It's the current buzzword of the fashion-industry, following Australian plus-size model Robyn Lawley's comments on it after the backlash she received when shown as the covergirl for Vogue Italia. Facebook commenters named her "hefty" and "too fat" - and why? Because her thighs touched.
There is nothing new about this concept. It's an ideal that has been sought after for a long time. Whilst the obsession to obtain such a thing is unhealthy, the actual thing is not necessarily so, unlike some news stories seem to think. The "thigh gap" has a huge stigma behind it due to uneducated writers claiming that to obtain one you must be critically underweight. I felt that as somebody who encourages body confidence for all shapes and sizes, I have an obligation to banish some of these prejudices against body type.
Firstly, just to clarify for those alien to the term, a "thigh-gap" is when you put your feet together, and your thighs don't touch. That is it. It's really rather trivial when you put it as simply as that. A space of air between the legs.
According to Vice magazine (okay, as a general rule you shouldn't really take anything Vice say seriously), to obtain a thigh gap you must be underweight. This is simply not true. Even those terribly underweight might not be able to "achieve" such a thing due to their body type, even their bone structure. To use myself as an example (and many other girls that I know), I am very healthy, I eat more than enough, I exercise the appropriate amount and my legs are not even particularly thin. I am within a healthy weight-range also. I was blessed with rather wide hips for my body shape (thanks, Mum) and therefore when I put my feet together (as if anyone who isn't a ballet dancer actually stands that way anyway) there is a gap. I could probably eat a McDonalds every week and it would still be there. I even had one when I was a stone heavier. It's all down to the hips.
To move on to my next point, the most upsetting thing about this is that it's sparked a lot of people putting down either side. You can be sexy in any shape, there is not a special sexy cookie-cutter shape that you must fit into to be considered attractive. That means thigh-gap or no thigh-gap. Body-bashing is incredibly damaging to everybody. It is very upsetting to hear that to have a thigh gap you must be unhealthy and malnourished, as I pride myself on being well-fed and healthy, physically and mentally. Girls who have difficulty putting on weight - surprisingly to some - come under fire as much as those who have difficulty losing it, and it is equally as hurtful. It is also just as upsetting to hear that not having one makes you "hefty" and "too fat". Nobody is fat, people have fat. Your thighs touching is not a measure of weight in any way, shape or form. Petite girls might not necessarily have one because of their body shape and bone structure. You are not a body fat percentage, you're a person with emotions and there are so much more important things to be concerned about. Sexiness comes from confidence and ultimately being confident enough in yourself to not put others down in order to make yourself feel better (which it never does).
To conclude, there is nothing healthy or unhealthy about a negative space. The unhealthy part is the obsession that some girls have with this image of apparent thinness, developing eating disorders to obtain this possibly unachievable and ridiculous aesthetic. This is due to the fault of fashion as it is today. We need to challenge this stigma and abolish this set in stone idea of beauty and appreciate that everyone and everything is beautiful in it's own way. Let's stop talking about bodies in such a derogatory way, and being confident in your own body is the start!
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