A dangerous new trend is sweeping social media posing a huge risk to the body image of hundreds of thousands of teen girls worldwide.
Following in the footsteps of the recent ‘thigh gap’ trend – which demanded legs so thin they don’t touch above the knees – the new ‘bikini bridge’ fad glorifies girls so slender their bikini bottoms are suspended between their jutting hipbones.
In the past few months, dozens of blogs and social media pages have been set up devoted to the ‘bikini bridge’ and encouraging girls to submit photos of their own, which they have been doing in the thousands.
Collectively, the main sites now have more than one million followers, leading body experts to despair about the effect it is having on young girls everywhere.
“The bikini bridge is just another example of horrendous thinspiration that encourages young women to develop poor body image and disordered eating,” health and wellbeing specialist Katie Lowe says.
“We need to learn that bodies are beautiful in all shapes and sizes and encouraging young women to strive towards something like this is just unhealthy.”
There has been speculation the “trend” is an internet hoax but the Lowe says: “Hoax or not, putting the phrase into common use is damaging.”
Urban dictionary defines the bikini bridge as “when bikini bottoms are suspended between the two hip bones, causing a space between the bikini and the lower abdomen”.
Thousands of women have shared pictures of their “bikini bridge” online.
The hashtag #bikinibridge was used more than 4000 times yesterday.
Body image experts have slammed the trend.
“We need to learn bodies are beautiful in all shapes and sizes,” body image expert Katie Lowe says.
“The space between your abs and your bikini does not define your beauty ladies,” fitness blogger Cassey Ho tweeted.
“This is a sign of how silly and superficial young women have gotten when it comes to achieving beauty,” Ho wrote.
“Bikini bridge or not, don’t base your self-worth on it,” Ho says.
“Don’t be superficial enough to sacrifice your happiness to attain a physical attribute.”
Model Adrienne Curry.
Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington Whiteley.
Supermodel Heidi Klum.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
An image from the BikiniBridge Tumblr account.
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