I personally don't think it's just in the tv shows. It's in high school too, especially among causcasians.

I moved to a new school that was farther in the city and the girls in general are 20 lbs thinner. Some of them almost look ready to float away.

And i'm not going to lie. I think subconsciously I feel the pressure because i lost my appetite since starting school here and without really trying dropped 10 lbs.

I'm not a person who cares much about weight. I used to have problems with it but the last year I turned that obsession with weight to eating natural healthy foods. But now there's girls that look like they have to be starving to be thin.

And no, it's isn't just freshman youthfulness.

The sad thing is, like I said, it's only with white girls. The other racial groups seems much more diverse.

Oddly enough, I just read this story about Penn Badgley (aka Dan from Gossip Girl): 

'Gossip' Guy Badgley Thinks Thin '90210' Gals Should 'Eat a Double Cheeseburger'

Skinny celebrities are nothing new over the last decade or two. Calista Flockhart drawing criticism, then Ellen Pompeo was the next TV target. Now, the young actresses of '90210' (Shenae Grimes, Jessica Stroup and AnnaLynne McCord) are taking heat from blogs, publications ... and even 'Gossip Girl' actor Penn Badgley for their bony physiques and the young teens who see them each week.

Badgley tells PopEater exclusively that he's heard the swirl about the show's skinny starlets, and that he's "never been proponent of the thin L.A. girls." He goes on to tell us that he thinks it's "healthy" that the females on 'Gossip Girl' "aren't bone-thin." He also has solid advice for the '90210' gals: "I hope they eat a double cheeseburger or something."

I guess it's all about degrees.

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"The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right..." - Judge Learned Hand, The Spirit of Liberty

Hmmm. I don't really think the Gossip Girls are that significantly larger.

That old 90210 pic is crazy though! I don't think I have watched a new show where the chicks were that proportioned, other than Gilmore Girls. Loralei looked well proportioned (oh, yeah, and she was totally hot).

well, it is not just television or movies. the display dummies used at H&M or Mango certainly wear sizes like extra small and smaller. not to speak of living mannequins..

and because its a no-no to reveal your size if its larger than medium, girls force themselves into smaller sizes, not to their advantage. 

and that old pic of 90210 is creepy because of the fashion. why did they have to force brenda's feminin curves into such a horrible pair of trousers??? those make everyone look everything but well-proportioned. 

Actually my main issue with these teenage shows set in highschool is that very few of the actors look like they're actually in highschool!

I mean, I think to an extent that the media does give this image of skinny is good. But I also think that its somewhat people telling us the media tells us that they have unreasonable standards and that all girls feel like they should be thinner. Reverse psychology (I swear I'm not crazy)

And I thought I was the only one that noticed Buffy suddenly dropping half her body mass between seasons 3 and 4....

that the media portrays this as perfection. I have friends in high school striving to have "the model look," when I personally think they look fine the way they are. There are others who are ridiculously thin and claim that they are fat. It's sad that, as youth, we are so susceptible to what is placed before us. It's not only on the CW - it is on any show directed towards this demographic of youth.

Personally, I find it disgusting that people strive to fit into a size 1 when they look better in a size 5, or 6, or - Lord forbid - a 10. I love women who are proud of whatever size they are - whether a 2 or a 22. Beauty is not just what we all see - it is more about who you are than what you look like. If only society would stop trying to sell us this idea that twigs are attractive. Of course, those who are naturally thin are excluded - you can't criticize. However, it is obvious that these girls are not naturally thin but forced to conform to what they told is beautiful.

I do not understand this beauty standard of being white and really thin in the Hollywood scene. I usually brush it off but since this could affect the esteem of my younger cousin who is not white and really thin, it's a problem.

The one thing that irks me is the underlying wealth that seems to tie in with being really thin. Notice Gossip Girl and this show portray wealthy young white women who have a lot of money as a sign of status. We live in a culture (USA) that lives beyond our means (look at the economy). This only compliments it by trying to look they way we are not genetically built.

I might be affected by other things that are silly and superficial, but not this.

Another thing that would be interesting is to discuss the beauty standards across cultural lines. I would be very interested to see what beauty standards that hold in other parts of the world.

When most people think "eating disorder" (and by "most people" I mean me and my friends) they think of a skinny, white, teenage girl with control issues, and a bad haircut. But this nationwide problem is starting way sooner then the hell known as high school.

