America's Next Top Model taught a generation to hate women’s bodies – now millennial mums must unlearn it

The Netflix doc has reopened old wounds. But what did ANTM really teach us about our bodies – and how do we break the cycle for our kids?

America's Next Top Model (Paramount)

Published: February 17, 2026 at 2:28 PM

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America’s Next Top Model was once sleepover TV gold. We learned how to “smize”, constantly quoted “We were all rooting for you!”, and watched wide-eyed as girls barely older than us were weighed, criticised and remade in the name of “fashion”.

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Now, as Netflix’s Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model revisits the show’s most uncomfortable moments, many millennial women are watching again with a different lens. Not as teenagers absorbing the rules of beauty, but as mums raising daughters and sons in a culture still obsessed with women’s bodies.

Because ANTM was not just chaotic reality TV. For a generation of girls, it was a masterclass in how to talk about women’s bodies. And much of what it taught us, we are now trying to unlearn.

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The body talk we didn’t realise we were absorbing

ANTM’s formula was simple: gather young women, scrutinise their faces and figures, and frame the harshest commentary as “tough love”. Contestants were labelled too big, too thin, too commercial, too 'ethnic', too plain. One was told she had a “wide ass”. Others were weighed on camera. Makeovers were compulsory, sometimes against contestants’ wishes.

At the time, it felt normal. The early 2000s were peak diet culture. Low-rise jeans, calorie-counting and “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” formed the backdrop. ANTM simply mirrored what was already everywhere, from glossy magazines to school changing rooms.

But repetition matters. When teenage girls watch women being praised for shrinking and shamed for softness, those messages do not float past harmlessly. They settle. They become shorthand for what is acceptable, and when they become mothers, they can easily be passed on to their kids.

Psychologist Laura Gwilt, Senior Psychotherapist at Swift Psychology Services, explains how easily these patterns embed themselves, especially within family dynamics.

Generational trauma refers to emotional patterns, fears, and coping styles that get passed down through families, often without anyone realising it.

Laura Gwilt, Senior Psychotherapist at Swift Psychology Services

It does not have to begin with war or abuse. It can stem from chronic criticism, emotional absence, conflict or instability. Over time, these patterns become familiar and automatic.

In other words, the way we talk about bodies becomes inherited. We may not remember the exact episode, but we remember the feeling. The hot prickle of comparison. The relief of approval. The fear of being the “before” shot.

From watching the judging panel to judging ourselves

If ANTM had a signature move, it was public critique. A panel of adults dissecting young women’s bodies in forensic detail, often in front of their peers, then packaging it as motivation.

For many viewers, that voice became internal.

When we become parents, we don’t start from a blank slate, we carry our own childhood experiences in our body, brain, and emotional responses.

Laura Gwilt, Senior Psychotherapist at Swift Psychology Services

That includes the cultural experiences we absorbed during formative years. The offhand comments about thighs. The “beach body” countdowns. The jokes about earning pudding. The idea that a woman’s value could rise and fall with a dress size.

You might not consciously believe that thinness equals worth. But you may still feel a flicker of panic when your body changes after pregnancy. You might catch yourself saying, “I feel so fat,” in front of your child. You might instinctively praise slimness in others without meaning to.

Those are the templates showing up.

“None of this means anyone is a bad parent,” says Laura. “It means old templates are showing up. Noticing them is the first step to changing them.”

Millennial mums are raising children in a new – and old – body culture

In 2026, the messaging looks different, but it has not disappeared. We have body positivity alongside weight loss drugs. “Strong not skinny” alongside SkinnyTok. Inclusion on catwalks, then a quiet backslide when trends shift again.

Many millennial mums sit in a complicated middle space. We grew up with overt body shaming. Our children are growing up with subtler, algorithm-driven versions, where filters, fitness trackers and before-and-after reels blur into everyday life.

The risk is not that we will recreate ANTM’s judging panel in our living rooms. It is that we will unconsciously pass on the same anxiety in softer language. That we will bond with friends over self-criticism. That we will treat body dissatisfaction as a personality trait.

