'Heroin Chic' - C’est pas très chic

*TW: possibly a sensitive topic for individuals

From 1990 to about 1999, there were thousands of young people, particularly women, involved in a thriving vogue-like subculture that was more than just an echo by the time mass media published it. With the media shining their cameras on it, everyone was involved. Everyone had seemed to agree that “heroin chic” had had some kind of widespread appeal, but nobody could say exactly why they thought so. This publicity rumble, which seemed like a phase at first, turned into a menacing avalanche of body dysmorphia, heavy drug addictions, and other detrimental effects.

Pale skin and dense eyebags. A cigarette in hand - the fumes swirling like a spell. This was ‘the look’.

This stemmed from high paid models who were often severely high on opiates. Popular cover girl at the time, Kate Moss has been quoted to have said “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”, where she not only admitted to have indulged in this narcotizing trend but advocated this practice to other young women around the world. She advocated an extremely venomous lifestyle. As of early 2022, it has been estimated that approximately 23% of individuals who have used heroin and become dependent upon it, are also afraid to stop using for fear of the symptoms they may experience when they stop; sleepless nights cloaked in insomnia, seethingly explosive body aches, clouds of unsettling sickness always hovering above. Everybody got sucked in, sucked in by this influential whirlpool of false euphoria.

Today, highly acclaimed publishers such as the New York Post have strung up the audacity to speak on human bodies using deeply misogynistic and derogatory language; in return, receiving severe backlash, including celebrities such as Jameela Jamil and Tess Holliday calling them out. These publications find it justifiable to fuel the injurious fads that have led to severe body dysmorphic issues, and eating disorders, which in several cases, persisted for years. This has left an uncanny form of anxiety, caused by wanting to follow “trends” augmented by famed figures and mass media, that begins to darken our dreams, and leaves a bitter taste whenever we swallow. How morbid! How poisonous!

“Our bodies are not trends”- Jameel Jamil

Aashi Taori, 10E