Have you seen people on social media talking about having a slim thick (or slim-thick) body and wondered what they were talking about? If so, you’ve come to the right place. This article gives more information about what this term means, where it came from, and what you can do to try to get the look...with diet and exercise tips from fitness trainer Laila Ajani.
Slim thick (or slim thicc) is a slang term that refers to a physically fit female body type with large hips and butt. It was first used to describe the body type that was popularized by Kim Kardashian. Now, it’s used to talk about fitness, strength training, and weight loss goals.
The Origins and Evolution of the Slim Thick Ideal
Slim thick was first used as a way to describe the exaggerated hourglass look. For example, to describe the look, you might say, “Kim K. is slim thick.” This may have been a backlash against the thin ideal in white culture that ultra-thin models like Kate Moss embodied.
Many have accused Kardashian, Jenner, and Beyoncé of getting butt implants or other procedures, but they haven’t confirmed the rumors.
Being slim-thick has been a body ideal for a while now - it likely took hold around 2015 - but it’s trending in a big way right now. You are repeatedly exposed to that slim waist and thick hips figure, whether it’s Kylie Jenner’s or Nicki Minaj’s.
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The Cultural Appropriation of Black Women's Bodies
A significant issue with this glorification is that it appropriates black women’s bodies. Many black women and other women of color have slim-thick figures as a God-given gift. This glorification arrived only when rich, white celebrities decided these body types were worthy of praise and attention. Think Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner. This doesn’t extend to black celebrities like Nicki Minaj.
When Minaj achieves and flaunts this body type she is scrutinized and is accused of being fake. When Nicki Minaj was trying to build a career for herself in a male-dominated hip-hop industry, she had to demand attention. In this industry, women’s bodies are constantly glorified and sexualized. Nicki Minaj took advantage of it.
Even hip-hop culture in itself can glorify a certain body type over another. We used to only see thin female dancers in music videos. There was a study done showing how this overrepresentation of thin women in rap music videos has a negative effect on African-American women.
As the slim-thick figure gained more glorification through Nicki’s music videos “Super Bass” and “Anaconda,” and Drake’s music video “Hotline Bling,” things started changing. We can even begin to see lyrics changing to glorify one body type over the other. Fetty Wap’s song “Jimmy Choo” is a prime example of this.
Many young women and girls are socialized through music. So when a singer says he’s going to buy a slim-thick girl a new bag but ignores the thick girl and the slim girl, we fall back to the idea exclusion. Even black women who are surrounded by these influences begin to feel the pressure.
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As a society, we have always set certain standards of beauty, specifically for women. However, we tend to have certain trends of beauty standards as well. This is not to say that the glorified body types are not attractive or great. But this constant glorification of one over the other generally excludes other body types.
With the slim-thick figure, those who are only thick will try to slim their waists and those who are only slim will resort to unhealthy eating habits to become thick. The ones who don’t fit in any of those categories will feel excluded and ashamed of their bodies.
Recently, slimming teas are circulating around in hopes of giving girls a “fit” figure, which was the popular, desired body figure in 2015. But what if a girl loves her bony arms? The way her belly sticks out in her bikini? Her flat ass? The way her thighs touch? See, we all have the right to lose or gain weight and look as we please. However, glorifying one body type over the other comes at a great cost. Their body is theirs and yours is yours.
Achieving the Slim Thick Look: Diet and Exercise
While eating a healthy diet is always a good idea, don’t feel you have to change your body type to be attractive.
Ajani says, “Controlling your caloric intake is the number one way to lose weight."
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Choose strength training exercises that focus on working your hips, like side-lying hip abductions and side lunges. Start strength training exercises by doing one set of 8-10 repetitions twice a week.
Try not to go too fast too soon with your cardio and strength-training workouts, or you may risk injuring yourself.
Make your workout fun to stay motivated. When you're on a treadmill, you only have one view the whole time, so take your workout outside! Another thing to do is set up a playlist of good songs.
Expert Tip
Laila Ajani is a Fitness Trainer and founder of Push Personal Fitness, a personal training organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 13 years as a trainer and exercise specialist, Laila has expertise in competitive athletics (gymnastics, powerlifting, and tennis), personal training, distance running, and Olympic lifting. Laila is certified by the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA), and USA Powerlifting (USAPL), and she is a Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES).
Other Methods: Waist Trainers, Corsets, and Plastic Surgery
Try waist trainers and corsets to smooth and emphasize your waistline.
For some, plastic surgery may be the only option to get the slim-thick look. Slimming down your waist may require liposuction or body contouring. To enhance your buttocks, try implants or a Brazilian butt lift (BBL). The average cost of butt implants is $7,964, and a BBL is $7,264.
Elective surgery and other cosmetic procedures can be very expensive and carry risks-including death-so make sure you do plenty of research before deciding to change your body this way.
The Role of Genetics and Body Image
Getting a slim-thick body is mostly up to your genetics. If women in your family tend to have small waists and larger hips, thighs, and butts, you may be able to achieve a similar body type.
In fact, one study found that the current popularity of the slim-thick ideal on social media has made girls even less satisfied with their bodies than the waif thin-ideal of the 1990s.
And what we should do instead
