What is the obsession with thigh gaps?

celticmuse

I can honestly say I have never looked, and don't give a hoot! At 58 I am surprised to hear that there is an aspect of women's vanity of which I am completely and blissfully unaware. Perhaps I have always been too focused on my stomach to worry about what goes on below it. In any event, I am happy not to be afflicted with "thigh gap envy."

InnerFatGirl

the ricketts look is in?

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :sad: :sad: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

InnerFatGirl

The funny thing is, I have this little gap between my thighs right now, and I suspect it'll get bigger as I lose weight.

But..

it's nothing I'd aspire to. Go on Tumblr, and you've got 13 year old girls posting pictures of ugly skinny girls with legs the size of my arms, and crying because they can't get a 10cm gap between their thighs. Pathetic.

InnerFatGirl

No matter how skinny I've been, even under 100lb, my thighs touch. For some women, that is simply how their body fat is distributed and a healthy woman will always have body fat. For other women, their body fat isn't arranged like that and their thighs won't touch if they're a healthy weight. But to deliberately seek to achieve this as a goal seems bizarre.

I've always wondered whether this crazy obsession is linked to men (and women's!) equally crazy obsession with the size of a man's appendage. The idea being that the less that gets in the way of a chap getting right there and giving a woman a jolly good seeing to, the more it seems as if they have to offer...

Or maybe it's that whole thing of some men (and women!) liking the look of women with a prepubescent image, such as zero body hair, no breasts, no hips, &c. basically not liking everything that happens to a girl when she becomes a woman.

Neither seems sensible, but they're the only ideas I can come up with.

I like your thinking.

Nerdybookgirl

My husband thinks thigh gaps are gross. He likes "womanly" curvy thighs. Sometimes I think the thigh gap makes a woman look sorta broken. It looks like someone snapped her legs. On the other hand, I HATE the big girl inner thigh chub rub. Maybe a happy medium would be my goal.

InnerFatGirl

I think it has to do with having wider hips and low body fat. I want my thighs to touch, but when I sit down on a chair or toilet seat, I do not want them to balloon out to 3x their standing size.

LMFAO - "I do not want them to balloon out to 3x their standing size" :laugh: :laugh: :sad: :sad: :laugh: :laugh:

Yasmine91

When my thighs touch and I'm wearing a skirt or dress they chafe and it's so painful, so I have to wear spandex shorts underneath. When I was younger by jeans would get ruined because of the rubbing, so I'd end up with lots of holes in between my legs. So I would prefer to have a gap to prevent this. At my thinnest (140lbs) I had the gap and it was relieving but other than that I don't want a gap just because of appearances. If I was thinner and didn't have it, I don't think I would care much to be honest :P

mrpurdy

My husband thinks thigh gaps are gross. He likes "womanly" curvy thighs. Sometimes I think the thigh gap makes a woman look sorta broken. It looks like someone snapped her legs. On the other hand, I HATE the big girl inner thigh chub rub. Maybe a happy medium would be my goal.

You beat me to it!

My friends and I used to call that painful inner thigh chafing "chub rub," and it's truly awful. I will probably never have a thigh gap, and that's okay, because I'm in love with my muscular legs and quite happy I can wear a skirt in the summer without repercussions! :laugh:

sebbysmommy

When my thighs touch and I'm wearing a skirt or dress they chafe and it's so painful, so I have to wear spandex shorts underneath. When I was younger by jeans would get ruined because of the rubbing, so I'd end up with lots of holes in between my legs. So I would prefer to have a gap to prevent this.

+1

WinWinGo

Why I haven't the faintest idea. :laugh:

But I kid. It's aesthetics. (partially) Some people just think it looks better. I personally, would love a gap. All of my jeans wear straight through in THE worst possible way. I am very tired of buying new pants. Chub rub is no fun. At all.

silkandsugar

I only discovered this when I started going on Tumblr. The obsession there is CRAZY and I never cared much about mine until then. Since I have gotten healthy and fit my gap has gotten much wider and I do actually like it lol.

DonnaRe2012

Since I started MFP in January, this has got to be THE STUPIDEST SUBJECT posted !!!! :huh: :noway:

Moeincognito

I want the gap myself but it's hard to explain ;_; I see so many girls with it and it looks so nice with skirts and shorts I want it.

