UNPACKING SICKNESS AS A BEAUTY TREND 

As someone who is actually chronically ill, let me tell you, it is not romantic or beautiful. It involves bodily functions, fluids, scars, stretch marks, weight gain and loss, bruises, and many other features that have been considered "gross" by society. It kinda rubs me the wrong way, for people to turn it into an aesthetic. I do like the idea of romanticizing my own illness, in order to live with it easier, and to cope better, but to pretend to be ill in order to be attractive?? That grosses me out. It maddens me, because these people aren't actually suffering. It's borderline ableist in my opinion, to turn genuine suffering into a costume you can put on and off, when in reality the people actually ill aren't able to take off the costume. It is a life long curse to some. And I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

mina the new background is as immaculate as your content

One of the causes of my eating disorder was a desire to look sick. Not necessarily because I thought it was attractive but I had low self-esteem and thought that the only way someone could ever truly care about me was if I looked like I could die any minute. I also wanted to look how I felt on the inside as a way to communicate to my family and friends of how horrible my mental wellbeing was. I think that's something worth considering when someone makes efforts to look sick or says they want to look sick.

Junji Ito wrote a short-story about that fits quite well. In the story teens try to catch a disease that makes you more beautiful every day. Even when it's discovered that the disease is deadly, people still try to get it intentionally.

as a disabled person, I’ve found that reactions to “looking sick” are so fickle. obviously sick, you’re not trying hard enough. non-obviously sick, you must not need any help. poor thing, you must hate your life. you’re fine, look at all the miserable people in my waiting room. eye bags are cool, but only if they’re enhanced by makeup. you’re wearing makeup? you can’t possibly be doing that badly then. it’s dizzying 🤷🏻‍♀️

I feel like commenting on the fact that “anti-sickness” is a huge beauty standard in the black community. That’s really interesting, especially because I remember many African family members taking pride in our cultural food (rice, pasta, bread, etc) and any sort of weight loss when you were already fairly small was seen as unhealthy and “too skinny.” I had cousins with fast metabolisms constantly picked in by their parents for their weight, whereas I was a bit objectified for having curves and developing early around age 12. Curves and an ample amount of body fat are seen as feminine and healthy, hence why that could be a factor in the trend in black people having higher prevalences of bulimia (such as laxatives) whereas white people tend to have higher prevalences of anorexia. I think also, African Americans specifically (the ones who are dealing with a cultural clash between health and wellness in strict African households vs. a defiance of and control of one’s own body in the form of rapid weight loss) assimilate into western culture through controlling our weight and dietary habits, which alienates us from the cultural attitudes about food we were raised in. A possible reason black people with EDs are told we are “trying to be white.”

I was just thinking about this yesterday, about how tuberculosis was portrayed in media. Meanwhile, I was stuck in bed because my IBS was acting up. Where are my romantic stories about being bloated and gassy?

Hi, I'm a musicologist who has done a lot of work on the 19th century and also opera in general. I think it's important to note that TB is a rather "handy" disease for storytelling, because A. it can go dormant sometimes (so the character can be vibrant again, temporarily), and B. it's relatively...not gross. Eventually, you get to the coughing up blood stage, but before that, the victim can be depicted mostly as just weak and becoming thinner and more fragile-very feminine. There's also the aspect of it being a handy way to get rid of a problematic female character, but that's another discussion. Contrast this with something like cholera, which killed tons and tons of people, but is completely disgusting. Cholera could easily turn a romance into a horror show.

I resent the fact that dark under eye circles make someone look ill, like for some if us it's just hereditary lol

My friend's very Italian mom used to say hello by pinching my cheeks and saying, "Ah, so fat!" It was clearly a compliment indicating youth and vibrant health. Italians suffered a lot of deprivation and malnutrition in WWII and afterwards. They remember.

“Hello my consumption hotties” As a consumption hottie myself, I approve.