I currently live with my older sister and her family and often watch after the little ones while my sis and her hubby go out for some grown up time. I was completely shocked into silence one day when I offered my eldest niece some oreo's and a glass of milk and her response was, "Paige, I can't eat that. I'm on a diet because I'm fat." The reason why I was so shocked is because my eldest niece is only SEVEN YEARS OLD.

Body image issues have become pretty out of control when it comes to teenage girls who are willing to do just about anything to lose the extra ten to twenty pounds to look like a glorified crack addict, but when those same issues start effecting someone who's main concern should be trying to scam their parents into letting them stay up past their bedtime, it's definitely time to redefine this thing called "beauty".

I applaud AfterEllen for taking the initiative to address the weight issues within the media. I know this is a redundant issue, but it’s important none the less.

I personally find the Sara Ramirez’s of the world attractive. I also find girls that are tall and actually have proportion to them attractive as well. For example, I’ve heard our beloved Bridget McManus compare herself to all the girls she’s friends with. I’ve bore witness to her saying she’s not skinny like all her other friends. I in turn, wanted to slap the snot out of her.

For her to weight 100lbs at her height would be wrong on so many levels. Bridget honey you are like 5’8, you aren’t supposed to look like a pencil. I mean who on earth would call her fat? Point me too them and I’ll kill them. I bet if I met Bridget in real life, I’d want to shove a biscuit in her mouth. I know she’s skinnier then she is on camera. It just irritates the crap out of me that she's been made to feel like she's anything less then the goddess she really is.

And I’m not saying that every woman should look the same. But we should at least do something for ourselves and not the general public. I’m a big girl myself and I know I could never weight 100lbs in my wildest dreams. I would have to discontinue eating all together. But I also know that I don’t want to be that. I want to be happy and healthy, not underweight and scary. And just to clarify, you don’t have to weight a certain amount to be healthy. Muscle weights more than fat. Bah! This topic angers me. 

And don't get me started on the stereotyping with minorities. You know what I say to that, f**k anyone who's that small-minded! I apologize for my bluntness but it's how I feel. Last time I checked, people came in all shapes and sizes regardless of their ethnic background. And I've met a good number of black women that are just as skinny as some of these white girls. So don't feed me this line of bull about minorities rising above the pressure. All young people feel the weight pressure. I just think there are those who are fortunate enough not to have fallen into the trap.

I run a forum for people recovering/suffering from eating disorders and I definitely think that seeing increasingly skinny celebrities has a huge influence on people's  self esteem. They feel like that's what they have to look like to be beautiful, and to live the glamorous lives of celebs. I think in a society where there's so much pressure on how you look, I think the main thing people feel they are in control of is their weight, and it can quite easily get out of hand.

I do however think that there is a considerable proportion of people who are naturally quite thinly built. However I think you can tell the difference between someone who is naturally slight, and someone who is unhealthy.

Im someone who enjoys curves on women, and would love them on myself, unfortunately i have a medical condition that inhibits my body from retaining fats from foods (as well as nutrients). Lately I've even gone in the hospital on iv tpn and lipids to get my weight over 100, but once im off it i can't get over 95lbs. Thankfully i can do weight training a little bit so i dont look scarily thin, but it bothers me when people assume that because i wear a 00 im aneorexic or bulemic.

but back to the original topic. this isn't a new problem. when magazines take 2 photos of the same person in the same place but at different angles then put on 2 different covers "so-and-so gains mysterious 30lbs, needs a diet" and the other one says "so-and-so's dramatic weight loss, did they go too far?" we perpetuate the problem as consumers. of course we want to see beauty on our tvs and magazine covers, but its up to us to decide what that beauty is. Things only sell because we buy them. We shouldn't be sitting our children in front of these tv shows in the first place... really? you want your 7 year old watching a guy get a bj in the parking lot of his highschool? maybe if we started parenting our children properly instead of plopping them down in front of the tv or maybe give them a book to read instead of a magazine we could instill some better values.

I focus on the dopeness, while you focus on the wackness

i mean...i have always sided with the argument that entertainment imitates real life...but in this case, has the coin flipped?  is it entertainment that is influencing reality now?  when did it change?  and is this only reflected in appearance or has content changed too?  the relationship between the two fascinates me.   

 "you do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do."

