The Thigh Gap: New obsession or continuing worry?

       Last week I read an article on ABC that stuck with me. It was titled Thigh Gap: New Teen Body Obsession?, and it was about a new kind of body image imperfection. But is it really a new obsession? Or is it just getting more notice now that runways are live streaming and social media sites can focus on "thinspiration" more easily.

       I've struggled with my weight all my life. When I was 12 years old I blew up to 160lbs and a size 14 at 5'3''. After being made fun of, being told I was fat by family members, and constantly being told to lose weight, I took it upon myself to get into shape. Within 6 months I was down 30lbs and feeling great, but does the worrying ever really stop?

       Once I hit high school, I struggled even more with my body image. I would eat a cookie a day and maybe a snack but other than that I wouldn't let myself eat. I dropped to a 110lbs (the smallest I'd ever been) and people were then telling me they were worried I was too skinny, my bones popped out everywhere. So not only do you have a constant battle of what's the "perfect weight" but the people around you do too.

       One of my main "problems" has always been my thigh gap or lack there of. Over the years, I've managed to tighten it up but that's the problem.... we are ALL different. Nobody's body is the same. So while I sit here and worry about my love handles, or thigh gap, others might worry about their flabby arms or whatever kind of distraction they have to keep them from feeling beautiful or part of the "in crowd."

       As far as I'm concerned, the thigh gap has been around for a long time, or at least since I was a teen. I'm 25 now, and I still worry about my body image- there's always something to pick apart and the thigh gap is one of my biggest "imperfections." (see I'm doing it right there ;}) But I've also come to realize, I'm happy. I look healthy, I feel good, I have a wonderful fiancé that loves everything about my body, and I have the confidence I didn't have when I was a teen. So as I read that article morning, and watched the interview of 4 teens, I wondered, is it really us as individuals that cause these worries or is it mainstream media like news networks and social media platforms that continue to cause us to pick apart our imperfections?

       According to an article from CNN, social media may do more harm than good. Amanda Coleman, president of her sorority, found herself counseling many of the girls. She began to notice all conversations had to do with Facebook or other social media outlets so she put a stop to it. She quit Facebook. Before social media, images of unattainable beauty were harder to come by, but as social media platforms continue to get bigger, women and girls are staring at the images for longer periods, seeing photos in their newsfeeds. "And, you know, at some level we all knew these were models and celebs, so maybe it was different somehow, more fictional and unattainable," said Coleman.

       So while teens struggle with the "new" obsession, mainstream media needs to cut back on their coverage of the body image obsession. The more people obsess over something, the more it becomes a normal, every day thing to worry about. According to the article, teen psychologist Barbara Greenberg, says statistics show that 80 percent of girls dislike their bodies by the time they are 17 years old. That is an incredibly high number for such young girls.


       We have to do something about the way "beautiful" is perceived. It shouldn't just be about the looks. If someone isn't beautiful on the inside, how can they be beautiful on the outside? Girls need to learn how to love themselves and each other as well as stop cutting each other down. It might make you feel good to begin with but it won't for long and you will have one more imperfection to worry about.

       And while the thigh gap is just one of the unrealistic standard for most out there, girls continue to focus on the size of their body not for the attention of boys, but according to the teens interviewed, "it’s strictly a girl thing, affecting popularity and status."

       What are your thoughts? Is the thigh gap a new fad? Have you struggled with it? How have you overcome your imperfections?

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Enough is enough!

By Jody Marich

I recently read an article by Shaun Dreisbach, from Glamour about body image. Since I know a lot of girls with self-esteem and body issues, including myself, I thought it would be a good read. The article shocked me, but made me realize that something needs to change.

The glam squad did a survey with 300 women of all sizes that had to do with the thoughts and feelings that run through a woman's mind each day. The results were shocking:"Young women recorded an average of 13 brutal thoughts about their bodies each day"

Glamour did an experiment to find more alarming news."97% of women will be cruel to their bodies today." The experiment was extended to women across the country: record/ note every negative or anxious thought about your body in the course of one full day. The results came back with 97% having at least one, as Glamour put it, "I hate my body" moment.

 A Cincinnati psychologist, Ann Kearney-Cooke, Ph.D., specializing in body image helped Glamour design the survey. "It’s become such an accepted norm to put yourself down that if someone says she likes her body, she’s the odd woman out. I was in a group discussion recently, and when one woman said, ‘I actually feel OK about the way I look,’ another woman scrunched up her face and said, ‘I have never in my whole life heard anyone say that—and I’m not sure I even believe you.’ That’s how pervasive this negative body talk is. It’s actually more acceptable to insult your body than to praise it," said Kearney-Cooke. This quote reminds me of the scene from Mean Girls where they all talk about how they have flaws while Lindsay Lohan says nothing. They look at her like she is crazy.

I don't think people realize how hard we all are on ourselves and the ones we love. I know when I was younger, I was called fat and told to lose weight and now it is always with me. I try not to worry about calories and enjoy what I eat but sometimes that negative body image kicks in. In the Glamour article it notes, "Nearly 63 percent of survey respondents said they had roughly the same number of negative thoughts as they expected. But few realized how venomous those thoughts were until they were down on paper."

