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IT’S THE LATEST weight loss craze among American teens striving to emulate the models they see in magazines: the “thigh gap”, in which slender legs, when standing with feet together, do not touch.
Experts say the cost of what teens see as an ideal body shape – but really is for most unattainable – is self-esteem problems that can lead to eating disorders, depression and even suicide.
On Tumblr, Pinterest and Facebook, “thigh gap” photos abound: close-ups of sometimes unbearably skinny legs published by young girls eager to show off their success – or bemoan what they see as a failure to whittle away fat.
“My thigh gap is huge,” brags a Tumblr user with the handle foster-the-beatles. Another user, skinnysizezero, cheers her fellow dieters on, saying: “Together we can lose weight. Together we can be skinny.”
“Together we can be a size zero with a beautiful thigh gap and flat stomach. Together we can be happy and finally say that we love our bodies,” her post pledges. Another poster, elleskyyy, said she felt better when she “realized I’m getting a thigh gap.” Meanwhile, a user called “starving for perfection” complained about her “mediocre/nonexistent thigh gap” and flagellated herself for her “fatfatfatfat.”
Amplified by social media
Experts say the obsession with leg shape is not new, but has been dramatically amplified by social media websites and their 24/7 influence on the lives of American teens.
The fan Twitter account Cara’s Thigh Gap, is dedicated to the extreme slenderness of British model Cara Delevingne, while dozens of Facebook pages and websites propose diets and exercise regimes to achieve the almighty gap.
But clinical psychologist Barbara Greenberg warned that for most women, the “thigh gap” is a pipe dream, even via extreme dieting and exercise. She said:
Most women are not built that way to have that space between their thighs. It is a matter of bone structure which the majority of women do not have.
For teenagers, adopting what Greenberg called an “unrealistic obsession” can be dangerous – increasing pressures that can lead to depression, even suicidal behaviour, as well as to severe eating disorders, which can cause lasting brain and bone damage.
Common theme
Indeed, starvation diets – and self-loathing – are a common theme on the “thigh gap” pages of young girls.
“Yesterday i had 380 calories but then i ate candys so much that my calorie number switch to ca. 650…. faaaaaaaaaaaaaat,” writes Anastasia, a young German girl, on Tumblr, who prays: “Please God let me be skinny.”
The World Health Organisation recommends a daily intake of around 2,500 calories to support the energy needs of a growing teenage girl.
Shannon Snapp, a sociologist at the University of Arizona, blames magazines, movies and television for spreading the “thin ideal,” and urges consumers to stop buying into it.
“That message is internalised by young women and girls: if you want to be successful, if you want to be liked, this is the way you should look,” Snapp said – “thin everywhere except for their breasts.”
Teenage girls are probably the most likely to be feeling the pressure to look that particular way, because they are going through puberty: for the first time, they are compared to adult women.
Likewise, San Jose State University sociologist Natalie Boero said the skinny-obsessed “are looking for social acceptance and to fit in.”
“Young women are aware that in a sexist and sizeist culture, their bodies are their currency, and they are looking to increase their perceived social value,” she added.
Linking body size with social status
That’s not how the teenagers themselves always see it, however. One girl, “mannddda,” declares on Tumblr: “I hate when people tell me I’m dumb for wanting a thigh gap and to be skinny. It’s not for anyone else but ME. I wanna look in the mirror and be happy for MYSELF & NO ONE ELSE.”
But sociologists say there is an unmistakable trend linking body size with social status.
Abigail Saguy, a body image expert at the University of California, Los Angeles, told AFP: “Attaining thinness is a way of signaling elite social status.” But, worse than that, “fatness not only connotates low social status, but it may predict low social status.”
“Studies show that heavier girls and women are less likely to get hired and when they are hired, they are paid less,” Saguy said, adding that larger women are also less likely to marry.
Counter movement
However, a counter movement against the “thigh gap” is building, with girls also taking to social media to mock the obsession.
One YouTube video, “5 Ways to Fake a Thigh Gap,” posted by “tadelesmith,” suggests, for example, that girls who want a gap between their thighs should move their legs apart.
And on Twitter, Common White Girl declares herself relieved that her thighs touch, saying: “Not having a thigh gap saved my phone from falling in the toilet.”
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Bandy we used to call that..
All I read was big gap
I would have thought the gap between their ears where a bigger problem
Everyone is beautiful to someone no matter what weight, gender, race or creed.
Ah there are some mingers out there though
Especially the ones who don’t put a photo on their profile !!
On fire tonight Lauren.
Watching some NFL at the moment. Check out the cheerleaders. Often derided, but very fit and healthy bodies. Proper role models.
