Buzzfeed vids: Thigh Gap

[Deleted]

I'm not looking to fat/skinny shame anyone here! I'm curious to know what you all think about the thigh gap.  Personally, I feel like it's presence or lack of shouldn't be a big deal.  As a very skinny child and pre-teen I envied the older girls and women I saw without a thigh gap.  As I got older my thighs continued to get bigger and there is no space between them at all, so I'm happy!  

www.buzzfeed.com/lindabarsi/men-say-what-they-secretly-think-about-thigh-gaps#.fcBgQE7E0

[britterrss]

I think if you have wide set hips and a natural thigh gap, that's fine. I think if you're killing yourself to get a thigh gap, that's absurd.

I'm thin with wide set hips and used to have one as a teen... when I was doing dance like 10 hours per week. Now I love cookies and my thighs touch. A-OK with me.

edited: wording

[fuzzylogic]

::lurking::

I've never had a thigh gap. And I have wide hips but I've always had meaty thighs. It's whatever. Everyone has their own shape and they should embrace it. There is no reason to kill yourself for some social media frenzy about some new body part we're supposed to have/not have (I'm looking at you, thigh gap and bikini bridge.)

[SheilaTheTank]

I absolutely hate the concept of thigh gap. Why is it even a thing? I used to be incredibly skinny and small and I still had no thigh gap. I thought I was fat because I had big thighs. Now I'm overweight and my thighs are pretty big with the circumference of them together being the biggest part on me. I wish the market would focus more on eliminating chub rub then enforcing the ideal thigh gap.

[jags8]

I don't understand why it's a "thing." I mean, if you naturally have one, fine whatever. But I don't see the fuss in trying to achieve one.

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2015 13:46:50 GMT -5 starbuck27 said:

Jun 5, 2015 9:15:01 GMT -5 @marymargaret said:

I'm not looking to fat/skinny shame anyone here! I'm curious to know what you all think about the thigh gap.  Personally, I feel like it's presence or lack of shouldn't be a big deal.  As a very skinny child and pre-teen I envied the older girls and women I saw without a thigh gap.  As I got older my thighs continued to get bigger and there is no space between them at all, so I'm happy!  

What confuses me about your post is that in one breath you say that it shouldn't be a big deal, but then go on to say that your lack of thigh gap in the last few years makes you happy. Which makes me think that you actually do think having the right sized thigh gap is a big deal.

Moving on from that, when I was a kid, my friends were all size 0 and I felt like I was plodding around next to them in my junior size 6. I felt huge compared to them. They could swap clothes all the time, but I couldn't participate because of my build. I wasn't overweight, I was just built differently and FELT overweight because of the people around me.

Growing up, I don't remember anyone talking about a thigh gap, but I do remember a few times standing in front of my mirror and wondering why the fuck I was shaped differently than my tiny friends and sister. My thighs touching were a part of my worry. I really thought it was just me until a few years ago when I read that a lot of young women are developing eating disorders in pursuit of a wider gap. It is an amazingly destructive idea and my heart breaks for all these young girls running around feeling this kind of pressure to achieve total perfection, right down to the gap between their thighs. I mean, Jaysus, this is not ok.

Nowadays, IDGAF whether or not my thighs touch. My value and beauty and self-worth don't fluctuate in correlation to the gap between my thighs. I hope anyone who has that worry is able to overcome it.

I can see how it comes across weird, so my apologies.  

[thechickencoop]

Was that guy in the glasses in the sit or stand video too?? He looks freakishly familiar.

Thigh gap - who cares. I have really muscular thighs. They touch. Know why? Cuz I like to be on top. #squats4lyfe

[mosdub]

If I am speaking (typing?) honestly - the whole thigh gap thing actually affected me for a while. I never thought about it before but once it was called to attention I noticed it more. Fuck media, for real.

I used to have a beanstalk figure (and some would say I still do) though I've put on some more weight. I used to have a "thigh gap" but don't anymore and it bugged me for a while. I've come to accept that our bodies will change, and if you have a thigh gap because that is the way you are - great. If not that's great too.

[swivelchair5]

Here's my story: I have always been bigger, and my thighs have always touched. My sister has always been very thin, and her thighs have always touched. It is just how our legs happen to be attached to our bodies. There is nothing we could do to make it otherwise.

[empireceo]

Jun 5, 2015 10:25:17 GMT -5 fuzzylogic said:

::lurking::

I've never had a thigh gap. And I have wide hips but I've always had meaty thighs. It's whatever. Everyone has their own shape and they should embrace it. There is no reason to kill yourself for some social media frenzy about some new body part we're supposed to have/not have (I'm looking at you, thigh gap and bikini bridge.)

This is a new one.  Off to google.

