Thigh gap

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In humans, a thigh gap is a gap between the thighs when standing upright with both feet touching.[1] Some women aspire to this for reasons of a perceived increase in attractiveness. According to The Times of India, few women are able to attain thigh gaps naturally and attempts to attain one typically involve unhealthy diets.[2]

Background

There are two ways of achieving a thigh gap. One of these is genetically; some people are at a genetic disposition, whereas it is still possible to attain without the genetic disposition.[1] Many women are unable to attain a thigh gap due to bone structure and genetic make-up.[3] For instance, those who have narrow hips cannot obtain a thigh gap.[4] Generally women with healthy muscle definition cannot obtain a thigh gap, even if they have wide hips.[3]

The phrase and subject became a topic of widespread news coverage in 2013,[2] spawning hundreds of blogs, Twitter accounts and memes in the West.[2]

Opinions

The topic has raised the ire of parental experts and counsellors, who have formed anti-thigh gap movements including Tumblr sites Touching Thighs and No Thigh Gap.[2] The Times of India called it "mania".[5]

In the The Observer (London) journalist Rosie Swash called the thigh gap "widespread, harmful and often unachievable".[6] Columnist Hadley Freeman called it the "most extreme body fixation yet".[7]

Specialists have called achieving it "risky and virtually impossible"[3] and have attributed its rise to social media. Claire Mysko, the woman responsible for teen outreach and digital media for the National Eating Disorders Association, has said that experts believe "exposure to online images of extreme beauty standards and the drive to compare does increase the risk of developing eating disorders".[3]

British model Cara Delevingne has a Twitter account (set up by a fan) dedicated to her thigh gap;[8] Delevingne has called this "pretty funny".[9] Australian plus-size model Robyn Lawley has hit out at the thigh gap trend, denouncing it as "just another tool of manipulation that other people are trying to use to keep me from loving my body".[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hugh, Camille (30 June 2013). "What is the thigh gap?". The Thigh Gap Hack: The Shortcut to Slimmer, Feminine Thighs Every Woman Secretly Desires. The Feminine Contour Publishing. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Chandrasekharan, Gitanjali (31 October 2013). "Why thigh gap is so important to women". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 November 2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "'Thigh gap': Eating disorder experts slam social media for fuelling dangerous trend". Daily Mail. Retrieved 11 November 2013. 
  4. ↑ "Teen Talk: Obsession over 'thigh gaps' leads to unhealthy practices". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 12 November 2013. 
  5. ↑ "Now girls aim for gap between inner thighs!". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 December 2013. 
  6. ↑ Rosie Swash (3 November 2013). "How the 'thigh gap' became the latest pressure point on a woman's self-image". The Observer (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved 7 November 2013. 
  7. ↑ Hadley Freeman (4 November 2013). "Ask Hadley: The thigh-gap obsession is not new but it's the most extreme body fixation yet". The Guardian (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved 7 November 2013. 
  8. ↑ "CarasThighGap". Twitter. Retrieved 11 November 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Cara Delevingne Talks Rihanna & Victoria's Secret at the British Fashion Awards 2012: VIDEO INTERVIEW". Grazia Daily. Retrieved 12 November 2013. 
  10. ↑ "Robin Lawley: 'Why the dangerous thigh gap trend makes me mad'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 11 November 2013. 
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