This is awful I feel sorry for teenagers these days. It was hard enough when I as a teen but I can see it’s worse now with social media. What is so attractive about a gap between the thighs ? Personally I love strong bodies that have lean muscle and good curves. The gap seems to be on girls that are naturally quite thin anyway with no meat on their bones. I’d hate to be skinny, I like having curves and strong legs. I feel womanly and I don’t think I would if I was a long skinny beanpole. But in fairness it took me a long time to realise that skinny is not sexy. Confidence is sexy. A nice smile is sexy. A gap between the thighs is not sexy.
I agree.
Agree Lauren. Jesus can’t believe there is an article about the gap. The pressure on young girls and boys to fit an ideal is immense. It’s a pity young bodies don’t come with old heads. The need to be perfect is all consuming for many girls amd women. Getting older is great. The older you get the less of a shit you give about fitting into the norms in society.
A gap between the thighs is sexy for some…….and if women want to look that way, all the power in the world to them, isn’t that what feminism is about?
Well Michael I’m no fan of feminism either {at least not pseudo feminism} – but we’re talking about industries taking advantage of kids – young girls and boys – for financial reasons. Big difference.
No, Michael, in this case it’s what anorexia is all about..
I disagree Bronagh. We’re not talking about Anorexia really – but we are talking about negative physical health consequences and problems that develop as a result of girls dieting and not eating in the first place to achieve that. Those will be far more common than Anorexia..
And psychological problems too.
@Lauren. Do you not find it outrageous that you can refer to skinny women as “skinny beanpoles” anymore than I could refer to overweight women as “fat sandwiches”.
In fact if you read this thread it seems it’s fine to attack people because they don’t have enough weight. Round and round we go.
And starving themselves to achieve the unachievable. Why are you arguing with me, Niall? Surely we’re both in agreement that this is a negative thing? Leave it at that and pick a worthier fight.
It’s a little bit upsetting to refer to skinny girls as “beanpoles”. There’s a big difference between natural skinniness and being underweight. I’m sure most of us here know that but when names and labels like this are being spread around, it seems kinda unfair that a young women who’s conscious about her weight may stumble across this kind of name-calling and feel that she’s being bullied or attacked.
Being thin can be sexy, curves can be sexy. The issues are the unrealistic views and the pressures that are being put on women to look a certain way. But reverting to name-calling in either direction is hardly the way to inspire.
@Niall, Girls often who fanatically diet to lose weight can very often progress to being anorexic.
it all revolves around the need to severely restrict calorie intake ,
this in turn becomes sub-consciously “normal” ,and no amount of effort from others will change that.
the problem must then be referred to a GP, a therapist and a Dietician , before the underlying issues
lead to severe health problems and death.
Catwalk models look weird and very unsexy. Im one hundred % for gay rights but Ill never forgive gay designers if they have had any influence in seeking out models that look like teenage boys, they are the most unsexy yokes
I’ve always thought that too Silverharp. Never found models attractive. Never found many Hollywood women attractive either. Never understood the fascination with make up, nor do I want to. The natural look is best imo.
Put clothes they wear at the show on a normal, curvy woman and they will never look good because they aren’t made for real women and designers don’t anticipate shapes As you said it’s like looking at a buch of awkward boys with long hair and make up.
I’m all for healthy eating and less of junk but size 0 is not my thing at all
@Monika.
One of the biggest cancers in society is advertising. It’s far more immediate than fashion shows. TV shows of course play a part, as does the music industry – but at least those are obvious and you can switch them off. Advertising on the other hand is far more pervasive. If you never watched TV, and I watch very little, and some people have gotten rid of theirs these days and I don’t blame them, radios too. But, you cannot avoid advertising no matter what. Walk through any city centre and the bombardment of how you should look is all encompassing.
I agree We live in a world where looks seem more and more important and unfortunately for the teenage girls size zero is promoted everywhere. I have a 20 year old sister who’s constantly on a diet and no matter what we say she thinks she has to be slimmer in order to fit in with her friends
Mind you Monika if you went to any art gallery you’d likely find most of the women in the paintings are full bodied or as I’ve heard it said “pleasantly plump”. Go back a 150 years and thin women were considered the equivalent of overweight women now in terms of ‘attractiveness’. In fact if you went back 2,000 years I’m pretty certain you’d find the same thing {but I stand open to correction on that}.