[akraus2015]

My thighs have never touched and I can honestly say that no one has ever commented on it even once in my life. I've gotten compliments about having nice calves when I was a runner everyday, but never has someone been like "damn girl, nice thighs!" I think it's weird that this is even a thing. People are just built differently. Some peoples earlobes are attached and some aren't. People don't walk around commenting on that...

[adorebel]

Jun 5, 2015 10:25:17 GMT -5 fuzzylogic said:

::lurking::

I've never had a thigh gap. And I have wide hips but I've always had meaty thighs. It's whatever. Everyone has their own shape and they should embrace it. There is no reason to kill yourself for some social media frenzy about some new body part we're supposed to have/not have (I'm looking at you, thigh gap and bikini bridge.)

Oh wow. I have also never heard of a bikini bridge. Apparently it was a hoax created by 4chan... for no reason? All of this shit that dictates the "right" way for anyone's body to look is so stupid, IMO. 

www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/a-bunch-of-internet-trolls-are-trying-to-make-bikinibridges#.deRLwkLoX

[helloerrbody]

***Trigger Warning, ED mentioned***



When I was in college, I struggled with anorexia, and I was OBSESSED with having a thigh gap. It was sad.

[ghostmonkey]

My mom's mom was always preaching that girls should be able to fit a quarter between their thighs. I have narrow hips and big quads (even when I'm not actively trying to make them even bigger). This was never a thing for me. Fortunately my dad's side had a better outlook on what was appropriate for my figure (since I'm build like that side of the family).

Some people have one. That's fine. Everyone is built different. It should not be used as a measure of someone's beauty/thinness/whatever.

[jags8]

Huh...bikini bridge...interesting. I get that when I'm laying down. I didn't know that was a "thing." I don't like it. Not for any vanity reasons, simply because I'm like "oh god can people see down my swimsuit?!"

[Deleted]

I don't care about a thigh gap, I just want a big booty like Jennifer Lopez

[Deleted]

fuzzylogic, I didn't know "bikini bridge" was a thing! I have one, like jags8, and I also thought people might be able to see down my suit. I can't believe someone would do through all that trouble to create a hoax like that.

helloerrbody, I'm sad to hear about your ED I hope you are doing better nowadays!

[helloerrbody]

Jun 7, 2015 18:20:08 GMT -5 @marymargaret said:

fuzzylogic, I didn't know "bikini bridge" was a thing! I have one, like jags8, and I also thought people might be able to see down my suit. I can't believe someone would do through all that trouble to create a hoax like that.

helloerrbody, I'm sad to hear about your ED I hope you are doing better nowadays!

I am, thank you!    Def do not have a thigh gap now and know I never will and that's just fine!

[cheshie6]

Jun 7, 2015 15:38:47 GMT -5 @sangriapirate said:

I don't care about a thigh gap, I just want a big booty like Jennifer Lopez

J.Lo doesn't have thigh gap!   Beyonce doesn't but even struggled with it to the point she photoshopped her photos.

My opinion is like all the others, not every body is built the same. My sister has always been a size 4-6 for as long as I can remember (with the exception of her pregnancies) and she doesn't have thigh gap (and she was in a bikini 6 months after giving birth to my nephew)  I've struggled with my weight and even at my smallest, no gap!

I don't pay it no mind, but worry that younger girls will use this as another measuring stick to say they aren't good enough!  Do guys have these things that they have to measure up to?

[jags8]

Jun 7, 2015 20:10:46 GMT -5 cheshie6 said:

Jun 7, 2015 15:38:47 GMT -5 @sangriapirate said:

I don't care about a thigh gap, I just want a big booty like Jennifer Lopez

J.Lo doesn't have thigh gap!   Beyonce doesn't but even struggled with it to the point she photoshopped her photos.

My opinion is like all the others, not every body is built the same. My sister has always been a size 4-6 for as long as I can remember (with the exception of her pregnancies) and she doesn't have thigh gap (and she was in a bikini 6 months after giving birth to my nephew)  I've struggled with my weight and even at my smallest, no gap!

I don't pay it no mind, but worry that younger girls will use this as another measuring stick to say they aren't good enough!  Do guys have these things that they have to measure up to?

Body image and eating disorders are becoming more and more prevalent in males. I don't think there is as much pressure on them from society as there is on females, but it definitely exists. How do we see men in magazine ads? Tan, chiseled, well-endowed...

[adorebel]

Jun 7, 2015 20:56:56 GMT -5 jags8 said:

Jun 7, 2015 20:10:46 GMT -5 cheshie6 said:

J.Lo doesn't have thigh gap!   Beyonce doesn't but even struggled with it to the point she photoshopped her photos.

