While most fitness and lifestyle creators veer away from equating health and thinness, Schmidt built a platform saying the quiet part out loud, growing a following of 670,000 on TikTok before she was barred from the platform in September.
“Basic fit because the accessory is being blonde & skinny,” she captioned one outfit video. “Please don’t ask me how I’m so skinny if you’re not ready for the answers,” she wrote over another.
Her supporters say she’s “just telling the truth,” but mental health experts warn content like hers can negatively impact young users’ perceptions of body image and influence disordered eating habits — and say it’s part of a larger shift in how Americans are discussing thinness. The key to combatting this is raising parents’ awareness about the conversations happening online.
“We’re almost seeing a return to the outward profession of the desire to be skinny, whereas for a while it’s been, ‘I want to be healthier, I want to engage in wellness,’” said University of Vermont Associate Professor Lizzy Pope, whose research focuses on how diet culture appears in popular culture and on social media. “What I’m seeing is a return of that language being accepted.”
Who is Liv Schmidt, and why was she banned from TikTok?
Schmidt, 23, rose to popularity last year through her candid discussions of achieving thinness, in series like her “living slim in the city” videos and her “Holiday Meal Skinny Girl Guide.” With an Instagram profile featuring polished photos donning matching workout sets to Pilates and enjoying New York City dining and nightlife, she markets thinness as an essential part of being an “it girl.”
The creator opened up about her ideology in a Wall Street Journal profile last year, where she discussed limiting calories and defended her content.
Her LinkedIn states that she works as an Social Event Coordinator at a Private Family office in New York City. She attended the University of Arizona, where she told the Journal she experienced pressure to fit the “blonde and skinny” stereotype.
“Weight is a touchy topic, but that’s what the viewers want,” she said.
TikTok banned Schmidt’s account for violating the site’s community guidelines, according to The Journal. A TikTok spokesperson did not respond to USA Today’s request for comment on specifics, but some of Schmidt’s videos appeared to violate the site’s disordered eating and body image guidelines, which prohibit content that “promotes potentially harmful weight management.”