The 2000s were an absolutely iconic year for fashion, drama, celebrities, pop-culture, and media. In recent years, 2000s trends have made a resurgence online, especially on TikTok. A subculture or aesthetic called Y2K has made rounds online, becoming a well known clothing style and music genre. Many music artists from that era have also made a comeback, including Avril Lavign, Shakira, Eminem, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, and other iconic artists. Fashion subcultures under the aesthetic referred to as Y2K have also become very popular; people have started dressing in styles like Scene, McBling, et cetera. Another 2000s style that originated in Korea called Acubi has become popular, although its proper name is Cyber Grunge.
This trend of the reappearance of older or vintage fashion has become a pattern. Similarly to the Renaissance, when old art styles and beliefs resurfaced, culture from the late 90s and early to mid 2000s have become very trendy again. Along with fashion, 2000s TV shows and movies have made a reappearance in recent years. Chick Flicks have also become quite popular, with movies like Clueless, Legally Blonde, Mean Girls, 10 Things I Hate About You, and many more. Horror movies such as 28 Days Later, Saw (ongoing), American Psycho, Scary Movie, The Hills Have Eyes, et cetera.
All this talk of the positive parts of the 2000s is not to say that there were not any flaws. The 2000s had extremely toxic and harmful beauty standards and bullying, all related to the beginning of the internet. The “ideal” female body in the 2000s was extremely skinny and toned, with minimal curves. In the 2020s, the ideal female body is curvy with an hourglass figure, unlike the borderline unhealthy beauty standards of the 2000s. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, eating disorder rates jumped from 3.5% to 7.8% between the years 2000 and 2018.
In conclusion, Y2K culture is very much glamorized and admired by teenagers today, and supplies adults with nostalgia from their childhood and teen years. Every decade has its good and bad parts, but the return of Y2K culture goes to show the massive impact the past can have on current day society.