wtf is a box gap?
Hanging out on Facebook the other night, I came across a new community page that nine of my friends (and 40,000 other people) had recently Liked – the ‘Box Gap’ community page. ‘What’s a box gap?’ I asked my boyfriend’s housemates. One laughed. ‘Don’t worry, you probably have one,’ he said.
Well, it turns out I’m behind the times. According to the thousands of recent images and articles I found online, a box gap – or ‘thigh gap’ as it’s usually called – is very literally the space between a girl’s thighs. And according to many of the articles, ‘guys won’t date you if you don’t have one’. One “fitness” article warns, ‘You DON’T want to be working out your thighs and making the muscles bigger.’ Another article advises, ‘to measure your thigh gap, stand with your soles together.’ On Tumblr, bloggers are posting about how ‘gross’ the Olympic gymnasts look without thigh gaps. One blogger wrote that she couldn’t sleep at night because she could feel her ‘legs rubbing together’. Type ‘thigh gap’ into Google Images to find thousands of half-naked photos girls have uploaded to show the world they have one. Some even have before/after pictures from a diet regime…Seriously?
Some (obvious) pointers about the ‘thigh gap’:
- The space between a girl’s thighs is determined by how wide her hipbones are, which is about as changeable as her shoe size.
- There is no ‘normal-sized’ thigh gap. We’re all made differently.
- Anyone who judges you on your ‘thigh gap’ is an idiot.
Now, I’m not pointing any fingers here. I don’t know if the creator of the Facebook page is male or female, and from what I can see online, the thigh gap craze is largely female-driven, with women instructing women how to get/measure/flaunt their own thigh gap. However, the fact that there are now thousands of women out there not only trying to be skinny but trying to increase the space between their legs is rather troubling to me.
What do you think of the thigh gap (box gap) craze? Tell us your thoughts below!
Oh thank fark someone brought this up. What is the point of having a large gap between the thighs? And what duh brains find this attractive, or worse – a MUST HAVE?
Sometimes, I hate this world.
I actually searched for it to see if its a ‘thing’. I Googled-”That little gap at the top of the legs where light shines through.” i’ve noticed through the years that, only the sexiest women with the best curves have this feature. In itself-its nothing, but its associated personally for me, with sexiness nonetheless.
What the hell? I’ve never heard of any such thing! This is really sad, because now girls will be comparing themselves to each other over ANOTHER thing that we’re told we should have. Boo to the thigh gap. I’ve just stood to see if I have one – it’s miniscule, but more to the point who cares? My hips a wiiiiiide! Good for child-bearing :p
Exactly right Amee,
Who cares….really its no different to girls liking a huge penis ????
these thing are started by insecure people who can’t/will not accept the fact that we are all different and yet all the same…row your own boat to the beat of your own drum and let these fools play their own games…
Oh my goodness! That is crazy and stupid and riddiculous! As if women need more things to worry about. Gah!
Oh I am so glad this article exists!! I found the same facebook page, i found it pretty disgusting, I too had never even heard of a box gap. This is just INSANE, just one more way to objectify women’s bodies, just one more reason for the average healthy female to feel like she doesn’t measure up. Thank you Ruby!
What about this, im a Man sure i love the Gap, my Beautiful wife has a good Gap, it makes me happy, is there anything wrong with that??
There are some men who might not care or like no Gap, other women might make them happy?
(there’s millions of things i love about my wife , not all superficial)
Man, when I think of the years I spent in highschool, constantly worrying about the size of my thighs and hips, never wanting to wear a swimsuit in public, always favoring skirts because I hated the thought of people seeing my thighs touch – it’s so horriying to think that yet more women are making themselves sick with worry over such an inconsequential thing.
When my boyfriend and I first got together, and he told me he loves my legs, I literally laughed. You know what’s not attractive? Low self-esteem, which is what this kind of thinking promotes. (Not that i think we should measure our worth based on whether or not people find us attractive, but you get my point…)
This is repulsive – if I were you ruby, I’d be concerned about my friends who liked the page. I’m so sad, but also oddly interested to see if I have one. I certainly won’t be doing anything about it if I don’t.
I did gymnastics as a kid and believe me, worrying about their thighs is the last thing a gymnast needs!
Gymnastsics at Olympic level requires absolute dedication, hours of training a day and carefully managed diets.
Anorexia and other eating disorders are already a big problem in the sport, as well as worries about developmental delays caused by the extreme physical conditioning of their bodies at young ages when a girl should be going through puberty- so much so that in the last decade, restrictions have been put in place restricting competitors under the age of 16.
Honestly, I think the people who worry about something as stupid as a ‘box gap’ need to open their eyes to the real world and the real issues that are out there
I just dumped a guy who “liked” the box gap page on Facebook! I find it utterly depressing that we still allow things that are demeaning to women in public space – anything anti gay or derogatory to ethnic minorities would be immediately banned; this is of course right, but I just don’t see why it is any
different for women.
