Thigh gap, a dangerous fad

A healthy thigh gap

The photo: Shows a well toned woman displaying her upper thigh gap. Thigh gap, a current fitness fad among young women, is determined primarily by genetics. A women having a wide pelvis, which will allow a gap between the thighs of a well nourished body and well toned legs, is far more likely to be able to display thigh gap w/o an extensive exercise regimen than one with a narrower pelvis.

Thigh gap: Photos of the 2012 Victoria’s Secret models, (which are said to have started the craze for thigh gap) show women who were the winners of a very rigorous culling process selected for their bodies and then subjected to ballet exercise and dietary regimens to mold them into the toned bodies that Victoria’s Secret models are famous for. There isn’t a ‘typical’ woman among them, which could also be said for ballet dancers in the national and better regional companies.

I don’t want to sound alarmist, but, looking at some of the photos of VS models legs I think they have gone too far as their legs are quite bony and not at all attractive. They obviously aren’t dancers, so I can see if a young woman with a typical body has body image problems and is using VS models as her role model the likelihood of her turning to anorexia in an attempt to achieve her goal is considerable.

Fortunately ‘Ballet genes’ and ballet classes keep my circle’s bodies and especially our legs very strong with long lean muscles and very well toned so we all display significant thigh gap and had never considered it anything other than normal until the current craze began to emphasize it as desirable and sexy.  A disturbing article about the Thigh Gap fad is in the New York Post: Young women ‘pushed’ topursue ‘thigh gap’ a quest that could lead to anorexia.