appreciate bigger bodies and chastise them for losing weight, especially when assuming it’s because of Ozempic.
Ferreira doesn’t deserve to be accused of “copping out” of a healthy diet or exercise simply because she lost weight quickly. She also doesn’t deserve to be in the limelight surrounded by comments prescribing how she should feel about her body. As long as she’s happy, that’s what matters. In fact, Ferreira isn’t a stranger to a thinner figure, as she was popular during her Tumblr girl era, which demonstrates the same figure, if not thinner than she has now.
Now that she’s reverted back to her “old” look, it feels like jealous people are projecting their envy onto her. Understandably, women who looked up to her for being a representation of plus-size bodies are now disappointed, as they feel Ferreira has “conformed” to thinness or “forgotten” about the plus-size community.
We need to remember that weight fluctuates and that is the central theme of body positivity. We can still admire our favorite celebrities and their representation at any stage of their life. While the pounds on your scale might rise up and down, sometimes drastically, the self-esteem and self-love we have for ourselves and others should not. That’s what real body positivity is about.
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