SPACE CRUSADERS
Hot on the heels of Swanepoel’s thigh gap is another stupid skinny craze: the bikini bridge. By Shanthini Naidoo
SUPERFAMOUS SA model Candice Swanepoel is in town and we have to wonder how her thigh gap is doing. Hers was one of the first gaps to garner attention on international catwalks and fashion pages. It remains the most famous gap.
In case you haven’t heard, a thigh gap is the space between a woman’s upper thighs, visible even when she is standing with her legs pressed together. Can’t picture it? Imagine a skeleton, then shift your gaze downward.
As happens with such trends, Swanepoel was first chastised by the media for being so skinny, then promptly emulated. Fashion brands began photoshopping thigh gaps into their ads. Most recently accused was Old Navy, ironically in a campaign for plus-sized jeans.
The gap even sparked a plasticsurgery craze last year. Few human beings can naturally create such a space, what with all the muscle, fat and skin in the way.
Joburg Pilates instructor Lauren van Zyl says that, while lean legs with toned muscles are “extremely attractive on any body type, regardless of the size of the gap between them,” the thigh gap is simply not a physical possibility for everyone.
“The presence of the thigh gap depends on the structure of the pelvic bone, the width of the hips and the adductor muscles. Since skeletal structure is genetic, it cannot be altered by any exercise or diet.”
Our Candice distanced herself from the fuss around the gap, saying she had lost weight because she had been working really hard. Also, the pictures might have been doctored by someone who thought it might be interesting to see the azure water she was standing in, through the gap in her thighs.
The thigh gap has something in common with another recent aberration, the bikini bridge. This is the space between a woman’s pelvis and her bikini bottom, created by protruding pelvic bones.
The bikini bridge started as an internet hoax to highlight the lunacy of the quest for a thigh gap, but became fact when young girls believed false tweets that Harry Styles and Justin Bieber endorsed the “movement” and took up the challenge. There now are Tumblrs, Instagrams, Facebook pages and a Twitter handle or two dedicated to the bikini bridge.
A Yahoo Answers page features this question from a 13-year-old girl: “How to get a thigh gap, flatter stomach, & bigger butt? lol? (Okay, so don’t be all like ‘your (sic) perfect the way you are’ or ‘they aren’t healthy’ or whatever. I’ve heard it all before.)”
Does this child realise how awful it must be to have all these spaces and gaps on one’s body? Never mind being out of proportion. With no thighs to hold up that big butt, she would fall over five times a day. Yet a string of exercise and dieting tips followed in response.
“Try shapewear to slim thighs down by pushing fat elsewhere.” (Maybe into the bubble butt?)
“Self-tanner can create shadows.”
“Anti-cellulite cream and dry body brushing with a specialised brush stimulates blood flow and speeds up fat loss.”
And then there was this prudent piece of internet wisdom from WikiHow: “Know that you may be able to get the thigh gap in pictures by repositioning your body. If an elegant thigh gap picture is what you are after, you do not necessarily have to starve and put your body through agony. By trying this simple trick, you could get the look you are after with a whole lot less work.
“Straighten your legs. Pretend they are stiff as straw and hard as rock. Stick your butt out a little bit. Not too much, or what you are doing will become apparent. A little goes a long way here. Bend forward with your heels apart, making sure to keep the front part of your toes together. Remember to do this subtly or it will not look natural or believable. Take your picture. You should have created the thigh gap without much fuss and with minimal effort. Use this pose to enhance your thigh gap if you naturally have one.” Sigh. An anti-thigh-gap blogger rightly posted: “Why don’t we just go back to foot-binding or neck-lengthening? What’s next, toe divide? Elbow point? Kidney sparkle?”
So thanks, Candice, for the thinspiration, but please, mind your gap around impressionable youngsters.