Internet was once taken over by Ice Bucket Challenge, followed by Mannequin Challenge, and a little less popular Running Man Challenge. We saw the internet being stormed by the legendary photo of Kim Kardashian and the dress that left everyone debating about its colour. While the internet and meme-world keep changing every day, people are quicker to adapt to the change and join the latest fad. Right now, Twitter is bombarded with #SkinnyLegend. 

What is skinny legend? Skinny Legend is an internet slang used by stans to describe the celebrity that is the focus of their fandom. The phrase is meant as a term of endearment among stans, meant to indicate that the celebrity they stan for is flawless. The fact is, Skinny Legend has nothing to do with weight. It is used in sarcasm and a meme format to show society's obsession with size. 

Mariah Carey is thought to be the original 'skinny legend', although the stars including Kim Kardashian, Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift have all been praised on Twitter.

Urban Dictionary describes the term as: "A phrase used by a social media sub-group called 'stans'. It is commonly used to refer to celebrities such as Mariah Carey who is glamorous and talented, no matter their weight."

The compliment is accompanied by a peculiar photo of the celebrity warped and photoshopped to look extremely skinny and unreal. 

“A skinny legend is someone who is super-iconic so much so that they transcend being what they actually are and become skinny,” 14-year-old New Yorker Joyce told The Daily Beast. “It originated on Twitter with all the fans and stuff but now people use it like a meme”.

Even though the term is used for endearment it has received backlash. Revelist, one of the online news website trashed the usage of the term. "This is obviously problematic because it implies one can only achieve true success and ‘legendary’ status when they're thinner, which is clearly not true." The wording perpetuates food and body issues on a harmful level. Either way, the phrase is triggering and confusing, and it definitely doesn't do anything to combat the stigmas attached to a weight, even if some users insist it's about confidence, says the writer. 

A meme has a short life, as short as a mosquito and as significant as its importance in the circle of life. For some, memes are an escape and for others, they are a good break from the daily life. Either way, memes come and go and all we can do is enjoy #SkinnyLegend as long as it lasts.