Thigh Gaps Weren’t Always En Vogue, But Now Surgery Is Creating Them — A Worrisome Trend?

Ariana Grande and Imogen Thomas are known (and loved by many) for their thigh gap. What is a thigh gap, actually? It means that there’s literally so little adipose (fatty) tissue on the inner thighs that when the legs are together, there’s a gap there. This is usually the sign of a very slender person. It’s popularity as a form of sexiness or attractiveness started sometime in the 1980s, but nobody was calling it by name until recent years. Imogen Thomas recently took a gym selfie to show off her thigh gap.

It didn’t used to be a big deal — in fact, in photos of Miss America Contestants in 1945, not one of them in swimsuit wear had a thigh gap. Further, it’s possible that due to your anatomical structure, you just can’t have a thigh gap no matter how thin you get (and still live, that is). Hence enters plastic surgery — the artificial creation of a thigh gap. That sounds, well, painful. But is it? Dr. Victoria Karlinsky, board-certified trained facial and body sculpting specialist, speaks candidly about the new “thigh gap” craze.

“Women who come in looking for liposuction of the inner thighs are mostly concerned to have enough reduction so that their thighs no longer touch. Not sure why this would be a prized feature, but perhaps, if you have a gap between your thighs, it may be associated with being very thin. For some women it is natural and for some it is not. We all have different shapes!”

That’s the tune that many women have been singing for years, but celebrities continue to chase the sometimes elusive gap (although rumors of Photoshopped thigh-gaps are plentiful, as well) which means many other mainstream women will try to achieve them, through surgical means if necessary. Dr. Karlinsky says the result may not be anything close to what they had hoped for.

“I would not recommend this to my patients. Trying to create a gap will likely result in skin irregularities and unnatural looking legs. It’s perfectly reasonable to have liposuction of the inner thighs if a woman has excess fat which creates an unwanted fullness and distortion of the shape of the inner thigh. However, it is not reasonable to chase after some current trend such as this one.”

The doctor also said the craze is “silly” and “very temporary as a fad.” Do you agree? Are you crazy over the thigh gap, or are the legs of the 1940s more appealing? Would you undergo surgery to achieve them?

[Photos by Irish Mirror and Worldlifestyle]