Thigh gap - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

LeenaRuns

Hating on other women's bodies is wrong, and needs to stop. Whether or not you have a thigh gap depends on your bone structure. Some women will have one even when their body fat percentage is quite high (e.g. high end of the normal range) - others will not have one even at 13% body fat.

Calling it "unfeminine" and "unattractive" is not really fair on women who naturally have one. Maybe a thigh gap looks bad on someone who starved themselves ridiculously underweight to get one..... but they look good on women who have them naturally when their body composition is healthy.

This is one thing I really can't stand.... when women of one body type hate on women with another body type.... it's all over MFP. Why can't you learn to love yourselves without putting others down in the process?

Thank you!

ETA: I have a "thigh gap." It's natural. Nothing I aspired to, but thanks (OP) for the body shaming, I really appreciate it.

marsviolet

Hating on other women's bodies is wrong, and needs to stop. Whether or not you have a thigh gap depends on your bone structure. Some women will have one even when their body fat percentage is quite high (e.g. high end of the normal range) - others will not have one even at 13% body fat.

Calling it "unfeminine" and "unattractive" is not really fair on women who naturally have one. Maybe a thigh gap looks bad on someone who starved themselves ridiculously underweight to get one..... but they look good on women who have them naturally when their body composition is healthy.

This is one thing I really can't stand.... when women of one body type hate on women with another body type.... it's all over MFP. Why can't you learn to love yourselves without putting others down in the process?

This. I didn't go looking for a thigh gap but I ended up with one. That's just how my hips ARE, and I don't think I'm at all "unfeminine".

usernameMAMA

It is a personal opinion. I also happen to think people that are so overweight that all their curves are overwhelmed by obesity isn't partiuclarly a femine look or attactive either. Everyone has personal prefences. You can't start saying that I can't say that a thigh gap is unattractive. To me it is. Clearly to others it is not. I am interested to why. Is it that you like the way it looks? Or is it something more like a demonstration of achievement, I guess in the same way building muscle might be....?

Surely you have to be at a really low body weight and really low muscle mass, in addition to the right body shape, to achieve a thigh gap?

Why don't we start a thread tho just vent about all the things we find unattractive about other people? Why zone in on one thing? Just spew out every body shape you hate and then in all inclusive, that way you're not targeting one group of people eh? I hate thigh gaps, I hate when thighs look like they're packed into tight jeans, I hate boobs that are too small, I hate boobs that are too big, I hate huge bellies that hang over, I hate when bellies are so thin you see hip bone and ribs, I hate back fat, I hate back that are muscular because they are too broad, I hate bat wing arms, I hate arms that are too toned....the list goes on and on...OR, stay with me on this. try NOT GIVING A F*&%!

oregonzoo

Some people will always have a thigh gap, no matter how much their body gains weight.
Some people wil never have a thigh gap, no matter how fit they are.


For another woman to say that it is "unattractive and not feminine" well that's just a b*tchy thing to say. Life is too short to worry about other people and their freaking thighs.
If you have the time to type out something degrading another body type, I suggest you look inwards and find something more productive and uplifting to do with your time.

danbi89

It is a personal opinion. I also happen to think people that are so overweight that all their curves are overwhelmed by obesity isn't partiuclarly a femine look or attactive either. Everyone has personal prefences. You can't start saying that I can't say that a thigh gap is unattractive. To me it is. Clearly to others it is not. I am interested to why. Is it that you like the way it looks? Or is it something more like a demonstration of achievement, I guess in the same way building muscle might be....?

Surely you have to be at a really low body weight and really low muscle mass, in addition to the right body shape, to achieve a thigh gap?

I don't have a really low body weight or muscle mass and I have a gap. People are designed differently you see, a bit like intelligent people and stupid people, everyone is different....

You don't have to be super thin to have one and like I said earlier, I didn't try for mine. I'm 5'4" and I first noticed it at around 140 lbs. That's near the high end of healthy. Now I'm 130, right in the middle of healthy. I actually have big thighs, it's where I store the most fat. But I also have really wide hips. I'm at 25% body fat.