Laura notes that certain patterns often repeat across generations, even when circumstances look different.

Body talk often sits at the intersection of all four. We criticise ourselves before anyone else can. We avoid naming how hurt we feel about ageing or change. We try to mould ourselves into something more acceptable.

Why breaking the cycle feels harder than it sounds

If we know better now, why is it still so difficult to stop the commentary?

“That’s because our ‘parent mode’ often comes from the emotional brain, not the thinking brain,” says Laura.

Under stress, we flip into automatic survival responses (fight, flight, freeze, or fawn) that were shaped in our own childhood.

Laura Gwilt, Senior Psychotherapist at Swift Psychology Services

In practical terms, that might look like snapping when your child refuses dinner because you are already anxious about food waste. Or overreacting to a comment about appearance because it hits an old bruise.

“These patterns are tied to attachment – the way we connected with our caregivers. Attachment templates are deep and relational, not just ideas we can swap out,” Laura explains.

Add in shame, and it becomes even harder. If you notice yourself repeating something harmful, you may spiral into self-blame rather than curiosity.

Breaking cycles is not about willpower alone. It takes awareness, support and practice in real-life, messy moments with children.

How to break the cycle of body policing

The good news is that patterns are powerful, but they are not permanent.

“I usually suggest three starting points,” says Laura.

First, name your story. What messages did you receive about bodies growing up? Who commented on weight? How did adults speak about their own bodies? You do not need to blame anyone, you are simply noticing patterns.

Second, identify your red-flag moments. Is it swimsuit season? Post-baby body changes? Comments from older relatives about “puppy fat”? These are often the triggers where old templates jump in.

Third, choose one small change, not a total overhaul. Instead of vowing to never criticise yourself again, try something specific and doable. Perhaps you decide that you will not label foods as “good” or “bad” in front of your child. Or that you will respond to appearance-based teasing with a calm script rather than embarrassed laughter.

“Small, repeated shifts are what rewire the pattern,” Laura says.

She also recommends “micro-pauses” in triggered moments. Silently say to yourself: “I’m feeling really triggered right now.” Plant your feet on the floor. Unclench your jaw. Take three slow out-breaths.

“These are not about being perfect in the moment. They’re about gradually increasing the number of times you respond differently.”

From criticism to repair

If ANTM taught us that humiliation makes good TV, it also showed how easily shame becomes entertainment. But parenting offers a different script.

“Children do not need perfect parents,” says Laura. “What they need are ‘good enough’ parents, people who will sometimes get it wrong, but who are able to notice, repair and keep showing up.”

Children do not need perfect parents. What they need are ‘good enough’ parents, people who will sometimes get it wrong, but who are able to notice, repair and keep showing up.

Laura Gwilt, Senior Psychotherapist at Swift Psychology Services

The same applies to body talk. If you slip up and criticise your own body, you can circle back. You can say, “I shouldn’t have said that. Bodies aren’t good or bad.” That moment of repair may be more powerful than getting it right first time.

Your child does not need you to love your body every day. They need to see that self-criticism is not the only option.

What ANTM reveals about 2026

Watching Reality Check now, it is tempting to dismiss ANTM as a relic of a harsher time. But its real legacy is not just the outrageous photoshoots or viral rants. It is the normalisation of relentless body scrutiny, disguised as opportunity.

The question for millennial mums is not whether the show should have been made. It is what we do with what it taught us.

Laura offers a hopeful perspective.

“It’s rare to erase every trace of a pattern, we’re human, and under stress we will always have some old reflexes. But it is possible to change the trajectory for the next generation,” she says.

“Think of it as turning a big ship: you may not be able to spin it around instantly, but even a few degrees’ shift in your generation can mean your children, and their children, are sailing in a very different direction.”

ANTM may have taught us to judge women’s bodies. But as parents, we are in a different role now. We are not on the judging panel. We are setting the tone at home.

And that shift, even if it feels small, could change everything.

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Authors

Ruairidh PritchardDigital Growth Lead

Ruairidh is the Digital Lead on MadeForMums. He works with a team of fantastically talented content creators and subject-matter experts on MadeForMums.

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