As a woman closing in on 40, THANK GOD for my buccal fat! It’s the only thing keeping people from clocking my real age lol. I’m keeping mine!!!

Mina this was such a cool video. If I could pick on one thing, it’s this: there may be a Western tendency to think of tuberculosis as something of the past. I live in sub-Saharan Africa and TB is a real concern here. It goes hand in hand with HIV/AIDS and is a killer. It’s heartbreaking because while treatments exist, you generally have to take the medicine for 6 months and it has brutal side effects and many give up, especially when they don’t have family support or have other issues like food scarcity. My mother contracted TB while working in a hospital and it was awful, nothing to be glamourised at all.

This reminds me of the time I went to the ER to get a lump in my breast assessed (in my 20s) .The ER doctor told me I was too young to have cancer and laughed ...she couldn't take me seriously . Went to another doctor and got diagnosed with stage 2A invasive breast cancer. Leads me to wonder if a lot of doctors assume we are just hypochondriac due to the social media "chronically I'll aesthetic" as a cancer patient I find it fascinating people are faking an illness that's trying to kill me . I would never wish that on my worst enemy .

Not this being posted as I'm sick and laying in bed, imaging that I'm a beautiful victorian heroine expiring for consumption

As someone who deals with chronic illness, I often pretend I'm a sickly Victorian woman, going mad as I look at my yellow wallpaper. It beats being a modern sickly woman just trying to keep up with the world around me

i think one point that could've been mentioned is that this trends make girls more vulnerable, especially the one romanticizing mental illnesses such as anorexia, especially in relationships. Because people can prey on these girls specifically because they are more vulnerable ; and to romanticise that may put those girls at risk. Making sickness "pretty" and desirable is dangerous (there is a huge trend of people wanting a "depressed girlfriend" and this is just terrifying imo Anyway : amazing video as usual thank you Mina ! (And your decor is terrific i want the same)

They definitely leaned into this in Dracula, where the book loves to talk about how Lucy is so beautiful as she’s dying and then (un)dead.

Your mom fully understanding your taste is so sweet. Every new angle you film at is like a new set.

I've had severe eczema my entire life. The fact that puffy red skin is now a trend is shocking to me. These people have the privillege of cherry-picking aspects of a disability without living with the parts that destroy your sense of self.

I lost 20% of my body weight in a short period without trying around the same time that Kim K got really skinny, and people started to discuss the whole resurgence of the Heroin Chic thing. Everyone I know has commented on how “great” I look and quite a few people have expressed outright jealousy that I was able to lose weight so quickly, even though I’ve explained I suffer from an autoimmune disease that can cause fluctuations in my weight and attack my organs. Some people are jealous of how fragile I look right now, even though behind the scenes my doctor’s are seriously concerned about my health and are sending me to all kinds of specialists to rule out potentially deadly diseases. It just blows my mind that people would *choose* to look sickly and delicate when the people who actually are sickly/delicate are suffering due to health issues. I wonder if they knew about all of ugly things that come with unexplained weight loss, such as hair loss, bruising easily, and a weakened immune system if they would feel the same.

I was a sick kid during the heroin chic 2000s, literally almost starving to death bc of my illness and my childhood was filled with grown women telling me how jealous they were of my body and it haunts me to this day

OMG thank you for saying this. Survived Cancer as teen and I don't even contour bc it makes my face look like it did when I was 90lbs and near death on Chemo. That's what I see when I see buccal fat removal girlies, they remind me of how my face looked when I was * DYING * It does not make ANY SENSE TO ME that people think Looking like your on the edge of death is beautiful. It's frankly insulting to disabled and sick people everywhere.

