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How the #almondmom TikTok trend is starting important conversations about the impact of diet culture
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If you’re on TikTok, you’ve probably come across videos about “almond moms.” But what does this term mean, and where did it come from? We’ve got everything you need to know about the trending topic, including its origins, its usage, and its contributions to the national conversation about diet culture and fatphobia. Keep reading to learn more.
Things You Should Know
- An “almond mom” refers to a mother who is diet-obsessed and projects unhealthy body image standards onto her children, usually daughters.
- Almond moms likely grew up feeling pressure to conform to diet culture themselves and passed that pressure onto their own children.
- The term has been spoofed in TikTok videos and has highlighted the need for conversation around the harm of fatphobia and diet culture, especially among young people.
Steps
Section 1 of 3:
What is an “almond mom”?
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An almond mom is a slang term for a diet-obsessed mother. The phrase refers to mothers who prioritize their children’s (especially daughters’) thinness over their emotional and sometimes physical well-being. The term is often used by people who grew up with such a mother and are now working to unlearn the unrealistic and unhealthy body image standards cultivated in them from a young age. [1] X Research source
- “Almond moms” might discourage their children from indulging, even on special occasions, under the guise of being "health-" or "fitness-centered."
- Almond moms may be prone to parroting dieting platitudes like "A moment on the lips, forever on the hips" or "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."
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The “almond mom” persona is rooted in fatphobia and internalized bias. The almond mom rarely centers her obsessions totally on her children; she almost always adheres to the demands of diet culture herself as well, exercising and dieting compulsively and pressuring her kids to do the same. Her attitude is rooted in unhealthy beauty standards and an internalized bias towards thinness—in other words, much of her concerns about her own weight, appearance, and overall worth are projected onto her child.
- Almond moms likely grew up dieting themselves and pass the pressure to conform to diet culture onto their kids.
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