A Woman's Bold, Body Positive Message About Thigh Gap

Body image. It's how we think of our build, our body, and our physique in comparison to others. So many of us look at our reflection and say, "too big," too small," too short," " too..." you fill in the blank. Even Instagram and Facebook—both part of Meta Platforms—recognize the problems social media posts have on teens and body image. A thigh gap is just one of the unrealistic standards people are placing on themselves.

Striving for the Thigh Gap

As a teen, Mary Jelkovsky was obsessed with having a "thigh gap." a thigh gap is where the upper thighs are so thin, they don't touch. Instead, there is a space between the thigh of each leg.

Now, the 20-year-old wellness influencer knows that the thigh gap is unrealistic. But after she saw a post for a thigh gap workout on social media, she was so outraged, that she came up with her own cheeky response. Her way of showing others that having a thigh gap is unhealthy, and prizing it promotes unrealistic body standards.

She posted what she called her "two-step method" to get a thigh gap. Posing in a white tee and underwear, she wrote: "1. Separate thighs" and "2. Screw it. Love yoself." She provided more context in the caption.

Body Positive Message

When she was a personal trainer, "women from all walks of life would constantly use phrases like 'problem area' and 'my biggest insecurity' to describe their legs or midsection (or both)," she wrote. "It was very sad to hear that a mother of 4 was too ashamed of her body to have sex with her husband or that a college girl didn't want to go to a pool party until she lost 10 pounds."

Jelkovsky tells Health "she was motivated to share a message of self-acceptance because she's frustrated that so many women still try to achieve a thigh gap. This "problem area" continues to cause problems for women today."

"I remembered being in high school when the thigh gap trend was very alive and I spent hours on the internet looking at how to do it," she says. "The other day I was on Pinterest and I saw an 'inner thigh workout for a thigh gap' and I was so shocked that this was still a thing! I don't want my little sister to grow up in a world where air between your legs has any significance."