While scrolling down one of my favorite social media apps, Tumblr, I began to realize the new teenaged girl fad, "thigh gaps". A thigh gap is the space between a girl's inner thighs when she stands with her feet together. The problem with this becoming the goal of so many young girls, is that this gap is a result of genetics rather than exercise. It is largely based on body type, pelvic shape, and tendon length, all things that cannot be controlled.
To research this topic more, I simply googled "thigh gaps", along with many articles about how these are ruining many girls self esteem and body image, there were also "how-to" articles. These instructions included very basic diet advice, and also warned that this was not a realistic goal for many women. As a result, extreme measures are often taken to achieve the gap. However, if this is an unrealistic goal, why are so many girls unhealthily attempting to reach this unreachable goal?
Body insecurities are very common in young girls. Many feel that having a body that resembles that of a Victoria's Secret Angel is not important, but crucial. Statistics from the South Carolina Department of Health support that teenaged girls are the most effected by eating disorders in America. The website states that about 8 million Americans suffer from an eating disorder, 7 million of them being women. 95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25. 50% of girls between the ages of 11 and 13 consider themselves fat. Clearly, many adolescent girls are not comfortable with themselves, and are willing to take drastic measures for results.
More effort should be put into helping young people to be educated about what a healthy body entails, and realistic goals for their bodies. Less teenaged girls should be taking extreme measures to obtain a thigh gap. Unfortunately, I do not think the youth is given enough tools to becoming comfortable and understanding of their own body. As a result, illnesses like anorexia and obsessions like the thigh gap run ramped in society.
http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm
Kendall, I love Tumblr, too, so I’m all too familiar with the omnipresent thigh gap posts. I totally agree with your argument that people our age need to be taught how to be more comfortable with and accepting of their bodies.
ReplyDeleteOverall, this post was really good. I thought the topic was a good choice as it’s very relatable, especially for girls. I liked how you opened with a personal note on your realization of the thigh gap trend and how you described what it was for those who may not be familiar with it. And I thought that your inclusion of the statistics stating how many Americans suffer from eating disorders ––and how many of them are girls––really helped the argument.
There were a couple proofreading mistakes. For example, “I do not think the youth is given enough tools…” in the last paragraph. The last sentence of the first paragraph and the first sentence of the second are run-ons. In the third paragraph, “effected” should be “affected” and “run ramped” should be “run rampant.” Also, in the last paragraph you write “their own body.” Make sure you use plural nouns with plural pronouns.
Yup, great topic Kendall. Last year Amy Savino chose to do her final project in our debate elective on this "thigh gap" fascination. Honestly, I had never even heard the term. I was still unsure if it was a good thing or a bad thing until I read your post. I like how you link the body image issue with Tumblr - which I also don't know much about. Is that pictures or artsy blog posts? I also like how you cited specific evidence about how an obsession with body image can be psychologically and physically damaging for teenage girls. By far the most popular research paper topic over the last few years has been eating disorders. Personally, I think it's good that girls are writing about these issues. It proves that they have an awareness of how psychological pressure and the media influences their own self esteem.
ReplyDeleteThat said, Shannon was right. There are some rough sentences in this post. The first sentence in your second paragraph strikes me as particularly tough to read. It is a run-on. "there were also 'how-to' articles" should probably be a separate sentence.