WHETHER it's a desire for a flat stomach, bigger breasts or a lower body mass index, many young girls are no strangers to struggling with body image pressures. And the thigh gap, is the latest obsession to hit the teenage angst internet forums.
The thigh gap, for those who don’t know, is when you stand straight with your knees together and see a space between your upper thighs. It’s this space or ‘thigh gap’ that’s what thousands of girls are fixated over and willing to go to great lengths to gain. Vice magazine is calling it the ‘the cleavage of the tumblr age, and it f**king sucks.’
They make a valid point.
Visit Twitter and, alarmingly, you can follow supermodel Cara Delevingne's thigh gap (@CarasThighGap). The fan Twitter page is followed by the model herself who told Grazia 'I think @CarasThighGap is pretty funny.'
"It is not an industry requirement for models to have a one or two inch space between their legs and when recruiting models, we are looking on the whole for a healthy, fit and toned appearance, a body that is in proportion, irrelevant of a thigh gap."
Type ‘thigh gap’ into Google and you will be presented with thousands of images on Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest of this new body obsession with hash tags including, #Ineedthis, #Iwantthis, and #Iwanttobeher.
@CarasThighGapSpurred on by today’s image-driven society and intensified by social media, young women say it is also the result of peer pressure and trying to impress members of the opposite sex. Facebook has thigh gap appreciation groups, all with a high percentage of male followers and therefore adding more pressure on trying to achieve an often unattainable supermodel look.
Modelling agencies are also taking the brunt of the blame.
Lauren Mellor at Manchester model agency Boss Models, explained that having a thigh gap is certainly not prerequisite in the modelling industry. Rather the right personality with healthy clear skin and hair, good bone structure and a great smile.
She said: "A thigh gap is naturally unachievable unless you have been born that way; catwalk models are naturally tall and slim. A proportion of models have a thigh gap, which is governed by the model’s natural genetic frame and how wide the hips sit.
"It is not an industry requirement for models to have a one or two inch space between their legs and when recruiting models, we are looking on the whole for a healthy, fit and toned appearance, a body that is in proportion, irrelevant of a thigh gap. Having a thigh gap is not going to equate to a booking.
"We know that any kind of obsession is unhealthy and the message that must be portrayed to young people is that everybody is different. It is important to keep mindfully fit and healthy, not just for appearance but for overall wellbeing."
The internet is packed with unhealthy thigh gap diets, and some devotees to the quest are even resorting to thigh gap lipoglaze, a £600 treatment where a vacuum-like device is placed on the inner thigh. The head then gently sucks the fat, warms the skin up and freezes it to minus 10 degrees Celcius. The frozen fat cells pass through the body naturally as waste products.
Harley Street cosmetic clinic LoveLite, has reported a 240 per cent rise in demand for lipoglaze treatment to emulate the thigh gap.
Lipoglaze
Camille Hugh, author of The Thigh Gap Hack said: "Women and girls have been wanting slimmer and more toned thighs for ages as many view it as a very feminine and appealing body shape compared to more muscular or thicker legs."
"Having a thigh gap is not the most important thing in the grand scheme of things. Where critics and I differ is that I believe you can focus on the gap in between the ears as well as the ones between your legs. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.
"It's only important to have a thigh gap if that is the aesthetic you prefer for yourself. For some people, achieving a gap which can vary widely from a small space to a larger one, makes them feel sexier, confident, more feminine, etc.
"We all have the right to shape our bodies in a way that we deem beautiful; though it is best to go about doing it in a healthy manner."