ETA: Here is a recent photo of me. You can't see my thigh gap because of the way I'm standing but I want to point out that I am *not* anorexic looking and have plenty of curves.

Just wanted to say you look fantastic

Articeluvsmemphis

How dare you body shame my thigh gap!

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

WolfPackFan13

THIGH GAPS ARE OK.

SwimFan1981

"Gap" in general is just not a sexy word. Throw some soft curves in there and that's hot!

:laugh: This statement will probably spark off the other debate.....

runwmeNC

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Typo ?? I always though beauty was in the eye of the beerholder. Thigh gap or not, women are just sexier then men.

sunsnstatheart

It is a personal opinion. I also happen to think people that are so overweight that all their curves are overwhelmed by obesity isn't partiuclarly a femine look or attactive either. Everyone has personal prefences. You can't start saying that I can't say that a thigh gap is unattractive. To me it is. Clearly to others it is not. I am interested to why. Is it that you like the way it looks? Or is it something more like a demonstration of achievement, I guess in the same way building muscle might be....?

Surely you have to be at a really low body weight and really low muscle mass, in addition to the right body shape, to achieve a thigh gap?

I don't have a really low body weight or muscle mass and I have a gap. People are designed differently you see, a bit like intelligent people and stupid people, everyone is different....

You don't have to be super thin to have one and like I said earlier, I didn't try for mine. I'm 5'4" and I first noticed it at around 140 lbs. That's near the high end of healthy. Now I'm 130, right in the middle of healthy. I actually have big thighs, it's where I store the most fat. But I also have really wide hips. I'm at 25% body fat.

ETA: Here is a recent photo of me. You can't see my thigh gap because of the way I'm standing but I want to point out that I am *not* anorexic looking and have plenty of curves.

You look fantastic, Angel!

wikitbikit

I'm growing weary of the phrase 'body shaming,' but far more weary of the action. C'mon guys, we're better than this.

cad39too

They look good on some, awful on others, but I wouldn't say they were unfeminine.

SoViLicious

I aspire to have three.

PaveGurl

At 5'8" and 115, I did not have a thigh gap. I think it's safe to say I was quite thin, then (college - always on the go, and as a technical theatre major, also always LITERALLY running up and down stairs/ backstage/ across campus).

I think it is also safe to say I figured I was thigh-gap-deficient: it was clearly not in the cards for someone like me to ever be that kind of thin.

Now, *grumble*grumble* years later, I'm still 5'8", but now I'm 145 -- with a thigh gap, because I've changed my body composition through a completely different kind of exercise.

I don't think either one is better/ worse/ sexier/ less sexy -- I think women have different body types, and different lovers will find different things beautiful. YOu may not find my gap attrtactive, but the people who matter in my life aren't looking to see if that's present - they love the person that lives inside the skin that may/not be a body type you find attractive.

What I don't understand is why so many people seem to care?

GamerLady

I never even knew people worried about this topic until coming to this forum. I've never even thought about it really. Weird...I can't believe people really care about this....

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

Do we really care whether one teenager on the internet thinks thigh gaps are unattractive or unfeminine?

I know I don't.

It's too early in the morning where I live for body shaming.

Some days I care more than others, honestly.

But I do think that people need to be called out on stuff like this, in case they don't realize that they're being hurtful. My self-image isn't tied up in what this OP thinks, but someone else coming across a thread like this might be more affected.

^^^^ totally this. I couldn't really give a rat's hairy behind whether some random internet person would like how my legs look or not... but there are a lot of women (especially very young women) who are a lot more vulnerable to being negatively affected by body shaming, in some cases to the point of doing unhealthy things to try and fix a "problem" when there isn't even anything wrong.

I agree with you both. I'm just not eloquent before coffee, and when the coffee-deprived old lady reads these ridiculously offensive body shaming posts, I react the way I did. OP's a girl telling other people what's attractive and feminine. Her purpose is nothing other than to remark on a body type that she, in her almighty internet power, has deemed unattractive. It's ridiculous.

