Bertie Brandes of Vice has some criticism of the thigh gap. However, her criticism seems to focus more on the unattractive nature of the thigh gap rather than the mob mentality behind the thigh gap movement. She calls the thigh gap "just a very clear sign that the owner of said gap is depriving themselves of food" and, finally, a signal that your repulsively skinny body is underweight, questioning "Why can't overweight people pioneer a fashion trend for once?" While Brandes is well-intentioned, she's misguided in her criticism; the real problem is the fact that thigh gaps are just another product of the body image beast and that the body image phenomenon has been going on for centuries. Fat, thin, curvy, tall, petite: they've all been the ideal body type, and girls have been pressured to fit all of them.
If Brandes intends on waging war again her perceived lack of overweight fashion trends, then perhaps she should read a textbook.The ideal Renaissance woman was far "more voluptuous then any other time in history. Paintings from this era depict women who would be considered overweight by todays standards," which was based on the logic that fatter=more food=richer=sexier. The 1930s to 50s encouraged a curvier figure, making skinny girls scramble to gain weight, as seen by these ads below.
In these ads, skinny girls are viewed as meager skeletons compared to the curvier women and are encouraged to find ways to add "attractive pounds and inches" if "they want to be popular." Is this curvy image an overweight one like the Renaissance? No. Is it demanding and given at birth to a select group of women? Yes. A study in 2005 showed that just 8% of women possess such a figure.
Unrealistic expectations have always been placed on body image, and women have always been pressured into altering their body images to fit the ideal. Thigh gaps and a skinny body are just another trend. If you want to criticize thigh gaps, then keep in mind that the problem isn't about skinny girls, it's about the fact that society doesn't accept multiple body types as the ideal at one time.
Wow, very interesting. How did you find this? I am the author of the soon to be released book "The Thigh Gap Hack" (google it or visit http://www.thighgaphack.com) and came across your article this way.
ReplyDeleteI get that you are haying only a small percentage of women are capable of attaining a thigh gap, but as a coach specializing in helping women achieve slender/slim frames I can attest to this not being true. If the body fat is low enough, a slight to medium gap will be seen on women with narrow hips.
The best part, you don't have to starve yourself or exercise like mad to do this. Of course, some discipline is required but athletes, bikini models, and body builders are able to lean out without harming themselves every day.
I'd love to send you a copy of my book for review if you'd like or do some type of guest post.
Wow! That's really interesting. I found out about thigh gaps in February, but didn't really give it attention until now. There's a lot of extremes for and against thigh gaps. Some groups are willing to starve themselves (!!!!!!) and others are hell-bent on shaming anyone with a thigh gap. I believe that the real issue is that society needs to be more accepting of different body types and of the people who want to change themselves in a healthy way. I find your approach to the thigh gap extremely reasonable. Would you be willing to do a guest post?
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