Blogilates' Cassey Ho calls out society for treating women's bodies like 'fast fashion'
Fashion trends are always evolving, and so is the... "perfect body?"
Longtime fitness blogger Cassey Ho shed light on the topic in a now viral video that illuminates society's ties to specific body trends throughout history.
The CEO and founder of Blogilates and POPFLEX brands posted a short clip where she's seen wearing a short sleeve bodysuit while her body virtually morphs into different shapes desired dating back to the Italian Renaissance era (1400s -1700s) up to the 2020s.
Through this demonstration, Ho is seen with everything from "Tumblr thigh gaps” which was a term trending in the 2010s... "the gappier, the better," she captioned the video.
There's also a portion of the video where she points to the 1990s where a very thin emaciated-like frame was in. "They called it heroin chic," said Ho.
"It is time to stop treating women's bodies like fast fashion," the Los Angeles-based entrepreneur told "Good Morning America." "We also need to stop valuing one body type over the rest."
She added, "We as women aren't lumps of clay for society to mold, and we shouldn't feel this constant pressure to change our bodies to feel beautiful, and even worse -- to feel on trend. I am hopeful that one day we will get to a stage where the body trend is no trend at all."
Ho said she was initially inspired to create and post her video after seeing a recent photo of Khloe Kardashian and thinking to herself, "Wow, she looks so different." While Ho thought she looked incredible, she also noticed lots of people commenting and pointing out that it looked like the reality star removed her butt implants. This led her to realize another shift in women's beauty standards may be well underway.
"Are big butts on their way out?," Ho questioned. These thoughts sparked the idea for Ho to revisit her 2018 experiment where she posted a series of carousel of side-by-side photos of herself morphing into different desired body types from the 1400s to 2018.
Ho also highlighted an earlier 2015 video she created that spotlights her own personal shifts with body weight and being body shamed daily from online comments such as being called "too fat," "too skinny" and her muscles made her "look like a man."
"Emotionally, I felt broken and beaten down," said Ho. "But it's amazing what can happen when you take the negative energy being hurled at you and choose to transform it into something positive."
Fast forward to 2022, and Ho is passionate about continuing her message even while dealing with her own insecurities. "Being in an industry where my body is constantly on display and constantly judged, I've 100% fallen prey to the beauty standard and have tried tirelessly to achieve a flatter stomach and a bigger butt via different diets and exercises," she said. "Here's the thing though -- it's never fulfilling and never long-lasting when it's done just for vanity and done because someone else is pressuring you to do it."
Her latest "perfect body" video has gained the attention of over 12 million TikTokers as well as 3 million Instagrammers with many commenting on how "powerful" it was.
"My favorite thing is that it's sparking thoughtful conversation, and hopefully, a shift in mindset, said Ho.
"I want women and girls to understand that we will never be able to keep up with the 'ideal' beauty standard because that is a shifting target, she added. "What you can do is appreciate your body for what it can do, and be less obsessed with how it looks."