I was disturbed by how thin some of the women on the website were. I now find that some anorexic women post photos- proud of how big their “box gap” has become. Really heartbreakingly sad.
Really? You must have had a very superficial relationship if that was the only reason you broke up with him. No explenation as to why its innapropriate, or chance to explain he clicked like because his friends did. Just bang, bye, so long, aftiterzen.
Really? You must have a very superficial understanding of what she said because she definitely didn’t say that was the only reason. The last guy I dumped had two arms but I didn’t dump him because he had two arms. She was merely pointing out that a boy she recently broke up with liked that page, obviously they would have talked about it and if she felt objectified within her relationship then good on her for breaking it off.
“Obviously” my arse. The implication of what she said was that his liking the page was the reason. If not, then she should have expressed herself better.
If someone starts their post by saying “I just dumped someone who sexually molested an ocelot”, what conclusion would you reach for the cause of their breakup?
If you seriously think girls believe the excuse ‘I did it because my friends did, or told me too’ I believe you are the one we should be investigating further.
You don’t know this person, and for all you know, they might of had previous weight issues or what not. Not saying that they do, but I don’t think you should invoice such an opinion. I don’t think men, rather BOYS, can begin to interpret just how much females goes through to get what they believe is true beauty. I certainty know, If I logged on Facebook and my current boyfriend had liked the ‘box gap’ Facebook page, we would be having a deep discussion. In addition, I would like to state, I don’t have a box gap. And I don’t give a f***. I am me, and I am happy with my other features.
I think that most men would find women with a tiny little gap like a little diamond of light, to be associated with the sexier women. Not bandy, skinny legs. Men like curves. But thats when we’re tlaking about bodies and body forms. I would gladly date a lady who was a size 16 if she had the brains.
Your interpretation is awfully wrong. Women naturally have a gap in their thighs just below the lady-parts. It’s not important how big this gap is so much but how it looks. If you stand feet together and lean forward slightly – the gap is from the last place your thighs meet to the vagina. It is shaped like a heart and is sexy as hell. Also, the gap comes in all shapes an sizes (which is fine) it’s existence is determined by how fat or thin you are. If you’re anorexic or too fat it won’t be there. It is almost a measure of how physically fit you are. For once a guy isn’t wanting his girl to be über thin like a model and you crack it.
no, no, no. I am perfect weight, and I do not have one. I was born with bigger thighs naturally. Even when I was sick, I never had one. I was at a point in my life where I only weighed 92lbs at 11% body weight. I was also 22. If I would have seen this I would have kept going. I would have eventually died. Seeing the box gap on facebook made me ferious. Some people are genetically enabled to have a BOx gap.
I should point out that this concept is at least as old as the miniskirt. When the miniskirt came into fashion (and Twiggy was the top model) someone decided that you should only wear a miniskirt if your thighs didn’t visibly touch.
As you mention, it has nothing to do with fitness, it’s actually a complicated interaction between bone structure, such as pelvis shape, musculature (because women are not allowed to have muscles, dontchaknow) and yes, fat.
In a way, I pity women who do have a space between their thighs, because they can’t be sure if the men who want to date them are only interested in their appearance.
Hi
I just did a google search because I saw something on Facebook this week & had been meaning to find out why there would be a page dedicated to it. I don’t think I’m a prude but it did lead to me delete the acquaintance who had recently liked the page as I find it ridiculously shallow & superficial.
I’m 14 and at school all girls talk about is each others box gaps and it makes me feel fat and ugly knowing I don’t have one. I have really fat legs and a pretty skinny upper body. One time the all pointed out that I dident have one an I’ve never felt worse in my life.
Lisa, I am a guy, I love girls, of many shapes and sizes.
I can tell you for a fact that what you consider to be “really fat” legs, in reality are probably a normal size, and some guy will already find you pretty hot.
Box Gap or thigh gap is a ridiculous new craze (remember planking….that lasted a long time didn’t it!!)
It’s either there or it isn’t, most guys (normal free thinking ones) couldn’t give a hoot.
It’s whats at the junction of the legs (if I may be so direct) that they lust after.
But really, if you are a self confident, fun person with a cheeky smile you will capture more hearts than anyone.
From what I have seen of the “pics” many of them look digitally altered anyway.
After xmas there will be another facebook “thing”, all the more reason to ditch Facebook like I did in may and haven’t looked back since.
Some of these comments, are equally as horrible as the page and expectations that are set up for women to pull themselves apart over. While the large portion of you ranting about box gaps don’t have one, you neglect to acknowledge that there are other girls who can’t control having one. At the risk of sounding like I’m bragging, I do have a box/thigh gap, and I have never done anything in my life to acquire one- and it was only the other day when one of my best friends started telling me how jealous she was of my body, and I felt absolutely terrible for it.