This isn't pertaining to sickness per se, but this topic reminds me of the poisoning deaths in Chinese palace dramas. Amidst ornate silks and twinkling hair ornaments, a beautiful consort will drink poisoned tea, and begin to ✨prettily✨ cough up blood, while her eyes go glassy with tears and she proceeds to faint ✨daintily✨ lol

In Bulgaria we still have this “trend” going around in which when someone had a cough the doctor sends them to the mountains for fresh air and steam spa treatments.

my anemic ass watching this in bed as I'm recovering from a lung surgery 👁👄👁 but seriously, everyone takes their good health for granted until it's gone. as much as i try to make myself feel (mentally) better about my own pain, there is nothing beautiful about illness.

In my previous university course, Youth culture in schools and society, we read a chapter about this topic. In Sweden in the late 19th century. the ideal girl was skinny, sick and weak. Girls learned that women were weaker than the strong men, so it is natural for the girls to internalize that message in order to appeal to society norms. There was a value in being ill. After World War 1 the ideal shifted to a healthy and atheltic ideal. Reference: Larsson, A-K. (2003). Från korsett till kost. I: Meurling, B. (red). Varför flickor?: ideal, självbilder och ätstörningar. Lund: Studentlitteratur, s.41-65. [Larsson, A-K. (2003). From corset to diet. In: Meurling, B. (Ed). Why girls? : ideal, self images and eating disorders. Lund: Studentlitteratur, p.41-65.]

many ED-ed people i know got their disorder because they wanted to look as sick as they felt on the inside. they wanted to look as sick physically as they were mentally. this fascination with wanting to look sick or even be sick is something i've attributed to wanting to be taken care of and looked after, and i think it's so interesting to think about

I just wanted to add - the amount of people “faking” disability to get SSDI is incredibly incredibly minuscule, as it horribly difficult for disabled folks to get SSDI (it often takes 6 months to 2 years if you can even get it). The way SSDI is set up is to essentially make sure people can’t get it unfortunately Thank you so much for talking about this though, especially with the disability context! I actually made a video a few weeks on insta and TT talking about “let’s cosplay illness” aesthetic has contributed to people not seeing us disabled folks as human beings, so it’s so great to see larger creators talking about this too!!!

I think one of the most intriguing things my womens social history prof ever said was that she suspected at least some chronically ill middle class women were faking or at least making it out to be worse because it removed them from the strict, suffocating expectations placed on them as wives, social entertainers, etc

I wonder if the whole vampire chic thing stems from this as well. Think pale skin, red lips blood trickling from the mouth. And you could also look at Snow White as potentially being a folk tale about beautiful illness as well. Also love the new background ❤

Ah yes, my favorite compliment. “You look diseased.”

It's funny to hear about the "spa retreat" spaces being talked about like a relic of the old times when here in Poland it's still very much a thing. They are called a "sanatorium" or "uzdrowisko" here. Although some look closer to actual hospitals and others more like hotels, a lot of them were established exactly in the 19th century. They are either at the seaside or in the mountains. Depending what health issue you have, the doctor might "prescribe" you a visit to a sanatorium for a month or longer. You will have a lot of different treatments like massages, mineral water baths, special mud compress, inhalations etc. Some places are made specifficaly for kids (there are school classes included) and others for adults. Interestingly I wouldn't say they are associated with higher classes but just regular folks since it's state sponsored usually. Although there is this stereotype about "regulars" of those places which often are lonely retired people or someone unable to work because of health issues who treat trips there as some kind of socialising paties or even to hook up with someone lol. I myself had a visit to such an establishment as a child and tbh it definitely didn't feel to me like a spa trip, more like a torture XD. But those treatments did somewhat help me.

The buccal fat thing is honestly funny to me because real ones have been clocking bella hadid for it for yearssss and everyone gave that “puberty and dieting” bullshit, but now those same people are up in arms when the surgery has become obvious and more accessible 😂 Like are we mad or arent we?!

I believe part of the romantisation of illness would be a coping mechanism of telling oneself suffering and death are meaningful and dignified.

As a girl with gastroparesis who did get sickly thin from vomiting nonstop everyday for 6 months, THANK YOU for this. I will be sick forever but i have found treatment and happiness and i am more beautiful than ever at a healthy weight.