"Our unattainable cultural beauty ideals, our celebrity worship—those all play a part," says Kearney-Cooke. I 100% agree with Ms. Kearney-Cooke, the image that is portrayed everywhere is thin, beautiful, clear skin, luscious hair, gorgeous body, etc. Even in other countries there are pressures to look a certain way. Take a look at this post from the blog Dressful. Eva ordered an issue of Vogue India to see what ideals were inside. She was shocked at what she discovered. There were multiple advertisements for skin lightening cream. There is a lot of pressure from magazines and beauty products to have lighter skin because as Eva put it in her post, "They believe dark skin is ugly and light skin guarantees more opportunities in life."

We can't hide from the fact that all countries, generations and ethnicities have pressure and body issues. Everything from "I have too many wrinkles" to " I'm too fat" run through people's minds especially women's'.

This next part saddens me to the point of worrying about kids I don't even have yet. It makes me once again think there has got to be a way to fix this body image issue. "In a University of Central Florida study of three- to six-year-old girls, nearly half were already worried about being fat—and roughly a third said they wanted to change something about their body."--- This tid bit from the Glamour article scares me. I want to have children one day BUT I want them to be happy, healthy and playful not worried about looks at such a young age.

Heartbreaking. 

Something has gotta give here. We can't be passing our negative body image issues onto future generations.

So how do we fix this?

The article goes on to talk about, "Silencing your inner mean girl."

CHECK THIS OUT: "It’s worth it for not just the mental peace but your physical health as well. Research at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, suggests that women who obsess over their body and diet have chronically elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol (even when their life is not otherwise stressed)—and, as a result, may suffer from elevated blood pressure, lower bone density, higher amounts of unhealthy belly fat and even menstrual problems. “And this was among women in their twenties!” exclaims lead researcher Jennifer Bedford, Ph.D. “If you continue on this path, it could have a real impact on heart, bone and reproductive health 10 or 20 years down the road."- Glamour.

So to my friends, and the rest of you that really obsess over looks and weight... STOP. It's only hurting you in the long run. 

Glamour came up with 7 things to turn your negative thoughts around.

1. Rewire you brain: My translation is, instead of listing the "CONS" about your body, list the "PROS!" There has got to be something you like whether it's your eyes, hair, whatever, choose something and go from there. Kearney-Cooke suggests "keeping a pen handy to note things you do that make you feel good about your body... Doing this puts positive stuff front-of-mind and starts becoming instinctive.”

2. Ask yourself: Is this negative feeling really about your body or is there something else causing the bashing. 

3. Exercise: You will physically and emotionally feel better. If you set a goal of lifting a certain weight or running a certain distance and you achieve it, that will boost your self-esteem. Womenshealth.gov says, "Regular exercise has been shown to boost self-esteem, self-image, and energy levels."

4. Say "STOP!": If you have to, yell at yourself to stop the negative body image thoughts. I have done it a couple times and it helps. My boyfriend always corrects me too. If I say something negative, he will make me say "I'm beautiful" three times before we move on.

5. Remind yourself: Fretting over body issues doesn't get you anywhere. I recently heard a saying that I love, "Worry is the misuse of the imagination." So don't worry or obsess about the bad things, use your imagination and do something to create a better self-image.

6. Appreciate your body: Realize all the things it does for you. You can move around, explore, live because of your body. Be thankful you are alive. 

7. Play up your strengths: Don't compare to others. I'm guilty of this but we all have qualities that are better than others. Someone might be "prettier" on the outside, but you could be prettier on the inside. Focus on the good traits you have and be proud of who you are. 

We need to stop being so emotionally abusive to ourselves.  If a significant other was saying such hurtful things, hopefully you wouldn't take it or maybe even get out of the relationship. People need positive reinforcements in their lives to believe in themselves and have a good body image. 

In the end, we all have things we want to work on or fix about ourselves, but don't dwell on it. Just know you are unique and beautiful in your own way. The next time a negative idea pops in you head, say "NO! I am beautiful just the way I am."

Labels that lie...

By Jody Marich 

Vanity sizing, also known as size inflation: 

"clothing is sized smaller, in theory it will please the buyer. Vanity sizing may result in the removal of a garment of smallest measurements, if, for example, all garments were taken down a size, the smallest garment's previous measurements would no longer exist in that line of clothing. So as not to lose customers, companies often add smaller and smaller size labels, the smallest thus far being zero."

 - apparelsearch.com

America is obsessed with size. People are always worrying about being the "right" size in this world of  too thin, too big. I admit, I have fallen victim to it and it has even created eating issues for me in the past. 

Working in retail, I definitely have noticed vanity sizing. When I first started working at my clothing store, four years ago, I was a solid 4.  In the last 2 years, moving away to college and being on my own, I have lost weight, not too much but between 7-10 lbs. I was shocked when, last year, I could fit into a size 0 at my store. I thought there was no possible way. In the last year and half- ish, I have fit into anything from a 0 - 4. Now I comfortably fit into a 2, but sometimes I still have the trouble of going up or down a size, depending on the piece. That's why, at work, I always suggest my customers to try on our clothes. It doesn't matter if you know your size, vanity sizing has become an epidemic that mis-lables sizes and creates confusion. 