I’m 36 now, and I remember Pamela Anderson became a big hit when I was in my early to mid teens. All of use schoolboys to fancy her, and Cindy Crawford was a big hit at the time too. Yet a short few years later I’d see both of them on TV etc and I wouldn’t be in the slightest bit attracted to either. Maybe it was just teenage boy hormones but a short few years later my tastes changed. How much of it was just hormones, how much of it was learned attraction, how much of it was actual attraction I do not know. I was also attracted to thin girls back then in my schooldays. Really attracted. The skinnier the better. Yet I’m not now. Funny how even attraction tastes change change as you move through different phases.
Sorry Monika – that last post I accidentally posted a little too early and didn’t proof read first. But you’ll get the gist of it.
I see you’re a little more lucid tonight, Niall.
Touche Lucinda:)
remember when girls were told to keep legs together!must be getting old.
I do Nigel, and yes – you’re getting old my friend :)
It all comes down to honesty – people aren’t honest. They’re repressed.
@Lucinda. So can I take you’ve left the IT too? Have you seen the new comments system in the last few weeks? Disaster. what were they thinking? Bad to worse, such a shame. I’ve been trying hard to get 4 or 5 hardcore posters from the IT to make the switch but as Con/John said “I’ll go down with the ship”.
I’d expect they’ll turn up here soon.
Just about.
Men definitely celebrate this shape too, though. Just google “dat gap” to see what I mean.
Come back rickets, all is forgiven!
Thigh gap is well talked about here in Irish secondary schools.
I also remember it being talked about when I was a teen. But back then it was used as a form of bullying, any girl with a gap between her thighs was referred to as a slut as she liked the have lots of sex. The girl could have been a virgin but that’s the ‘mean girl’s’ mentality. Pull anyone down if they ate prettier or skinnier.
Off topic but I knew it wouldn’t be long until I’d see Cara Delevigne’s face cropping up on the Journal. The media in London seem absolutely obsessed with her; I was reading the Metro one morning (sinful, I know) and counted her mentioned in five different articles. Enough!!
Oh don’t worry the media will eventually push her “stardom” in our faces
Was thinking the same, Ann-Marie. Can’t stand the sight of her!
T’is like the Kate Moss epidemic of 1994.
Except Kate Moss deserved the hype. Cara is just a plain girl (in my opinion) born will a silver spoon in her mouth and the world open to her.
I didn’t know Athy had a Gap.
Her name is Sally!
As I heard a doctor on TV lately…
Half the world is starving and the other half is starving themselves.
Size zero modellling should be banned.
Just looked it up, jaysus id be afraid of snapping all those motts in half , thigh gap is just weird .
Seriously though, this very worrying. I just looked it up and these young girls really have a distorted view on what is “normal”. I’m starting to panic now as my daughters will soon be heading into their teen years.
It is not the shape you are it’s the shape you are in. If you exercise a few times a week and don’t eat crap( ie anything that comes in a shiny wrapper ) you will be in good shape and probably be quite happy with yourself
Social media allows rotten Hollywood cultural values to spread like a pleague. First McDonalds with its artery clogging gut busting food followed by cultural messages that help create eating disorders and low self esteem. Why so much of the world want’s to emulate America is beyond me.
It’s actually just the box gap which is a small one created by really muscley and toned legs that looks good, this thigh gap as somebody else said is a glamorous name for bandy legs.
These girls grew up playing with Barbies who, if they were real women, would be unable to walk or menstruated because of their impossible figure. Then they read teen fashion magazines and were surrounded by images of thin women’s bodies selling things. This is what teenage girls are up against in the struggle for a positive self-image.
“Heidi Montag from ‘the hills’ a healthy 7st 10lbs.” Courtesy of heat magazine.
It’s horrifying to think young woman are going to extreme measures to achieve this look. The comments are also interesting, condemning social media for using women with a certain physique to advertise their products as it’s some how insulting to the curvier woman (I agree all sizes should be advertised), it is no excuse to insult woman with a natural slender body. Many of the comments are extremely insensitive, irresponsible and offensive to woman who are not curvaceous!
That counter Facebook page is the way to go, Ridicule is the answer to all bullying as this certainly is, make it look Ridiculous and maybe save kids lives.
Is ‘The Chive’ parrtly responsable? Their ‘mind the gap’ photo series becoming asperational??
Can’t see this becoming an issue over hear Irish women like there spuds too much
Spuds aside, it is happening.
Padraic, ” spuds ” are almost zero fat. eat as much as you like/
Mind the gap!
From the scriptures of the good book
“Toblerone tunnel
n. The gap, triangular in cross section, between the tops of a slender women’s thighs and her skin gusset, into which the popular confection would slide neatly”
My understanding of the female form is the above is how it’s supposed to look like, this thigh gap as described in the article sounds like a look very popular in Ethiopia in the 1980′s.
You American Martin.
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