FacebookRobyn Lawley is no stranger to the intense criticism that comes with modeling. Yet it was after one of her photos (above) was posted to a Facebook page that celebrating the amount of space between a woman's thighs (aka a "thigh gap") that she decided to speak out against the disturbing trend.
The plus-size model wrote an op-ed for The Daily Beast detailing her startling experience:
"You can image my surprise when, a year ago, I was featured on a pro 'thigh gap' Facebook page. The page displayed an un-retouched photo of me in lingerie. From the photograph, there appeared to be a gap between my thighs," she writes. "Degrading and humiliating comments followed. I was called too 'hefty' to be featured. The word 'PIG' was often used to describe my appearance and my thigh gap was said to be not big enough. In the end I couldn't keep silent, and after 900 or so comments about my body, I decided to chime in."
She goes on to say that she addressed those critics directly on the site but has a few more thoughts about why those "thinspiration" pages are down right dangerous:
"The truth is I couldn't care less about needing a supposed 'thigh gap.' It's just another tool of manipulation that other people are trying to use to keep me from loving my body. Why would I want to starve and weaken my natural body size? I'm not saying women who have it naturally are unattractive. But I would have to change my entire frame just to achieve something that seems so trivial."
Beyond that, she also perfectly explains why a "thigh gap" is a disadvantage in real life.
"I want my thighs to be bigger and stronger. I want to run faster and swim longer. I suppose we all just want different things, but women have enough pressure as it is without the added burden of achieving a 'thigh gap.'"
Well said, Robyn—we couldn't agree more!