This makes it really hard for those of us with debilitating diseases to actually get treatment. I feel like I have to carry all of my images and test results with me to every appointment for the express purpose of not being told it's all in my head. It hurts my heart and I hope this trend goes away soon.

This is a topic I find fascinating, as a both disabled and chronically ill person. However, we need to be really careful when assuming we know what a “truly” sick person looks like. Invisible illnesses are real and valid too. I really hazard against calling people out who you think might be faking their illnesses and/or disabilities. Many of us may occasionally pass as able bodied and struggle to have our conditions believed, taken seriously, treated, and diagnosed. Many of us have had to endure being accused of faking our suffering for attention, which often has lead to familial, social, and medical neglect. While those making the accusation of faking might have thought they were doing so in solidarity with the sick and disabled, what they were really doing was contributing to the suffering of that same population.

i literally fainted out of nowhere yesterday and found out i am severely anemic - which explains the running out of breaths and the blacking outs and the tiredness and the lack of periods and many other things - so perfect timing as always mina

It is annoying when I am hurting with my chronic illness in the hospital and I'm told I'm too pretty to be sick or how young I look or even with the weight gain/loss that your face is still beautiful because this leads to under and maltreatment which is compounded by my race and sex because I don't look sick to medical staff. I also dress up to make myself feel better so I'm judged by that as well. There's nothing cute about having a genetic disease, frequent treatments, hospitalizations, etc. It's a difficult life, especially as a single mom and a grad/post grad pursuant. The fact that I cannot talk about this often because many think I'm saying this for vanity but I go by what others say and how I'm constantly maltreated due to it. It's not beautiful to put on this aesthetics because if you become ill/disabled you will not find it nor yourself beautiful. I long for my healthier days.

Haha wow, I have cystic fibrosis and before my lung transplant I was giving "tuberculosis chic" - severely underweight, sheet white, dark undereye circles, sunken cheeks, etc. And I was dying y'all! It's pretty gross people want to look like that on purpose or adopt the aesthetic of illness without experiencing its true horrors.

You mentioned the 2010 trend in Japan, but now Yami Kawaii (Sick Cute) and Menhera (mental health-er) are still hanging onto popularity. My students just did a presentation (in English) on makeup trends here in Japan, and they highlighted these.

Mina, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts + well-researched information on this topic and calling out some of the impacts it had / has on society. As a woman living with multiple chronic health conditions (one major chronic disorder that is the cause of several severe symptoms, each of which are their own chronic health diagnoses), I can attest that this issue greatly affects the way doctors regard their patients, for I spent over 15 years of my life suffering debilitating symptoms that were either untreated or mismanaged because I was repeatedly misdiagnosed or dismissed by numerous doctors throughout that time. I believe the issues you’ve addressed continue to tarnish doctors’ ability to take their patients seriously and have an unbiased full-picture view of their patient’s symptoms. Like many chronic health conditions, mine are mostly invisible (especially to anyone who doesn’t know me well), which makes it inherently hard to “prove” your symptoms, but it’s *especially* hard in a world where people are out there faking symptoms/illness. And while I now have a correct medical diagnosis (and medical tests to document its existence) and proper medical treatment, people often do not realize that I *still* deal with all of my symptoms (!!)….in varying degrees, the symptoms’ severity and/or frequency is lessened by the prescriptions I take, but they are not cured. Also, a delayed diagnosis can often have long-term implications, because many chronic health conditions drastically *worsen* overtime when they aren’t properly managed…this is the case for me, and this lessened quality of life has a definite ripple effect. For instance, it took me a long time to finish college…and after graduating last year as an adult student, I still haven’t been hired because I lack experience (was unable to juggle an internship + the pandemic of course limited any available options) and because my symptoms are so bad that I need to either work full-time from home or have a part-time position that’s very close to home since I cannot drive very far. Anyways, sorry this was so long. Just wanted to share this with you in case you would like to create a part-two video that delves deeper into the topic of this video. Thanks so much for all of the interesting information/knowledge you share. ❤️ P.S. I truly love your setup! 😍 It echos your uniquely fabulous personal style, and I imagine the rest of your home is just as amazing! Your mom really pulled through with those amazing pieces! Seems like she must really understand you, and that’s a really awesome thing if so!

