Last year, women were fixated with the thigh gap, finding every way to maintain it. The “thigh gap” is considered to be the gap that is formed between your thighs when standing up. Absurd articles such as “5 Ways to Get the Thigh Gap,” and “The Thigh Gap Workout” were created and read by millions of women. There was even a huge controversy with Lululemon when women noticed that their yoga pants became see-through. The founder of luxury yoga-wear maker Lululemon then responded by saying how “some women’s bodies just don’t actually work for it… It’s about the rubbing through the thighs and how much pressure is there.” After this, there was an outrage among customers over social media against Wilson’s perspective. Many parents and health specialists have been worried with the trend of young women starving themselves to obtain the gap between their thighs when their ankles touch. After Wilson’s offensive comment about his yoga pants struck fury, Wilson sent out a video of apology to his costumers. But, of course, as soon as the “thigh gap” phenomenon died down, social media comes up with another way for women to obsess over their body image with the “bikini bridge.” What’s next?!
The “bikini bridge” is a term for the space you get between your bathing suit bottom and your hipbones when you lie down. This label started out by being a hoax from the website “4chan” to create a body trend and make it go viral. They did so by creating fake celebrity tweets like Katy Perry and Harry Styles supporting the “bikini bridge,” BuzzFeed lists and etc. Well, they succeeded. Now, there are Tumblrs, Tweets, Instagrams and Blogs both in support of and against the label.
What I found to be the most concerning was the twitter account “@BikiniBridge” where the caption states, “Ladies, send us pics of your bikini bridges with the hashtag #bikinibridge for a retweet.” These trends on social media are just sending unhealthy ways for women to be concerned about their body. Women will think that if they do not have this “bikini bridge” or even “thigh gap,” they are overweight. Please ladies, do not believe this.
Don’t be one of those girls who is determined to obtain these labels due to a fear of being criticized for being overweight. The notion that if you don’t have them, you are overweight is not true. It is actually scientificially proven that some girls are just born with the thigh gap, or the “bikini bridge” genetically! Of course, it is totally okay to be more invovled in your fitness and to become a healthier person. But, keep in mind that not having these body terms doesn’t mean you are fat.