Tasha_uk

When my thighs touch and I'm wearing a skirt or dress they chafe and it's so painful, so I have to wear spandex shorts underneath. When I was younger by jeans would get ruined because of the rubbing, so I'd end up with lots of holes in between my legs. So I would prefer to have a gap to prevent this. At my thinnest (140lbs) I had the gap and it was relieving but other than that I don't want a gap just because of appearances. If I was thinner and didn't have it, I don't think I would care much to be honest :P

Thats like me. I have jeans in perfect condition but i cant wear them because i have holes between the legs lmao

AthenaErr

OK although my leg muscles curve in a way that there's a gap when I am in healthy weight range. I dont aspire to this. I aspire to be a healthy weight but i do find it looks great - not the skinny skinny big gap thing, but curvy thigh muscles look sexy IMO.

Over Christmas I wa the heaviest I have ever been and went for a walk on the beach and got back with horrible sore rubbed bit on my inner thighs. It was humiliatingly awful and took ages to heal and I didnt have cycling shorts etc so I spent days using vaseline to try and create more slide....so so so so embarrassed. I swore to myself never again! Maybe if your thighs have always touched the skin is a bit tougher but for me this chafing was a revelation in the awfulness of being overweight.

silkandsugar

Agreed. I personally have a huge thigh gap but I am definitely not too skinny and I have a legit amount of muscle so it all depends on the frame. My hips are quite wide which make it impossible for me NOT to have a gap unless I weigh like 200 lbs or so.

Hoosier_born

a thigh gap would be convenient, but I am I not going to obsess over it.

To me, the more important thing is getting in a healthy BMI, toned arms, and less fat.

If ya chafe, do what I do, put on lotion???

SassyCalyGirl

I have always had a thigh gap-its not from being to thin-its the way I am built.

TourThePast

Since I started MFP in January, this has got to be THE STUPIDEST SUBJECT posted !!!! :huh: :noway:

That's up against some pretty stiff competition! :bigsmile:

hyperkate

When we talk thigh gap do we mean a gap at the very top?

lickmybaconcakes

I don't understand it all.

bear_nakey

I just want to be able to wear shorts when I run, or something cute and sexy for my fella and not worry about looking gross or starting a fire! I only want a small natural one though, I am not dieting with a gap as a goal. I am 10lbs away from my goal, and I still don't have one, so odds are not in my favor as of now. . . .

agriffitts85

im not too keen on the whole thigh gap thing. i dont want to be able to put my fist between my thighs but if i could walk, run, dance, etc. without them rubbing and causing pain that would be nice. i actually like my thicker thighs. even when i was thin. and i had a thin little body i had toned thick legs. musuclar calves and thick thighs still. in my opinion if the gap is too big it looks gross and kinda boyish....

Yanicka1

I don't understand it all.

This

Elizabeth_C34

I'm not sure about the gap, but I remember the day I noticed mine were no longer bleeding and chaffing with every step I took. That was a great day! That's all that matters to me!!!

I'm still waiting for that day sadly. I still have to wear bike shorts under my skirts to keep me from getting a nasty rash, chafing, and bloody from the chub rub.

Some women have thigh gaps, and some don't. It's just the way they are built. I think it's often used by anorexics as "thinspiration," but that doesn't mean all women with a thigh gap are emaciated.

mamadragon

LOL, my nickname as a baby was thunderthighs.... say anything about my future? YUP! still thunderthighs and then some.. I'm surprised that I didn't start fires with all that rubbing :embarassed: :ohwell:

kalynn06

Mine don't rub together, so by that definition, I have one due to build. Though, I don't have that gap between my upper thighs when my legs are together. This has never been one of my goals. I agree with someone upthread who said that she just doesn't want them to almost triple in size when sitting. I'd add that I also want them not to get bigger, because it's already annoying enough to find pants that take into account my curvy thighs and relatively small waist.

missym357

I have a big thigh gap- the only place my legs touch when my feet are together are at the calves- and didn't realize how sought after it was (and at the same time found gross) until I joined myfitnesspal. I will say, my husband thinks I look too skinny in jeans because it is so noticable and my muscles are covered up. He prefers me to wear shorts in the summer so that people can see that my legs are muscular in spite of the gap.

Rae6503

I have a thigh gap.



When I stand with my feet shoulder width apart.

Girlwithnoname77

lol, never knew of this "obsession" but may add that to one of my goals ... ie, to have a gap!