Shout out to Mina's mom who made all of this possible!

I think people who want attention and pity should learn that it's okay to ask for company if you're lonely or to ask your loved ones for snuggles. You don't have to go to extremes to be taken care of.

I also feel like as a disabled person who has an invisible condition related to pain as well as chronic illnesses like migraines if you don't look "sick enough" people get upset with you. Like people have come up to me and told me I dont look disabled and I have had doctors at my pain clinic tell me I am too young to be there. Because obviously illnesses and disability only happen to the elderly. I almost feel glad that I am in my 30s now because people wont question me talking about my body being in pain as much as they did in my 20s because I felt like I was always questioning if they were right and maybe I wasn't as bad as I thought I was.

There's something about hearing people excitedly explaining their decor or fashion choices that brings me joy.

someting that i think also relates to this topic is the german poetry of "Expressionismus". It developed during and after WW1 and contains topics like "die Ästhetik des Hässlichen" (the aesthetic of the ugly). it showcases an intense interest in death and disease and sometimes romanticises it as well. An example would be "Ophelia" by Georg Heym. I think it is a very disturbing but also interesting topic and you might enjoy researching it.

Fabric is a great alternative to wallpaper! If you mix cornstarch and water you can attach it to the wall very easily! It holds up very well and is extremely easy to peel off when you are ready to take it down. And the cornstarch washes off with just a little warm water. I redid the walls of my rental in this way

Tuberculosis has an interesting history relating to vampires(if I’m remembering right) as well.

9:42 seeing the cocaine toothache drops made me do a double take because i continuously forget that people used to take hard drugs to relieve any ailments they had in the past

There was a beauty trend in Japan and/or Korea where girls would draw dark undereye makeup so they had the tired cute look, and not to mention the latest cold girl look. Maybe for some reason if we look ill we look more vulerable, which tends to be a characteristic that a gentle pretty girl would have

As someone who is just gaining back their health after literal years of feeling less capable, weak, tired and sick, this is incredibly insulting. I'm immunocompromised and used to get chronic pneumonia, infections, muscle pains, rashes, and I spent so long on medications that made my skin dry and pale, my face bloat, and my body frail. I've worked so hard to get to a point where I'm not constantly missing out on life or activities, and as a result of getting better, the glow I have in my skin and healthy weight I'm at is something so special and sacred and amazing to me. It is frankly quite bizarre to me that anybody would trade that up in favour of looking sick for aesthetic reasons. Not to mention the years it took to be taken seriously. Same thing goes for my adhd, I got diagnosed around the same time and now content is finally being made that I can relate to, but it's hard to find through all of the people who trivialise it for views or medication.

So, I'm very pale and have really deep dark circles under my eyes, which is something that always bothered me to no end and which I got mocked for in school, but both things are unchangeable (I tried), since they're hereditary. But once in a while a guy who likes me will tell me the strangest things about those aspects of my appearance, like "you look a bit like your undead, yes, but in a soft, romantic sad vampire girl way" or, even weirder "I like the dark circles, they make you look like those slightly manic but brilliant, frail artist characters from anime"

I AM sick. Most recently: Stage 3b/Grade1 Inflammatory Breast Cancer Lupus, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Dysautonomia, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardic Symdrome, and Celiac Disease. That's a lot, huh. Now, most people don't believe that I have that laundry list of maladies. Cancer really bumps up the believability of my claims of illness. So does my shower chair. But, most folks think I am looking for "handouts."

