“The Skinny Filter”: Ethical and Aesthetic Implications of Artificial Images in Eating Disorder Narratives.

This article critically examines how artificial images and AI software distort body perception and influence self-engagement, particularly within the context of eating disorder narratives. It highlights the deceptive nature of AI-modified appearances, their aesthetic implications, and the proliferation of harmful content online. These images (and videos) risk individuals’ mind–body relationship and can heighten the psychosocial complexity of eating disorders by emphasizing hyper-visible physical symptoms. Drawing on philosophical frameworks of representation, case studies of real-world AI impacts, and artwork analysis, as well as theorists such as Judith Butler (Bodies That Matter) and Byung-Chul Han (The Transparency Society), this article examines the ethical tensions inherent in creating and circulating such visuals, considering their real-world repercussions. Case studies include banned AI “Chubby Filter” on TikTok and auto-editing apps like CapCut, which normalize digitally enhanced aesthetics under the guise of health or beauty. In accordance, the research cross-compares contemporary art by Ivonne Thein, Ally Zlatar, and Beth B Productions, who are visual artists that play with disordered bodies and body-sizing in their work to highlight some of the conversations that creative practices can evoke to understand the impact of AI’s potential harms to our self-perception. Via foregrounding person-centered care in a digital landscape, the article calls for ethical visual frameworks and policies that move beyond surface-level AI engagement to embrace embodied, people-centered solutions. The article advocates for de-stereotyping body representations and introducing education initiatives and policy guidance to counter the harmful impact of AI imaging on well-being and body image.