I thought that society was at a point where beautiful didn’t mean skinny until I heard about the phenomenon of the “thigh gap” – defined as the space between your thighs when you stand with your knees touching. The fact that there are people who define beautiful by the amount of space between your thighs is hard for me to understand. Beauty is NOT defined by size, let alone thigh gaps and this new standard that girls are trying to achieve is not ok.
The thigh gap obsession at one time only consumed the models world, where they were all expected to have a dramatic thigh gap to accompany their protruding ribs and gaunt faces. It makes sense that in this image-obsessed culture we live in today thigh gaps have become the latest obsession of our youth. There is an excess of images on Tumblr that glorify the thigh gap and just a simple search of the phrase on Google will lead you to Pinterest pages dedicated to the thigh gap. You can even follow Cara Delevingne’s thigh gap on Twitter. I’m sorry, but what?!
It is important to note that thigh gaps are a result of each person’s skeletal structure. For girls with naturally wide hips there is a greater chance of having a thigh gap because of how far apart their legs are set. For girls with narrow hips it is almost impossible to be healthy and have a thigh gap. Experts say that all the images on the Internet can lead to self-destructive behavior, especially since a thigh gap is, for most girls, “an unrealistic standard of beauty.” Girls with narrow hips need to literally starve themselves to obtain a thigh gap so the fact that the thigh gap is glorified in our society is disturbing.
A thigh gap does not make one beautiful. Starving yourself to have stick thin legs is certainly not beautiful. Strong, healthy legs are beautiful and if that means you have a thigh gap or not it really doesn’t matter. If you think that a boy is going to think you are any more beautiful with a thigh gap you are definitely wrong. I doubt they even notice your thigh gap or lack of one for that matter. If you look back through all the Campus Cuties and what they look for in a girl you don’t see anything about wanting a super skinny girl. Boys want a girl with confidence, a great personality, someone who is kind or has a pretty smile. Guess what, these can all be achieved without a thigh gap!
There are so many absolutely gorgeous women that live life sans the unhealthy looking thigh gap; and what do you know, they are doing just fine without it. Look at Beyoncé, Mindy Kaling, Adele, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Upton, the Kardashians (I’m sorry as annoying as they may be they are beautiful) and so many more. The beauty that all these women exude without a thigh gap present should be enough to convince everyone that thigh gaps are a ludicrous expression of beautiful.
So, all I have to say to those who include a thigh gap in their definition of beauty is you don’t know what true beauty really is. Be healthy, happy and confident because that is what makes a woman beautiful.
Sources:
http://smellslikegirlriot.tumb…
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/28/robyn-lawley-thigh-gap_n_4171525.html