You can be a successful content creator — if you’re skinny

“What I eat in a day” content has become increasingly popular on TikTok. These videos can provide insight into other people’s lives or ideas for what to pack for your own lunch, and creators of this content have been very successful on the platform. Their comment sections are filled with love — at least for creators that are skinny. 

Comment sections of skinny TikTokers’ “what I eat in a day” videos are flooded with supportive comments — comments about how good the food looks, questions about where the creator got that Tupperware or what they do for work. TikToker Rose Rybak who goes by @rose.rybak gets comments like “looks so frickin good” and “I genuinely enjoy your videos,” but the same cannot be said for plus-size “what I eat in a day” content creators.

TikToker Mattison Curtlynn who goes by @mattisoncurtlynn is a plus-size “what I eat in a day” content creator on TikTok. Her content came across my feed one day, and when I decided to open the comments, I sadly wasn’t shocked by what I saw. While Rose gets support in her comment section, Matt’s is flooded with hate. Comments like “I wonder what she really eats after 5” or “She cut out the part where she went to wingstop” fill Matt’s comment section in every single one of her videos. 

It is important to note that there is little difference between what Matt and Rose are eating. Both eat a healthy breakfast and lunch. Both have some fruit to snack on. Both have a sweet snack during the workday. The only real difference is the creator’s appearance. If Matt had a thinner appearance, her comment sections would be entirely different. This reveals that people don’t care about food content at all — they care about who is making the content. When a thin content creator makes food content, it is seen as inspirational — but when a plus-size content creator does it, it is questioned and ridiculed. 

These comments impact content creators. It creates an environment that creators don’t want to post in. If a content creator is constantly being bombarded with hate, it could also have mental health impacts. Higher frequencies of mean comments on social media networks led to significantly higher anxiety when compared to neutral or positive comments. This means that if viewers continue to leave hateful comments, “what I eat in a day” content creators like Matt will be negatively impacted.

These comments also reinforce harmful stereotypes and fatphobia. Fatphobia is the societal stigma, prejudice and discrimination against overweight individuals that contribute to the idea that being fat is a moral failing. When viewers see these comments, they create an association that if a creator is plus size, then they will get hate. It also reinforces the idea that being plus size is something that deserves hate. Viewers see these comments on every plus-size creator’s content and start to think it’s OK to leave these comments because it has become a standard.

There is a broader societal bias that can be seen from this. Society equates thinness with health, success and beauty, but larger bodies with laziness and unhealthiness. These standards are then reinforced in viewers who will believe that in order to get support, you have to have a certain “look.” Until viewers can separate food content from body shame, “what I eat in a day” videos will continue to reflect not what people eat, but how society chooses to see the content creator. 

Creators on TikTok shouldn’t need to use filters in their comment sections in order to keep out hateful comments. Instead, society needs to shift the way they view plus-size people — weight in no way contributes to how successful someone is in life. Before you click that comment button, check yourself. Is there a good reason to leave it? Or does the creator just not align with your beauty standards? If so, I would put down the phone, look in a mirror and think about the consequences of your actions. 

Serenity Bunner is a first-year on a pre-law track and is a communications and law, criminal justice and society double major. Email her at spb118@pitt.edu.