i highly recommend you read susan sontag's "illness as a metaphor", its not about fashion (understandably) but it talks at lenght about tuberculosis and how it became sth to be desired as a mark of particularly interesting personality and an artistic inclination and there are some sections that link it to the development of beauty standards in the 20th century

thank you for this!! i’m in recovery for eds and bdd, as well as having chronic illnesses and disabilities, both physical and mental. (though they are all “invisible illnesses”) i appreciate you not overlooking the ableist rhetoric and ideals that drive beauty trends like these. especially with what that means currently for the disabled community. i would have loved to have heard a bit more about the cultural impacts that these more current and/or resurfacing trends could have however. especially in relating to eating disorders, youth/teens coming of age at this point in the beauty ideal cycle, body modification/mutilation, how “trendy” or fake illnesses further drive ableism and stigma, (leaving those of us who are disabled to have an even greater disadvantage.) disabled or chronically ill people with invisible illnesses who are discriminated against or gaslit because we “don’t look sick,” people in larger bodies, brown and black bodies, not being believed to be ill because of this (no pun intended) narrow view of what illness “looks like,” and more. it’s not that your video wasn’t great bc it *was.* i just happen to have a massive interest and personal investment in this topic and it’s possible branches! *however* i loved this video! and i fully realize you were focusing on the beauty ideal and keeping the video under 37.68 hours long. i’m just continuing the conversation that you kindly started and put so much thought and work into. this may be one of my favorites, it’s hard to tell though bc you always knock them out of the park. 🖤💫

I was JUST talking about the Smallpox and TB thing with a friend! I remember having a project in HS about Lord Byron and coming across the line “How pale I look! - I should like, I think, to die of consumption … because then the women would all say, ‘see that poor Byron - how interesting he looks in dying!’” this topic is incredibly fascinating and it's so interesting how it carried on to current times.

THANK YOU!!!! After years suffering from a multitude of undiagnosed illnesses I finally got diagnosed which led me to finally get medication. Although I do feel better the meds made me go from “over weight and bed ridden” to “in pain but able to move and much MUCH smaller”. Despite the weight loss being unhealthy for me, to the point where my doctor has made me go to a nutritionist to lessen/slow down the speed at which I’ve been getting smaller, I am constantly getting compliments because I’m smaller now. They don’t care that the medication has made other symptoms appear. “It’s good you have so many food restrictions, because you’re losing weight.” (I can’t go to restaurants anymore, and have cried in public bathrooms because my grandmother bought something when I said I couldn’t eat it then she yelled at me for not eating it) “Sure you’re weaker, but you used to be so bulky so it’s good that you’ve lost muscle.” (Not even joking) “I wish I was so sick I had to take meds that made me disgusted by food.” (I had emergencies called for me three time last year, the level of embarrassment of being wheeled into a back room at a fucking hardware store and so out of it I remember a total of 10min of the hour and a bit I was there IS NOT CUTE) These have ALL been said to me and more. Honestly the worst part is I used to be confident, but every “compliment” (read: pointing out I’m sick and weak and unable to fucking do anything for myself without it being a whole event) comes with mentioning something they disliked about the body I used to have. That body could walk down stairs. That body could cook. THAT body is still how I see myself, who I really am. Who I was. Who everyone judged and lied to my face about. That body loved me, this one I don’t even recognize.

genuine thoughts: there’s certain people who claim to have over a hundred mental and physical illnesses, but sometimes i can’t help thinking that some of it is just them romanticizing being ill and unhealthy (for any sort of form of attention- good or bad). like i definitely do not want to discredit them, but i can’t help but notice the parallels between them and münchausen syndrome. i feel like we should instead try romanticizing doing what’s best for ourselves and be as healthy as our abilities allow us to, at our own pace.(not in a toxic way tho) but it also makes me wonder if some people romanticize illness and pain because they are comfortable in that state of being idkkk

I giggled at the thumbnail, cuz I’m actually currently dealing with tuberculosis 😂 And let me tell ya…it ain’t fun, I lost a bizarre amount of weight in two weeks and looked grey like a chewed up piece of gum