My opinion is like all the others, not every body is built the same. My sister has always been a size 4-6 for as long as I can remember (with the exception of her pregnancies) and she doesn't have thigh gap (and she was in a bikini 6 months after giving birth to my nephew)  I've struggled with my weight and even at my smallest, no gap!

I don't pay it no mind, but worry that younger girls will use this as another measuring stick to say they aren't good enough!  Do guys have these things that they have to measure up to?

Body image and eating disorders are becoming more and more prevalent in males. I don't think there is as much pressure on them from society as there is on females, but it definitely exists. How do we see men in magazine ads? Tan, chiseled, well-endowed...

I fully agree that there's increasing pressure on men to look a certain way. However, part of what's so damaging are these little phrases like "bubble butt" or "thigh gap" - concrete, repeatable bits of language that we internalize as we repeat them. And there far are more of these little phrases for body parts aimed at women. I can't think of any for men other than "six pack abs," which can apply to girls as well. The fact that one of them - "bikini bridge" - was invented by 4chan for reasons I don't even understand (just to fuck with women?) is really pathetic. 

[SheilaTheTank]

4chan "created" bikini bridge to show how fucking ridiculous it was to make body image ideals such as thigh gap.

They didn't do it to fuck with women or to oppress them further. It was done tongue in cheek. It backfired and the internetz did a collective "well, fuck"

[adorebel]

Jun 7, 2015 22:02:49 GMT -5 SheilaTheTank said:

4chan "created" bikini bridge to show how fucking ridiculous it was to make body image ideals such as thigh gap.

They didn't do it to fuck with women or to oppress them further. It was done tongue in cheek. It backfired and the internetz did a collective "well, fuck"

Oh. The article I linked to didn't seem to explain why they did it, and the original 4chan post, at least what I've seen of it, doesn't explain it either. Do you know of any pieces that go into it? 

[SheilaTheTank]

Jun 7, 2015 22:12:38 GMT -5 adorebel said:

Jun 7, 2015 22:02:49 GMT -5 SheilaTheTank said:

4chan "created" bikini bridge to show how fucking ridiculous it was to make body image ideals such as thigh gap.

They didn't do it to fuck with women or to oppress them further. It was done tongue in cheek. It backfired and the internetz did a collective "well, fuck"

Oh. The article I linked to didn't seem to explain why they did it, and the original 4chan post, at least what I've seen of it, doesn't explain it either. Do you know of any pieces that go into it? 

I'll see if I can find it again. I read about it a long time ago. That and it's known within the internet community. 

[adorebel]

Jun 7, 2015 22:14:01 GMT -5 SheilaTheTank said:

Jun 7, 2015 22:12:38 GMT -5 adorebel said:

Oh. The article I linked to didn't seem to explain why they did it, and the original 4chan post, at least what I've seen of it, doesn't explain it either. Do you know of any pieces that go into it? 

I'll see if I can find it again. I read about it a long time ago. That and it's known within the internet community. 

Cool thanks. I had never even heard of it. Everything I can find says it was a "hoax" or a "prank," but nothing that suggests it was a deliberate cultural critique.

[SheilaTheTank]

Jun 7, 2015 22:19:19 GMT -5 adorebel said:

Jun 7, 2015 22:14:01 GMT -5 SheilaTheTank said:

I'll see if I can find it again. I read about it a long time ago. That and it's known within the internet community. 

Cool thanks. I had never even heard of it. Everything I can find says it was a "hoax" or a "prank," but nothing that suggests it was a deliberate cultural critique.

knowyourmeme.com/memes/bikini-bridge

www.dailydot.com/lol/bikini-bridge-4chan-hoax/


It was a troll. The only reason they would troll that is because they know society is too fucking stupid to realize it is idiotic. Again, people who were part of this internet community knew it wasn't real and that the intention wasn't cruel. 

[adorebel]

Jun 7, 2015 22:23:34 GMT -5 SheilaTheTank said:

Jun 7, 2015 22:19:19 GMT -5 adorebel said:

Cool thanks. I had never even heard of it. Everything I can find says it was a "hoax" or a "prank," but nothing that suggests it was a deliberate cultural critique.

knowyourmeme.com/memes/bikini-bridge

www.dailydot.com/lol/bikini-bridge-4chan-hoax/


It was a troll. The only reason they would troll that is because they know society is too fucking stupid to realize it is idiotic. Again, people who were part of this internet community knew it wasn't real and that the intention wasn't cruel. 

Thanks. So crazy! I came in here oblivious to this term, and now I know about it. Even though it isn't real. The internet is weird.

ETA: These links don't suggest that it was a critique of culture, merely a prank, or someone trolling, as you say. It's indeed idiotic that it would get picked up by other media, though.