The "thigh gap" trend

[fireheart17]

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/fas...-1226749037339

So for those of you who don't know, basically the thigh gap is basically where (more in women than men), the thighs do NOT touch above the knees. Basically another supposed measure of "health".

I can see this as another example of where you need to have DRASTICALLY low body fat beyond safe levels. Am I right?

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I can see this as another example of where you need to have DRASTICALLY low body fat beyond safe levels. Am I right?

Sort of, but not always the case.

There are some girls who are that thin naturally. Twiggy (whom many consider to be the start of the supermodel thin standard) was naturally that thin as was my sister who inherited the same metabolism I did. I didn't hit 100 pounds until I was in my mid 20's. For her it was when she had her first child and she's *still* barely 100 pounds.

It's not that having low body weight and low body fat is unhealthy, it's that people are trying to get their bodies to hit levels that genetically they were never intended to hit.

That said...the "Thigh Gap" is @#$%ing stupid as a metric of health.

[Lace Neil Singer]

That model is described as "plus size"?! What is she, a size fourteen? It's a sick world we live in when a size fourteen is considered plus size.

Also, I don't have a thigh gap and won't ever have one, simply cuz my hourglass body shape won't allow it. It's fine if you have one naturally, but no-one should ever think that getting a thigh gap is the be all and end all of beauty and/or health.

[Boozy]

Thigh gaps have more to do with your body shape than actual weight. I'm thin with very low body fat, but when I stand with my feet together, I don't have a gap between my thighs. It's my skeletal structure. If I had wider set hips, I'd have a gap.

[Greenday]

Just checked out some of that model's pictures. If she doesn't have a thigh gap, then I don't see why one is even necessary. She's plenty good looking as far as I'm concerned.

[Gravekeeper]

Thigh gaps have more to do with your body shape than actual weight. I'm thin with very low body fat, but when I stand with my feet together, I don't have a gap between my thighs. It's my skeletal structure. If I had wider set hips, I'd have a gap.

^ That.

I would think it would have a lot more to do with your height and skeletal structure.

You would think a more logical measure would be "crotch gap". But I guess "Do your thighs stick to your labia?" might not be acceptable on an application for fashion model. ( Well, okay, maybe in Europe. )

[BlaqueKatt]

It's my skeletal structure. If I had wider set hips, I'd have a gap.

the only way to get it without having a splayed pelvis is malnutrition, as thighs are more muscle than fat.

[crashhelmet]

Exercising your adductor muscles will also help achieve this "goal." Most people just exercise their hamstrings and quadriceps and ignore their adductors.

Yes, I know that you can not spot-burn fat from your body. However, exercising the muscle will cause your inner thigh to take on an enhanced form, which can lead to the creation of the gap.

[Boozy]

Abductor training isn't going to pull your hips further apart. I fail to see how building more muscle in that area would create a gap.

[crashhelmet]

Abductor training isn't going to pull your hips further apart. I fail to see how building more muscle in that area would create a gap.

I said Adductor, not Abductor. Those are 2 different sets of muscles. The muscles on the insides of your thighs are called Adductors. Your leg abductors are in your hips and buttocks.

And I never said it would pull your hips apart. What I said was:

However, exercising the muscle will cause your inner thigh to take on an enhanced form, which can lead to the creation of the gap.

Now, to clarify it, there are 3 different Adductor muscles in your thigh. The Adductor Brevis, the Adductor Longus, and the Adductor Magnus. When you exercise this muscle group, it results in an inward curve on the upper portion of your inner thigh. Your Sartorius muscle, which is worked along with the quadriceps group, provides the curve on the lower portion of the inner thigh.

Furthermore, the width of your hips and/or pelvis has nothing to do with whether or not you can have "dat gap." Just like "six pack" abs, it comes down to how your body stores and burns fat in that specific area. Which is why I said "Can lead to the creation of the gap." If your body stores too much fat in that one location, you're out of luck. Then again, you'd probably end up with severe and/or chronic rub rashes up there if it did. Assuming you didn't wear out the crotch of your clothing first.

So there are 2 common forms of "Dat Gap" that you see on men and women. One is where they have low enough body fat on their thighs that their thighs don't touch. Some of these people, you can see the shape of their inner thigh. Others have no shape at all. The other is where their thighs do touch, but there is a gap, or the starting of a gap, at the top. Again, body fat plays a role.

[Boozy]

I said Adductor, not Abductor. Those are 2 different sets of muscles. The muscles on the insides of your thighs are called Adductors. Your leg abductors are in your hips and buttocks.

I understand the difference; I had a typo in my reply.

The rest of your post, while informative, didn't really answer my question: How does building muscles between your thighs create a gap?

Edit: I read it again, and I see that you mentioned that working these muscles can create "pull" away from the center. It's an interesting theory, but I have to say, that has never been my experience.

[fireheart17]

That model is described as "plus size"?! What is she, a size fourteen? It's a sick world we live in when a size fourteen is considered plus size.

She's a size 16 in Australian clothing sizes. For you Americans, that'd put her at a size 12. (I was always taught to go down 2 numbers when converting between Australian/American. Technically I'm somewhere between a 12-14 USA wise)

As for the "fourteen is plus size", a couple of plus-size clothing stores around here DO start at a size 14, but their 14's are sized closer to a 16 or 18 in other stores, as opposed to a 14 at other stores.
Of course, that throws me way off whenever I go shopping in those stores. I'm a 16/18 elsewhere, but a 14 in those particular stores

Just checked out some of that model's pictures. If she doesn't have a thigh gap, then I don't see why one is even necessary. She's plenty good looking as far as I'm concerned.

She is. She was angry that people were using her image however to promote the need for one.

[Andara Bledin]

It's probably worth noting that in the fashion industry, they're aiming for a size 0, which means they're looking for ambulatory coat hangers, more or less. In that world, healthy is considered plus size.

[the_std]

I'm not hugely overweight, but I'm probably carrying 30lbs I don't need to have. I'm a naturally thick-set, curvy, meat-on-her-bones woman... And this is the only piece of "diet marketing" that has every gotten through to me.

I do not have, nor have I ever had, a thigh gap. I was blessed with some seriously thunderous thighs, even at my lightest weight. I go through pants pretty regularly because I wear out the inner thighs from walking all day. And yet, deep down on the inside, I want that gap. I see it on these thin women and my heart breaks a little because I don't look like that. I can deal with my muffin top, I love the gigantic boobs I have from being a little heavier, and the booty I've accumulated is pretty "licious", but I want that gap.

It's super unrealistic and ridiculous, but I feel like a bit of a failure every time I realize I do not have it.

[Andara Bledin]

I have never found that gap attractive. Even as a kid, I saw skinny women with this gap between their legs and I thought it made them look sickly.

I wonder how much of that is based on what our mothers looked like when we were little?