If you’re a college-aged woman and you have a Tumblr account, no doubt you’re aware of the curious obsession with the “thigh gap.” Perhaps you’ve even had your own internal dialogue, wishing you too could obtain this hallmark of weight loss. Unfortunately, subscription to unrealistic, corporately-produced standards of beauty will only lead to a cycle of self-hatred, and you are the only one who can stop the cycle.
In the same way that Big Tobacco markets cigarette use as a habit of the trendy countercultural outcast, corporations impart a message that being thin is the only way to earn the respect of your peers and love interests. We are constantly bombarded with thousands of media-produced images of skinny white women. We internalize an unattainable ideal, ensuring that we’ll be customers for life, as we fight our biology with a slew of weight loss products promising permanent success. It’s the same phenomenon seen in Brazil, as multinational cosmetic companies sell skin whitening products to black women. The corporations do not discriminate, creating and exploiting every insecurity possible.
We are taught to view ourselves as objects, only worthy of respect if we align with a certain image of how a woman should look. This indoctrination begins early in childhood. Even in G-rated movies, only 28 percent of speaking characters are women. This is particularly damaging, as young children have trouble differentiating media from reality. As we progress to adolescence, we are further exposed to gender inequality, as women are mostly portrayed as eye candy and nothing more. Women are taught to shape their appearances around what men find attractive, rather than their own preferences. Even in magazine articles that supposedly promote positive body image, arguments for the acceptance of curves are those such as “men like curvy women.” We should not have to justify our value to society based on men’s approval of our bodies.
These inequalities are not confined to the silver screen but translate into the realities of women everywhere. In a recent survey by Glamour magazine, women consistently labeled thin women as “mean” and overweight women as “sloppy.” Clearly, we are taught that appearance somehow reflects personality traits, echoing television stereotypes. On a more serious note, these stereotypes abound in the job market, as women with chubby cheeks are more likely to earn reduced wages and receive fewer career opportunities. Not only are we taught that excess weight is aesthetically displeasing, it also serves as a marker of personality flaws.
The pursuit of the thigh gap can distract us from our full potential as both women and human beings. It puts our psychological and even physical health in jeopardy. Instead of seeking to appear frail, we should practice healthy lifestyles for the sake of the mental clarity and internal benefits that these lifestyles can provide. Corporations will continue to perpetuate the thin, white ideal at the expense of our self-esteem and bank accounts. It is up to us as educated women to reject this stereotype and see it for what it really is.
For me, the decision is clear. I would much rather be an agent of change than an object of desire.