I’ve seen one or two comments slagging on girls with box/thigh gaps, and calling them unattractive. I doubt any one of you thought about how you would be making the small majority of women who don’t care about what they do or don’t have feel. But rather you were just insulting a particular feature to make yourselves feel better. That is what I call disgusting.
Sure, you had good intentions, but you still attempted to make derogatory remarks in order to heighten your own self-esteem.
Good on you all, I’m going to go and eat 10 burgers now.
The author never said that having a ‘box gap’ itself is bad, just that being obsessed with it is bad.
I absolutely agree Natasha. I think it is horrible that people are becoming obsessed with yet another feature, but that is no excuse to knock those who actually do have one. Either way you can’t help it.
Jealousy’s a curse ladys
Oh no, Ladies, even God can’t spell!
I have to admit it’s attractive. So is cleavage, small boobs, long hair, short hair, creamy skin, freckles, brown eyes, bright green eyes… know what I mean?
It is objectifying but it’s also celebrating something that turns them on.
Animalistic sexuality is like tastebuds – some is learned, some is preference and sometimes what’s tasty to you, isn’t tasty to someone else. No reason to worry about your ingredients or bash someone’s taste. (granted I haven’t seen the page and I’m sure it’s overboard but some people obsess over anything) Just keep cooking with what you’ve got!
God, I hope you have a six-pack, muscular arms and legs, and a strong back… Or you really have no place to judge how others look.
Some people are happy with themselves. And beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Not everyone likes the same thing.
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Hey All,
I just wanted to point out something. I believe that “box gap” and “thigh gap” are not actually the same thing. A box gap is the gap just below the vagina – but the thighs can still touch. A thigh gap is when the thighs don’t touch at all (eg if the girl holds her feet or knees together and her thighs don’t touch, that’s a thigh gap)
Now in my opinion, a box gap is actually something that any optimally fit & healthy girl will have. It’s not uncommon, and I believe it’s something that women should strive for. A thigh gap on the other hand I’m not particularly into, I don’t like it, BUT I don’t have a problem with it if a girls build naturally has it. It’s reverse discrimination to just dismiss any thigh gap as “annorexic” and “too skinny”, everyone is different, and some girls just have that sort of frame.
Anyway the moral of the story is, Box gap = good. Thigh gap = not good.
Thank you for actually explaining this correctly…
I think on that facebook page girls are bending and making it look more pronounced than it really is. If you stood completely straight with perfect posture and on a thin girl still might not see it. But if you bend a little..
I do gymnastics and I have fairly big thighs, I have a gap between them but I didn’t do it on purpose if that makes sense. I don’t have a box gap, I don’t care either. My friend is maybe the tallest skinniest person you will ever see and she doesn’t even have a box gap so really, it depends on your body structure, some people’s hips are wider therefor giving them a bigger gap between their legs.
Then again who gives a s**t, everyone’s body is different !
Box gap and thigh gap are different, one is a tiny triangle under your lady parts that lets light through and thigh gap is lower and means you are too skinny… guys like box gaps not thigh gaps usually, unless they into ribs showing and skeletal figures.I think the box gap some how got misconstrued into the thigh gap which is sad lol
The two terms thigh gap and box Gap are one in the same, the latter being a more “slang” word version of the description. All women don’t have them, the Thigh Gap or “Box Gap” is determined by the with of the area that joins the left and right pubic bones at the Pubic Symphysis. Some women have wider adjoining areas than other women causing a wider “Thigh Gap”. Women with a more narrow pubic area that don’t exhibit this “Gap” will not be able to attain one no matter how fit or skinny they try to become (unless overweight to begin with, and even then it’s not guaranteed; even if you hit your idea weight!) there is no exercise that will gain a “Box Gap”.
Look,Really I don’t see why it madders if a female has a gap between the thighs or not.Look ill admit it in only 14 but nearly fifteen and i find it so stupid when girls compare themselves, A friend of mine even came to school one day and said she had a thigh gap and I asked does it really matter and she had nothing to say and I really think its stupid ill admit that i reckon the box back is really ugly anyway but why cant all guys just like girls for personality not hotness, Its the person inside that counts not outside and really I reckon having a big box between your thighs is not a good look
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I really want a thigh gap. I have a small triangle gap and I have been yearning for a thigh gap for almost 2 years. I’m 14, 5’6, and weigh about 135. My thighs don’t touch when my feet aren’t together. I just want to be perfect like the models.
You should be focusing on school not thigh gaps! No one cares what a 14 or 15 year old looks like anyway. If you’re healthy and educated, thats the main thing.
Just wanted to point out:
box gap =/= thigh gap
they’re NOT the same
do your research.
Google image search “box gap vs thigh gap” and you’ll see that nowadays thigh gaps are considered gross, but box gaps are the new hot thing.
(Honestly this article is just wrong…)
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I just wanted to ask if you have ever seen a guy with a thigh gap?