TikTok Took Down #SkinnyTok, But #FatTok’s Still Going Strong

TikTok has officially banned the hashtag #SkinnyTok, and predictably, the media is celebrating. The ban follows pressure from European regulators, who argued that SkinnyTok’s content was dangerous and potentially triggering for young users. If you try searching the term now, all you'll get is a helpline and a resource page about body image.

Clara Chappaz, France’s digital-technology minister, called the hashtag “unacceptable” and said, “These videos promote extreme thinness.” She later declared its removal a “collective victory.” Now, the trending tag used by thousands of women to share advice on meals, workouts, and daily routines is gone.

The TODAY show compared the hashtag to “pro-anorexia Tumblr in new packaging," while a registered dietitian writing for them warned that content promoting “discipline” or “tough love” was a red flag. Women setting boundaries with themselves is now a public health threat.

What legacy media isn't willing to admit about SkinnyTok is that it was working for a lot of women. While there is always going to be content online that could fuel eating disorders, SkinnyTok wasn't focusing on starvation or self-loathing. Most of it was just women deciding to walk more and eat better because users were sick of pretending that feeling bloated and tired every day was normal.

@theskinnymillionaire, a TikToker active on that corner of the video-sharing app, once said, “If you want to get skinny, you need to be on SkinnyTok because you are the content you consume. You are who you surround yourself with.” She didn’t credit weight loss to starvation or medication, but rather to a “community of women focused on making small, smart choices.” She said, “This weight loss journey has been the easiest that’s ever been because SkinnyTok is such a great community... we all hold each other accountable and share our journey.”

Accountability is what was heavily preached about on SkinnyTok, not faux self-love that says “treat yourself” to whatever, whenever. The internet has gotten so used to romanticizing overeating, low energy, and having no structure. After many years of "love yourself," many of us don’t want to be told to “listen to the cravings” if those cravings are wrecking our energy and confidence. SkinnyTok was proof that women were tired of the wellness fluff and just wanted results.

Sure, some people take it too far, but most of what showed up on SkinnyTok wasn’t extreme. If anything, it was normal. Common sense, even. Like "eat a little less" or "move a little more," a lot of "wake up and choose the version of yourself that feels proud at the end of the day." Even with the hashtag gone, eating disorder forums and communities thrive.

It seems the only reason why SkinnyTok was targeted was because it celebrated women reaching their fitness goals, setting back the "body positivity movements" corporations and the media love to parade around when it aligns with profit, complacency, and selling more snacks, shapewear, and self-love slogans.

In the end, TikTok made a statement about what kind of bodies and behaviors they’re okay with. Because while #SkinnyTok has been scrubbed from the platform, FatTok is alive and well. There are still thousands of videos featuring women bingeing on camera, flaunting their obese bellies, and sharing "feeder" journeys, all under the banner of empowerment. To the media, overconsumption is fine, but restraint is dangerous. Being out of breath going up the stairs is somehow inspiring, yet walking 10,000 steps a day and eating a protein-heavy meal is problematic.

The platform’s selective morality and decision to cave to liberal media's bullying says a lot. They don't truly care about the well-being of their viewers; it’s about control of the narrative, of what women are allowed to want for themselves. Wanting to feel better in your own skin apparently isn’t the kind of progress TikTok wants to promote.