So, I am 5'9 and probably 120lb. People always gave me a hard time growing up because I was so scrawny. I still am pretty scrawny, but now I have hips and stuff so I look a bit healthier. I know people think that overweight people are the only ones who get ridiculed about their weight, but that is not true. People always used to say "Oh my god, you are sooooo skinny," or "haha nice chicken legs," among other things. It appears to me that people don't think twice about making fun of someone for looking "too thin" where many people will not go up to an overweight person and say those same comments. I had a hard time growing up being super skinny and lanky. I felt ugly and awkward. Thankfully since then I have built self-esteem, and I accept and enjoy myself the way I am.

My point is, there is a stigma attached to being thin, and not everyone who is thin chooses to be that way

Dropping pounds between Seasons One and Two seems to be de rigeur these days. Look at The L Word. Only Shane was skinny in Season 1; by Season 2 the entire cast (save Pam Grier) was bordering on unhealthily thin. Erin Daniels was the most notable - meaty(ish) and sexy in the first season, angular and bony in the second - which was just ridiculous, given that she was playing a professional athlete.

Love Pussy xx

it's thinspiration...it's spreading like a plague. people should understand that being skinny doesn't necessary mean you're healthy. like you can be on the plump side and still be healthier than all your skinny buddies. personally...i like a little meat on my lover ;) it pains me to see how my friends starve themselves to their desired weight. it's just not right. and it doesn't help either...with all the size 0 clothes or clothes labelled as "skinny fit".

rather than strive to be skinny...how about we strive to be healthy?

Am I gay? I'm ecstatic!

I do agree with all of you guys, but one thing is true: fashion is changing all time, so we can't compare with people or picture like the original 90210 cast.

Nowadays actresses are skinny because that's what people want to see, or at least what people in movies and TV business wants to see, so if we want this to change we have to say it!!!

About the Buffy cast, yes Sarah was skinny just because SHE'S SKINNY, I mean she's really small and tiny person and she does a lot of exercise to keep her height, but the rest of Buffy's cast? they weren't so skinny buy honestly, for me the best was Amber ( Tara )

On the other hand, that I think no one has mentioned is one of our favourite TV girls, Gabrielle Christian. I mean you look at her now and she's skinnier every day, and even she looks gorgeous I think she was better in the second season of South Of Nowhere, don't you think??

But what is completely true is that in real life, or at least our real life, we don't see skinny girls like this.

I think calling people out for being "too thin" is just as wrong as saying people are "too fat".   I mean, alot of the time, people really cannot control their weight because of their lifestyle.  I do field hockey and track, and no matter how much I eat, it keeps my weight very low - which I often recieve negative comments about from my peers.  Someone having a problem with a show just because the actors/actresses on it are very thin seems strange to me, especially because I think all of those girls look fine.

Some people look better with less weight, and some look better with more - but as long as people are relativly healthy, as these actresses all seem to be - I think everyone should just enjoy the aesthetics.

I agree with Spatula.

It's not any more fair to tell someone they're too skinny than it is to walk up to a girl and say "you're too fat. you don't look healthy." It's like people feel they have some right to criticize the thin girls.

I'm 5'6" 125 and I was naturally 115 all through high school. I wore a size 0-2 and so did a lot of my friends. I don't think these girls on tv are misrepresenting anything. They don't look too skinny at all to me. I don't think that a large majority of "popular" high school girls are a bigger than the tv versions, I just think it's the large girls who complain. 

I find articles like this funny especially when it comes to women and weight. A "target" is identified for being either too thin or too big and then the "identity politics" of whose weight is being oppressed the most or the gravity of stigma they face due to their weight.

To add my personal view on "I'm X amount of pounds and XYZ sucks for me too because....": Everyone is different and people will judge. Thank you. (I am not trivializing anyone's life experiences, but rather looking at it a different way since this conversation of women and weight has been brought up many times and nothing really to me is discussed other than personal testimonies of struggle with weight).

What is rarely talked about in an article like this is the demnsion of wealth within the issues of weight. As I said before there seems to be a link with being thin and well off. Since this site has talked about issues dealing with class, race, etc. it would be interesting if someone took a look at the role of being thin and rich, which is another dynamic that plagues a lot of the teen shows.

I for one would find the discussion much more fufilling than reading "Well I'm skinny/fat and I get shit..." or "So-an-so lost soo much weight looks great/gross!" It would put an interesting look in to this whole weight issue that we tend to focus on a lot and find something interesting.

Am I asking for too much?