To me being sick as a fashion statement makes a lot of sense. I feel like being sick can become trendy not only for the delicate feminine look it can give to a person as Mina mentioned, but also because sickness can be a very comforting state for a lot of people (not to confuse with people actually faking a whole disease for attention, thats on a way deeper levle). When you're sick you're being taken care of, you're expected of less, loved ones worry for your well-being and you get some rest. Is a fast pacing, achievement oriented and pressurefull world, I can see how easily sickness can be romanticized and desirable, thus becoming part of fashion.

I'm anemic, and I just found out my iron is through the floor again after two years of relative okay. I knew I needed to go get bloodwork done when I could barely walk without having to catch my breath, and sure enough, my red blood cells are struggling with the oxygen thing. It affects my entire body, and I lose weight, and because I'm fat kid, everyone says I look great. I just want to scream "Do you see my sunken face!? That I can barely get oxygen?!" It's all sorts of toxic and bless their hearts they really don't realize how they are being. I have to remember that "society" got to them too...they aren't purposely trying to make me feel bad.

TW: addiction, SH, mental illness, eating disorders! I've been talking about this with my friends a lot. I often think about the time when tumblr was a huge deal and eating disorders as well as self harm were an "aesthetic". While exposing people to the fact that mental illnesses exist is important, during this time mental disorders, scars from self harm and bruises as well as very skinny women and men were being romanticised (i am very skinny myself but these pictures suggested eating disorders and a mental illness and not a natural body type).This also applies for Lana del Rey's Music. She sings about addiction, abuse and mental illness. A lot of people loved it but never really realised that she may actually experience these issues. Now that she's doing better and has gained weight a few fans are upset. But they don't realise she is doing well now and the person she was before was sick. I hope these "trends" won't come back but they probably will :( (I hope everything is correct bcs english isn't my mother tongue)

I've become chronically ill recently and this whole association that "illness equals being waify" makes me laugh bitterly, because in reality being chronically ill and in pain means being unable to move around much, which makes us actually gain weight. But that will never become fashionable, now won't it :D

Mina!! This was fascinating. I gawked when you said “tuberculosis core.” I can’t believe that’s a thing!! But as a lover of classic literature, I recognized it immediately. I was born with a congenital heart defect and have had two open heart surgeries. When I was young, I was a very skinny, pale kid and I always joked that I looked like a sad Victorian child. I love my scars and think they tell a great story but I don’t want to romanticize them or use them for pity. I am so grateful for my health and can’t help but shake my head on why anyone would even want to give the appearance of illness for aesthetics. It’s pure silliness!

Living with endometriosis, fibromyalgia, and hyper mobile joints is just like hell. Looking in the mirror seeing my pale skin, dark under eye circles and acne is a big reminder. I still think I’m cute but I do sometimes cover it all with makeup to fake feeling normal… Finding other people do the opposite is kinda weird 😅

“A beautifully and mentally ill woman who glamorously drawns” I snorted out my coffee, even though I knew Mina was about to point out the ridiculousness of these portrayals. I guess their silliness never fails to amaze me

A few years ago, I got sick with endocarditis and dropped 50-60 lbs within like 10 months. I have naturally chubby cheeks but my face was so sunken in and I had other physical symptoms too like my hair was falling out, rashes on my legs, but I can't tell you how many people told me how pretty I looked, while I was DYING, because I was really thin.

I've been seeing these trends a lot recently and I'm glad you covered it

you’re literally a sociologist i love you

I WAS JUST GOING ON ABOUT “lobotomy chic” YESTERDAY OMG

i'm waiting for the day where i go on pinterest and see a hashtag saying "#cancercore" 💀💀

The trend does not do much for those of us who actually *have* chronic illnesses either...

