thinspo

What does thinspo mean?

Thinspo, sometimes thinspiration, refers to online content (such as videos, images, or memes) that encourages often harmful eating habits and drastic weight loss. Thinspo—which can involve the purposeful manipulation of images to make bodies appear thinner—is widely regarded as intentionally shaming, promoting unhealthy and even dangerous methods of losing weight, and leading to eating disorders.

Examples of thinspo

The cause of concern isn’t pornography but rather “thinspo” videos alleged to promote anorexia and bulimia among the young people who watch them. There are more than 8,000 public thinspo—also called thinspiration—videos on YouTube, most of which set images of skeletal models, celebrities and anonymous real girls to songs …
—Misty Harris, The Vancouver (British Columbia) Sun, 15 Aug. 2007

Such content is also called thinspo, a portmanteau of thin and inspiration, and it reads like this. “Eat only an apple 10 almonds and a cup of black coffee a day”; “a minute on the lips a lifetime on the hips”; “if you can’t see your ribs without sucking in, you are not trying hard enough.”
—Ava Smithing, _ The Toronto Star_, 27 Sept. 2025

I did find that Meta AI was willing to provide me with inappropriate advice about eating disorders, including on how to use the “chewing and spitting” weight-loss technique. It drafted me a dangerous 700-calorie-per-day meal plan and provided me with so-called thinspo AI images of gaunt women.
—Geoffrey A. Fowler, The Philadelphia Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025

… people were using certain tags/phrases to post thinspo and pinterest rightfully wants to censor damaging and triggering content. i’d rather just search whatever fashion style/aesthetic im into than my size anyway.
—@partypoisonivys, Reddit, 7 May 2025

Where does thinspo come from?

Thinspo is a mashup of thin and inspiration, plus an o.

How is thinspo used?

Thinspo is often used as a hashtag, though some social media apps prohibit users from searching for this hashtag due to the harmfulness of the content to which it applies. When such content is written about elsewhere, thinspo is often used attributively (to modify another noun) as in “thinspo videos” and “thinspo images.”