The latest body trend gone wild on the internet has to do with your inner thigh gap, and it’s called (brace yourself) the thighbrow. Now, before we explain it to you, be certain of two things: there isn’t any arched facial hair pasted on to one’s thighs happening here, nor have scientists discovered a body part. The thighbrow has existed on women’s bodies since the beginning of time. Thighbrows are the set of skin folds that frame the top of the thighs, separating the leg from the butt. While it’s more prevalent in curvier women, you can try finding your thigh brows in the privacy of your home by kneeling down, or lifting a leg up or contorting your body, until your thighs are up near your hips. Once you find your thighbrows, and only if you’re an extrovert, you can post a photo on your favorite social network like celebrities Beyoncé, Rihanna and Khloe Kardashian already have. Or simply log in on Instagram and Twitter marking #thighbrow to see thousands of other glimpses of adorable skin folds. Apparently they’re easy to see with the current fashion trend of the “frong,” those high-cut legs on bikini bottoms and leotards.
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While the inner thigh gap trend is once again overly obsessed with photographing and discussing women’s physiques, we think it’s better than the horrendous #thighgap internet craze we just survived that had women sweating over that nearly impossible gap between the thighs that only gangly thirteen-year old girls tend to have. But though thighbrow is being applauded by many for shining a positive light on curvy, fuller figured women, some aren’t so sure. Courtney Marshall, a Women’s Studies professor at the University of New Hampshire, body-positive fitness coach, plus-size athlete, and fitness instructor, spoke to The Daily Dot about her opinion on thighbrows. “I don’t see how this can be called a body-positive trend when it requires a high cut bathing suit. It also seems to require a flat belly, so that line about it being achievable for anyone seems fishy.”
In our opinion, we always think it’s best not to focus on a physical ideal of beauty by comparing ourselves to celebrities and to appreciate the beauty of our own particular body type, whether string bean, pear-shaped, curvaceous, etc. And if we want to be knit-picky about the coining of the actual “thighbrow” term, UrbanDictionary actually used it first in 2003 to refer to “when a woman’s bush sticks out from under her panties on each side.” There you have it. Raise a brow to that one.