Hi Mia! Watching this video made me more curious about how these cultures are cyclical. As you mentioned, in the 90s there was also a glamorization of sickness and illnesses, I remembered exactly that at that time there was also a "healthy" fashion, gym and relaxation. Got me thinking - is this new trending the answer to the "Clean Girl green juice and healthy lifestyle" era, and how this affects the 'fast-trending/fashion' that now exists on social media? I remember seeing one of these videos on your channel, I would love to see an in-depth look at this cyclical era. PS.: I loved the new scenery!

As a Pulmonary TB survivor all I can say is that the sickness should never be glamorized. I can still remember the 6 months of struggle during my treatment, the hacking guttural cough from the inside of my lungs, the sprinkle of blood on tissues, the constant fever, it also leaves a mark on my lungs that will never go away. I still remember everyday I am lying on my bed with just one wish which is just to recover. It’s the hardest part of my life and no one deserves to feel that pain from the sickness that I felt.

i have genetic dark circles and have been insecure about them for a longe time, and when i saw that byojaku (didn't know the name before tho) style i loved it, i incorporated it into my make up bc it makes me feel cute

I keep coming back to these videos recently because I got sepsis at 19 and it changed my life really. One of the main things is from 19 to 21/22 I weighed 6st 12 to 7st 1 at 5"8. I will stress my weight loss was never intentional. The comments you got from the public were overwhelming positive. I think it was the mix of being young and so thin. I'm turning 24 and have been with my partner a year trying to gain weight (I'm now 7st7 which is still quite underweight despite eating so much) but it's insane trying to go against the trend. All I will say is being so ridiculously thin makes you so tired. Too tired to do anything productive. You will waste your life.

Loved this video! As a chronically ill person I think it’s also important to acknowledge that due to people faking being sick (which isn’t very common but obviously happens) and ableism in general many sick and disabled are assumed to be faking their illnesses and disabilities even by the doctors who treat us

This is a subject i was thinking about lately, thank you for covering it!

your analysis videos are always so interesting!! Also I absolutely adore the new back ground!! :)

Oh! This is definitely a problem. I have a serious chronic disease that unscrupulous doctors infected me with - hepatitis C. And I look good - for more than 11 years I have been on a medical diet, taking medications and trying to do everything to minimize the impact of the disease. However, even from doctors I can hear "you look good/young! You can't get sick with this!" By the way, it is precisely because I feel good and my indicators put me at the end of the queue for the delivery of medicine. I'm not sick enough to get treatment

Amazing video!! Love how smooth the transition from historical to modern topics was

Susan Sontag did a great job writing about this theme in "Illness as metaphor"! I really recommend it.

I did my visual anthropology essay on this exact topic in media and art!

OMG loving the new background!! 💞😍😍😍

the background is super beautiful! totally matches your vibe!

ugh the utter genius. how do you come up with and shape your topics?? and the editing!! immaculate.

Life really just be repeating itself over and over again. I'm not surprised but sometimes I forget just how cyclical we all are.

I love the new background. Honestly the fabric idea is genius. I will be replicating by the end of the month!

Okay this set up is everything!!❤

"But back to syphilis!" cracked me up :D great video as always and tysm for introducing me to the "articles of interest" podcast in your video on cleanliness, I binged all of the episodes and cannot wait for season 3 to come :)

That’s very sweet that your mom saw those and thought of you, the new background looks great!

Brava, and well-handled. Signed, a disabled woman with one of those conditions that keeps me bedbound most of the time

I love seeing you light up whenever you talk about your collection of antiques because I soooo know the excitement of sharing that kind of stuff

literally my favorite channel i LOVE your content it’s so well done!

I appreciate the way you approached this topic, it's something I think a lot about because I'm chronically ill and that comes with a large set of assumptions and a heavy history attached. Thank you, and I love your new furnishings!

Thank you, Mina, for keeping me up to date on all the insane things that people decide to romanticize.

Your mom has a great eye, and totally gets your aesthetic!

I just adore the new setup! Absolute perfection! 🖤