Is Wicked Bringing Back 2000s Thin Culture? A Body Image Expert Breaks It Down
A week afterWicked came to theaters , my therapy room was flooded with reactions that were fast, intense, and layered. For many viewers, especially millennial women, something about it felt strangely familiar… and not in a good way.
As a therapist specializing in body image and eating disorders for over 15 years, I immediately recognized the deeper cultural undercurrent: a resurfacing of early-2000s thin culture, wrapped in a modern package. What seems like excitement over a beloved musical has also become a moment where people are questioning their bodies, comparing themselves, and wondering why they suddenly feel “less then.”
Below is a breakdown of why Wicked might be stirring up these emotions, and what each generation is bringing into this conversation.
For millennials, the body standards of the late ’90s and early 2000s were dramatic. Ultra-thin bodies dominated every magazine cover, runway, and TV show. Diet culture was everywhere and it was unchallenged.
When Wicked imagery began resurfacing, it unintentionally echoed that era. For someone who lived through that time, these visuals can activate an old and deeply internalized message: “Smallness is better.” It is not the cast themselves that are at fault-we can never know what individuals are navigating privately - it’s the broader cultural reaction that thinness is back on center stage.
While millennials lived through this before, the younger generations are now encountering this level of thinness at a more formative time.For younger viewers, this aesthetic wasn’t the norm during their childhood. They’ve grown up in an era of body acceptance messaging and now when thinness is glorified, it sends a dangerous mixed message.
“Do I need to look like that?”
“Should I be smaller, faster?”
This generation is used to instant gratification and so the urge to “fix” or change their bodies quickly can lead to more severe or impulsive behaviors.
Wicked is not happening in isolation. It’s layered on top of the massive rise in GLP-1 medications. an algorithmic push toward wellness and health optimization that is really covering up for weight loss and an ongoing pressure to optimize, upgrade, and perfect every part of ourselves
Despite the concerning trend, Gen Z and Gen Alpha have protefctive factors that milennials did not. They have a stronger media literacy and are more liekly to question things openly. They also understand mental health in ways prior generations did not and therefore are much more vocal about boundaries, equity, and authenticity.
Today, there is more accessible information than ever from therapists, educators, creators, and activists who are actively pushing back against harmful trends. Curating positive feeds is something gen z and alpha can definitely do.
As part of this shift, I’ve begun teaching parents and caregivers how to raise body-confident kids through online workshops and community presentations. The turnout has been incredible. It is proof that people want to break the cycle. Parents want to show up differently to avoid having their young ones fall in the same trap they have been in for years.
For the millennials reading this , let me remind you something :
It is never too late.
The programming you absorbed about thinness, worthiness, and appearance was not your choice. It was conditioning. And healing doesn’t have to be perfect or all-or-nothing.
It begins with:
Softening your inner language
Challenging automatic thoughts
Practicing body neutrality
Nourishing yourself consistently
Unlearning shame you never should’ve carried
Most importantly: We change the paradigm for future generations by changing the way we speak, act, and think about bodies now.
Your healing is generational healing.
Where We Go From Here
We cannot stop Hollywood from creating imagery that reflects outdated or unrealistic body standards. But we can control:
How we talk about bodies
How we respond to triggers
How we teach our kids
Which accounts we follow
Which narratives we reinforce
Which conversations we start in our own homes
Thin culture may be resurfacing, but our awareness, tools, and collective voice are stronger than ever.
And that gives us the power to rewrite the story . Not just for ourselves, but for the next generation watching.