A thigh gap is a space between the inner thighs of some women when standing upright with knees touching. [1]
In the 21st century, some people in the West have begun to consider the thigh gap a special feature of physical attractiveness and physical fitness in women. [2] [3]
In the United States, it was reported that among teenage girls, a gap had become a beauty ideal. [4] Many women have found it difficult to achieve a thigh gap, leading some to resort to extreme dieting [5] or surgery [6] in order to try to obtain it. [7] Critics of the phenomenon have pointed out that the thigh gap is a physical feature natural only for women with a certain type of body shape and bone structure that most women do not have. Experts say[ which? ] that attempts to attain the unattainable ideal result in problems of self-esteem that can lead to eating disorders. [8]
The thigh gap first received widespread news coverage in December 2012 after the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show [9] which featured several models with noticeable thigh gaps. Images of thigh gaps featured in "thinspiration" blogs [10] and across social networking sites. [11]
In 2013, author Camille Hugh published her book The Thigh Gap Hack, [12] and in June 2013 she was interviewed about the book on The Dr. Oz Show . [13] The book was criticized by Lisa Delaney of Spryliving.com, who said the book "feeds girls' and women's obsessions with their bodies, promotes thinness at the expense of healthfulness (because of Hugh's disdain of fitness, exercise, muscles, etc.), and promotes flaky, unproven methods for weight/fat loss." [12]
A backlash quickly developed among those concerned about the potential negative consequences of the trend. Parenting experts and counselors formed anti-thigh gap movements. [1] The medical community and female-empowerment advocates have also commented critically on the subject, [14] and the U.S. National Eating Disorders Association launched a website to promote healthy body image and attitudes to food and weight. [15]
Australian plus-size model Robyn Lawley criticized the thigh gap trend, denouncing it as "just another tool of manipulation that other people are trying to use to keep me from loving my body". [16] Target Corporation apologized after Cassey Ho discovered [17] that a photo of a model had a photoshopped thigh gap for a girl's bathing suit ad. [18] Old Navy came under criticism by bloggers after a photo of a mannequin wearing women's plus-size jeans on their website appeared to have a small thigh gap placed so that the jeans on the mannequin would look thinner than they would look on an actual person. [19] Old Navy subsequently stated that they do not use any photo-editing techniques to alter the apparent shape of their products, but they do sometimes use pins on clothing to adjust how it fits a mannequin. [19]
The thigh gap has also spawned opinions from newspapers. The Times of India called it "mania". [20] Columnist Kelly Richardson of the Sacramento Bee wrote that "for most people it is next to impossible to attain". [21] In The Observer journalist Rosie Swash called the thigh gap "widespread, harmful and often unachievable". [22] Columnist Hadley Freeman called it the "most extreme body fixation yet". [23] Geneticist Sylvia Pagán Westphal was inspired to write an opinion piece on the thigh gap after her daughter brought the trend to her attention and was appalled by the results of her Google search for the term. [24] San Jose State University sociologist Natalie Boero has attributed the trend to living in a "sexist and sizeist culture" [8] and clinical psychologist Barbara Greenberg has dismissed the trend as a "pipe dream", [8] adding "most women are not built that way to have that space between their thighs". [25]
An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's physical or mental health. These behaviors include eating either too much or too little. Types of eating disorders include binge eating disorder, where the patient keeps eating large amounts in a short period of time typically while not being hungry; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear; bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging); pica, where the patient eats non-food items; rumination syndrome, where the patient regurgitates undigested or minimally digested food; avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), where people have a reduced or selective food intake due to some psychological reasons; and a group of other specified feeding or eating disorders. Anxiety disorders, depression and substance abuse are common among people with eating disorders. These disorders do not include obesity. People often experience comorbidity between an eating disorder and OCD. It is estimated 20–60% of patients with an ED have a history of OCD.
Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll which Handler had purchased while in Europe. The figurehead of an eponymous brand that includes a range of fashion dolls and accessories, Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for over six decades. Mattel has sold over a billion Barbie dolls, making it the company's largest and most profitable line. The brand has expanded into a multimedia franchise since 1984, including video games, animated films, television/web series, and a live-action film.
Orthorexia nervosa is a proposed eating disorder characterized by an excessive preoccupation with eating healthy food. The term was introduced in 1997 by American physician Steven Bratman, who suggested that some people's dietary restrictions intended to promote health may paradoxically lead to unhealthy consequences, such as social isolation, anxiety, loss of ability to eat in a natural, intuitive manner, reduced interest in the full range of other healthy human activities, and, in rare cases, severe malnutrition or even death.
Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body. The concept of body image is used in several disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, philosophy, cultural and feminist studies; the media also often uses the term. Across these disciplines, there is no single consensus definition, but broadly speaking, body image consists of the ways people view themselves; their memories, experiences, assumptions, and comparisons about their appearances; and their overall attitudes towards their respective heights, shapes, and weights—all of which are shaped by prevalent social and cultural ideals.
Disordered eating describes a variety of abnormal eating behaviors that, by themselves, do not warrant diagnosis of an eating disorder.
Fat feminism, often associated with "body-positivity", is a social movement that incorporates feminist themes of equality, social justice, and cultural analysis based on the weight of a woman or a non-binary feminine person. This branch of feminism intersects misogyny and sexism with anti-fat bias. Fat feminists advocate body-positive acceptance for all bodies, regardless of their weight, as well as eliminating biases experienced directly or indirectly by fat people. Fat feminists originated during third-wave feminism and is aligned with the fat acceptance movement. A significant portion of body positivity in the third-wave focused on embracing and reclaiming femininity, such as wearing makeup and high heels, even though the second-wave fought against these things. Contemporary western fat feminism works to dismantle oppressive power structures which disproportionately affect fat, queer, non-white, disabled, and other non-hegemonic bodies. It covers a wide range of topics such as diet culture, fat-phobia, representation in media, ableism, and employment discrimination.
Jennette Michelle Faye McCurdy is an American writer, filmmaker, former actress, and singer. McCurdy's breakthrough role as Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly (2007–2012) won her four Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. She reprised the character in the iCarly spin-off series Sam & Cat (2013–2014) before leaving Nickelodeon. She also appeared in the television series Malcolm in the Middle (2003–2005), Zoey 101 (2005), Lincoln Heights (2007), True Jackson, VP (2009–2010), and Victorious (2012). She produced, wrote, and starred in her own webseries, What's Next for Sarah? (2014), and led the science-fiction series Between (2015–2016).
Wannarexia, or anorexic yearning, is a label applied to someone who claims to have anorexia nervosa, or wishes they did, but does not. These individuals are also called wannarexic, "wanna-be ana" or "anorexic wannabe". The neologism wannarexia is a portmanteau of the latter two terms. It may be used as a pejorative term.
The sociology of food is the study of food as it relates to the history, progression, and future development of society, encompassing its production, preparation, consumption, and distribution, its medical, ritual, spiritual, ethical and cultural applications, and related environmental and labor issues.
Issues impacting Women in Mauritanian society include female genital mutilation, child marriage, and polygamy.
Female body shape or female figure is the cumulative product of a woman's bone structure along with the distribution of muscle and fat on the body.
Troian Avery Bellisario is an American actress. A graduate of the University of Southern California, she had her breakthrough role as Spencer Hastings in the Freeform drama series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017).
Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin.
Robyn Lawley is an Australian model, writer, photographer and director. She has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Elle, and other publications. She has been outspoken in her support for size-inclusiveness in the fashion and modeling industry and led a boycott which compelled Victoria's Secret to make changes to their annual fashion show.
The feminine beauty ideal is a specific set of beauty standards regarding traits that are ingrained in women throughout their lives and from a young age to increase their perceived physical attractiveness. It is experienced by many women in the world, though the traits change over time and vary in country and culture.
Cassey HoVinh is an American social media fitness entrepreneur with a YouTube channel and a website that sells fitness apparel. In 2013, she received a Shorty Award in the category of social fitness, and was listed in Time's third annual list of "The 25 Most Influential People on the Internet" in 2017.
Iskra Arabella Lawrence is a British model.
Alexis René Glabach, known professionally as Alexis Ren, is an American model.
The Famine Within is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Katherine Gilday and released in 1990. The film explores the issue of women's body image, and the prevalence of eating disorders. The film was narrated by Rebecca Jenkins.The Famine Within is an exploration of the contemporary obsession with body size and shape among North American women. Through the use of conventional documentary interviews and narration in conjunction with striking evocative imagery, the film presents women sharing their own experiences suffering with an eating disorder. The direct testimony of many women who have suffered from the body obsession – dancers, mothers, career women, athletes, bulimics, fat women, anorexics, young girls - with the views of leading experts, this work explores the kind of hunger that cannot be satisfied by food. The film is less about illness associated with food, but more raises questions about why so many women are worried about gaining weight or “being fat” The film premiered at the 1990 Festival of Festivals. It was subsequently broadcast by TVOntario.
Thinspiration, also known as thinspo, is recognized as photographic content of women with thin body types promoting unhealthy eating habits and disorders. Thinspiration blends the words “thin” and “inspiration” as to give motivation to people with eating disorders or people who want to be thin to continue to deprive themselves of food.