Weight loss is trending in the news: what does this say about culture’s relationship to the body?
I wonder if the words Ozempic or Wegovy mean anything to you? What about Mounjaro or Zepbound? And before you ask, no, they are not the newest villains in the latest Avengers movies. Ozempic and Wegovy belong to a class of medication called GLP-1 receptor agonist. In short – weight-loss drugs. Researchers have clocked an exponential and unprecedented rise in young people in particular taking these kinds of drugs. Simply put, weight-loss is trending.
The sun appears to be setting on the dating app era, and culture is on a mission to re-codify love, but what will we find in the aftermath?
Amidst our hyper-digital age, the tide appears to be turning on the reign of online dating. Despite radically changing the art of modern romance after exploding onto the scene in the early 2010s, today apps like Tinder, Hinge and Bumble are all reporting a steady decline in users. What was branded as an efficient way to connect people sold a promise of dating minus the mess. However, ten years on, people have cottoned onto the reality that online dating carries its own set of messes and mishaps. Those leaving the apps are citing the ways in which these platforms prey on insecurity and cause ‘swipe fatigue’ by overwhelming users with choice.
They say you can tell a lot about a society by who its icons are. And, whether you can recite her every lyric or simply can’t stand the sound of her, you would be hard pushed to deny the fact that singer Taylor Swift is one such cultural icon.
Not convinced? Let me try and persuade you: this summer saw the beginning of Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ – a three-hour long concert extravaganza paying homage to her music catalogue. By the time it wraps up in November 2024, it will have spanned 146 dates across five continents. It is set to become the highest grossing tour of all time and has been dubbed this year’s most significant pop-culture phenomenon. Cities hosting the tour over the summer saw a significant boost in revenue, prompting multiple world leaders to openly request she bring the tour to their countries. In September, it was announced that the University of Melbourne will host an academic conference on the singer, and in October a film version of her Eras Tour was released in cinemas, rapidly becoming the most profitable concert film in history. And that’s only just scratching the surface: I could go on.
Emma Sowden
Weight loss, a quick-fix culture and Scripture
Weight loss is trending in the news: what does this say about culture’s relationship to the body?
I wonder if the words Ozempic or Wegovy mean anything to you? What about Mounjaro or Zepbound? And before you ask, no, they are not the newest villains in the latest Avengers movies. Ozempic and Wegovy belong to a class of medication called GLP-1 receptor agonist. In short – weight-loss drugs. Researchers have clocked an exponential and unprecedented rise in young people in particular taking these kinds of drugs. Simply put, weight-loss is trending.