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Social media offers the slim-thick and curvy ideals as alternatives to the thin-and-toned fit body ideal.

Women remain dissatisfied with their bodies despite the alternatives to the fit ideal.

The latest social media body ideal, the Pilates princess, now closely resembles the thin and toned body ideal.

For several decades, research has demonstrated that women have struggled to build the thin and toned ideal fit body. This has led to body dissatisfaction, body image distortion, and even eating disorders.

At the same time, many women have found the body ideal impossible and have questioned media images of the fit body in particular.

Now, more diverse body ideals, such as the slim-thick ideal or the Pilates princess, are emerging, especially on social media, where women can post their own thoughts on the perfect body shape. But how different are these ideals from the thin and toned, fit feminine body?

The new range of body ideals?

The most commonly acknowledged alternative to the thin and toned body is the slim-thick ideal.

In their research, Sarah McComb and Jennifer Mills describe the slim-thick body as a modified version of the thin ideal, with “a narrow waist and flat stomach, but large butt, breasts, and thighs” (p. 166). While not as dominant as the thin and toned body ideal, the researchers found it popularized by such celebrities as Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Beyoncé.

The curvy ideal is an alternative to both the slim-thick and thin-and-toned body ideals. The adjective “curvy” can, however, assume different meanings. Researchers Diana Betz and Laura Ramsay (2017) define “plus-sized” bodies that appear in such campaigns as Dove’s Real Beauty........

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