My point of saying "I don't care what she thinks" is young girls who are worried about how they look shouldn't care what this one judgmental person thinks, either. I had an ED as a teen, and while girls like her weren't the cause of it, they sure didn't help.

neandermagnon

Do we really care whether one teenager on the internet thinks thigh gaps are unattractive or unfeminine?

I know I don't.

It's too early in the morning where I live for body shaming.

Some days I care more than others, honestly.

But I do think that people need to be called out on stuff like this, in case they don't realize that they're being hurtful. My self-image isn't tied up in what this OP thinks, but someone else coming across a thread like this might be more affected.

^^^^ totally this. I couldn't really give a rat's hairy behind whether some random internet person would like how my legs look or not... but there are a lot of women (especially very young women) who are a lot more vulnerable to being negatively affected by body shaming, in some cases to the point of doing unhealthy things to try and fix a "problem" when there isn't even anything wrong.

I agree with you both. I'm just not eloquent before coffee, and when the coffee-deprived old lady reads these ridiculously offensive body shaming posts, I react the way I did. OP's a girl telling other people what's attractive and feminine. Her purpose is nothing other than to remark on a body type that she, in her almighty internet power, has deemed unattractive. It's ridiculous.

My point of saying "I don't care what she thinks" is young girls who are worried about how they look shouldn't care what this one judgmental person thinks, either. I had an ED as a teen, and while girls like her weren't the cause of it, they sure didn't help.

lol I'm like that in the morning before tea... different timezone here though.... that's what I'm planning to try to get my girls to think like when they're older... to love themselves how they are and not care what random people on the internet think. I really want them to be able to treat attitudes like that with the contempt they deserve. (or politely explain to people why their attitude sucks in the hope of educating them... while not letting themselves be affected by it)

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Do we really care whether one teenager on the internet thinks thigh gaps are unattractive or unfeminine?

I know I don't.

It's too early in the morning where I live for body shaming.

Some days I care more than others, honestly.

But I do think that people need to be called out on stuff like this, in case they don't realize that they're being hurtful. My self-image isn't tied up in what this OP thinks, but someone else coming across a thread like this might be more affected.

^^^^ totally this. I couldn't really give a rat's hairy behind whether some random internet person would like how my legs look or not... but there are a lot of women (especially very young women) who are a lot more vulnerable to being negatively affected by body shaming, in some cases to the point of doing unhealthy things to try and fix a "problem" when there isn't even anything wrong.

I agree with you both. I'm just not eloquent before coffee, and when the coffee-deprived old lady reads these ridiculously offensive body shaming posts, I react the way I did. OP's a girl telling other people what's attractive and feminine. Her purpose is nothing other than to remark on a body type that she, in her almighty internet power, has deemed unattractive. It's ridiculous.

My point of saying "I don't care what she thinks" is young girls who are worried about how they look shouldn't care what this one judgmental person thinks, either. I had an ED as a teen, and while girls like her weren't the cause of it, they sure didn't help.

Tbh I had the same thought in between posts-- why would I even let it bother me that some random person thinks I'm unattractive or "gross" (another thread, same poster). I totally agree that people should not care what random people on the internet think. :flowerforyou:

K_Serz

Ok. I'm going to come out and say it. In my personal opinion, the "thigh gap" is really unattractive and unfeminine.

I am genuinely interested as to why some people are aspiring to this? Is it that you think it is attractive? Or that it is some demonstration of how skinny you are? Or is a 'fashion' thing?

I dont think anyone aspires to have a large gap between their thighs. I dont aspire to have Johnsonville Brats for fingers, it just so happens I have big thick fingers and hands.

I personally like the thigh gap, or a bit of "bow leggedness". Doesnt it make it easier and more comfortable to straddle things?

Qlow

For some they look okay, for some they don't.
I'm indifferent.
The thing I want is muscle in my legs...with or without the gap, I don't care.