 It's all about fitting into the smallest size. Here are a few examples of different stores size charts. 

Abercrombie & Fitch

Bebe

American Eagle 

Women's | ELLE™, Simply Vera Vera Wang, Dana Buchman & LC Lauren Conrad

Size	XS	S		M		L		XL
	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18
Waist	24 1/2	25 1/2	26 1/2	27 1/2	28 1/2	30	31 1/2	33	35
Hip	35	36	37	38	39	40 1/2	42	43 1/2	45 1/2

Gap

Long & Lean and Curvy Jean Sizes		Regular			Petite			Tall
				Waist	Hip	Thigh	Waist	Hip	Thigh	Waist	Hip	Thigh
00	24			23"	35¼"	20¾"	22½"	34¾"	20½"	23"	35¼"	20¾"
0	25	24"	36¼"	21¼"	23½"	35¾"	21"	24"	36¼"	21¼"
2	26	25"	37¼"	22"	24½"	36¾"	21¾"	25"	37¼"	22"
4	27	26"	38¼"	22½"	25½"	37¾"	22¼"	26"	38¼"	22½"
6	28	27"	39¼"	23"	26½"	38¾"	22¾"	27"	39¼"	23"
8	29	28"	40¼"	23¾"	27½"	39¾"	23½"	28"	40¼"	23¾"
10	30	29"	41¼"	24½"	28½"	40¾"	24¼"	29"	41¼"	24½"
12	31	30¼"	42½"	25¾"	29¾"	42"	25½"	30¼"	42½"	25¾"
14	32	31½"	43¾"	26¾"	31"	43¼"	26½"	31½"	43¾"	26¾"
16	33	33¼"	45½"	28"	32¾"	45"	27¾"	33¼"	45½"	28"
18	34	35¼"	47½"	29¼"	34¾"	47"	29"	35¼"	47½"	29¼"
20	35	37¼"	49½"	30½"	36¾"	49"	30¼"	37¼"	49½"	30½"

Last but not least is Old Navy, the store who is "borderline dishonest" as Esquire's size chart called it.

** Notice, even though Gap and Old Navy are part of the same corporation, the sizes are different in both waist and hips. The 00 at Gap has the same waist as 0 at Old Navy, and the hips are different.

 This chart is Old Navy's chart:

SIZE	XS 0    1    2			S 4    6		M 8    10		L 12    14		XL 16    18		XXL 20
WAIST	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30½	32½	34½	37	39½
HIPS	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41½	43½	45½	48	50½
INSEAM PETITE	29½
INSEAM SHORT	30
INSEAM REGULAR	32
INSEAM LONG	34
INSEAM TALL	36
PETITE SIZES	XS 0    1    2			S 4    6		M 8    10		L 12    14		XL 16    18		XXL 20
WAIST	22½	23½	24½	25½	26½	27½	28½	30	32	34	36½	39
HIPS	33½	34½	35½	36½	37½	38½	39½	41	43	45	47½	50
INSEAM	29½
TALL SIZES	XS 0    1    2			S 4    6		M 8    10		L 12    14		XL 16    18		XXL 20
WAIST	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30½	32½	34½	37	39½
HIPS	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41½	43½	45½	48	50½
INSEAM	36

Body image is so important to us. With everyone striving to look more like models and actresses, vanity sizing has created a sense of higher self-esteem because you can fit into that "forbidden" size. But is it really fair to fool consumers? 

As sizes "shrink", consumers grow, thinking that they are losing weight. With obesity becoming a bigger problem in America, vanity sizing only increases it -- dimming the lights on a widespread health issue. The idea that you can fit into a smaller size is nice, but when you look at the size in past decades, your self-esteem can take a real blow.  While the sneaky mislabeling was designed to fluff us up and encourage consumers to buy a new sexy, slim wardrobe, vanity sizing has created a lot of controversy with its customers. 

This is a chart from Cosmopolitan.com showing the shrinking sizes over the decades:

Cosmo also did a comparison of Gap khakis, one from 1996 and the other from 2006. 

In an article from the UK's Sunday Times, Marks & Spencer last changed clothing sizes in 2003 after conducting a survey. It examined 2,500 women using 3-D body scanners. But a size 16 at M&S has since increased in its guidelines from 97-80-104 to 101-84-109. The increased sizing is equivalent to an extra dress size.

"Gap, the American manufacturer which still uses inches, has seen some of its clothing measurements grow in the past two years. In 2008 a size 14 garment would be 37in at the bust, 29in at the waist and 39in at the hip. Today the size has grown to 37.5-29.5-40." - The Sunday Times. 

Vanity sizing affects both women and men's clothing. Here is a chart of men's labeled waistline vs. actual waistline from Esquire's Style blog:

From the looks of it, vanity sizing isn't going anywhere. In fact, it is only spreading to more companies. As America strives to be the "perfect" size, vanity sizing helps create a better self image BUT ultimately lies to the consumer. It all comes down to money: smaller sizes = larger profits and more returning customers.