What the Oscars Reveal: Issue #7

The Oscars are this weekend.
They have a funny way of revealing what our culture is paying attention to.

🍽 The Main Course —  Bodies: Trending (Again)

I love movies. And, I'll admit it, I love the ridiculous pomp of the Oscars.

It’s all delightfully over-the-top and I’m here for it.

Somewhere in the swirl of it all there’s almost always a moment when my brain notices something else happening alongside the gowns and spectacle.

It's not really about the Oscars.

It’s about what our culture does every so often:
it resets the standard for women’s bodies...again.

That part isn’t new. If you zoom out over decades, the “ideal” female body shape has shifted many times.

What feels different right now is how quickly this shift has happened. Almost overnight.

Not that long ago the broader conversation still had some room in it for strength, curves, and athleticism. For bodies to take up space in many different ways.

Then suddenly a much narrower visual standard started showing up again across the internet, in celebrity culture, in our daily lives.

Years ago, when this same aesthetic dominated, I knew exactly what my brain would do.

Compare.
Self-criticize.
Turn up that internal voice suggesting maybe it's time to start a diet again.

My reaction now is different. The first thought isn’t envy or admiration.

It’s concern.

Because I’ve watched what happens when a very narrow body ideal starts circulating widely again.

I see it in my work, my clients. 
I see it in the way women start talking to themselves again. And to each other.

The pressure around food.
Around bodies.
Around the idea that maybe it’s time to “tighten things up.”

Seeing the shift happen so quickly reminded me how easily we return to old body ideals.

Human bodies aren’t supposed to have "trend" cycles.

But they do.

And moments like the Oscars make that pattern hard to miss. 

We're not just celebrating films.

We're noticing bodies.

The ripple effect doesn’t stay in Hollywood. It reaches the rest of us too.

Even when we know better—even when we’ve done years of work around food, bodies, and self-trust—those signals still land in our nervous system.

Sometimes as comparison. Sometimes as pressure.

Or maybe just as the exasperating recognition of the return of a body standard many of us hoped we were all done with.

If you watch the Oscars this weekend, you might notice how clearly that standard is back in the spotlight.

🐾 Sweet Moment(s): 

If the Academy ever introduces an Oscar for Best Supporting Role in a Human’s Life, Benny and Ramona are shoo-ins. 🏆

Until next time - more dogs, less dogma. Always.

Carol

P.S. New here? Welcome! Curious about past issues? You can find them, here.