Testing how to look like thick • Can contribute to eating disorders • Ellinor Elofsson: “Only to humiliate”
A debated TikTok filter showing what users would look like as “thick” has been widely circulated.
Now body activist Ellinor Elofsson is raging against the ridicule of the bodies and believes that the filter should be banned.
– I can say I’m getting disgusted, that used solely to humiliate and do only harm, she tells TV4 News.
On Tiktok, a filter that user “tests” flourishes to see how they had looked in larger bodies. The clips are often visible in connection with laughter emojis, disgust and comments like “I have never become so humiliated before” and “if this does not make me go to the gym I do not know what”. Body activist Ellinor Elofsson believes that the trend is deeply problematic.
– I mostly think it shows how incredibly destroyed these people are in their thinking. It seems thick is the worst thing you can stay in life. It is such an incredible hatred towards what a person looks like, she says.
Over ten thousand movie clips, many with millions of views, have generated a wave of mockery and laughter judgments in the comments fields.
– There is nothing positive about this, absolutely nothing. It is used solely to humiliate and do only harm. It is so clear how to use this to depress a marginalized group of people.
Was removed after criticism
During Friday night, the filter was removed after criticism from several international influencers who believe that young people otherwise risk being fed with harmful body ideal.
– It can go so far that you stop going out and stop living your life as you want because you are afraid that someone will laugh at one, because they do that on Tiktok, says Ellinor Elofsson.
She urges young people to abolish accounts that contribute to negative thought patterns and fill their feed with accounts that showcase several different types of bodies.
– Then you can see that bodies can look different and we need to get used to it. We can create our own safe bubble because we can control what we see daily in our flows.
Can contribute to eating disorders
According to a report from BRIS, talks about eating disorders have increased by 365 percent since 2016. In 2024 alone, the number of calls rose by 24 percent, many of which were about eating disorders. Several influencers also believe that the narrowness is worse than ever on social media.
– I am afraid that the narrowness can be here for a while, if you look at what it looked like with bodies, they unfortunately go in trends, just like the clothing fashion, says Ellinor Elofsson.