'Ab Crack' Is The Fitness Trend No Woman Needs

Another day, another trend putting body image pressure on women.
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Forget about "thigh gaps" because there's a new, even more ridiculous trend putting body image pressure on women.

According to Elle, showing off your "ab crack", aka the vertical crease that appears if you have a flat stomach, is the "new core look" this season.

"Ab cracks show us you've been in the gym. We get it. We're very impressed," the magazine adds.

But not everyone is pleased to see women's bodies being scrutinised.

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Elle

Rivkie Baum, editor of plus size magazine SLiNK said she wishes she'd never heard of an ab crack.

"As summer holidays creep ever closer and women already feel the pressure from media and advertising to be so called ‘beach ready’, this just adds another layer of pressure as it is once again very much focussed around the media construct of having a ‘bikini body'," she told The Huffington Post UK.

"It is sad that as we live in an age where social media plays an ever bigger part in our lives that it is consistently used to add pressure to women.

"As some of the biggest consumers of image based social platforms it is likely that this trend willth have a further detrimental effect on many women’s already fragile body confidence." 

The trend has also outraged many people on Twitter, with some suggesting it could lead to women "starving themselves" to seek approval.

Previously commenting on body image trends, Rebecca Field, head of communications at eating disorders charity Beat, told HuffPost UK they can negatively impact vulnerable women.

“While social media cannot be the sole cause of an eating disorder, body image and low self-esteem are key factors in the development of eating disorders, and social and cultural pressures are strong in this area,” she said.

Let's hope the ab crack trend disappears as fast as it arrived. 

Our Body Image Heroes
Serena Willliams (01 of10)
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Serena Willliams was told she is "built like a man" by Twitter trolls, but that didn't stop her being super body confident."I love that I am a full woman and I’m strong and I’m powerful and I’m beautiful at the same time," she said. "And there’s nothing wrong with that." (credit:TIMOTHY A. CLARY via Getty Images)
Tess Holliday (02 of10)
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Lines like this are why we love Tess Holliday: "It's okay to be yourself, even if you happen to exist in a fat body. I'm sexy, confident and give no fucks. Also, fuck anyone for saying otherwise. " (credit:Curve Fashion Festival)
Demi Lovato (03 of10)
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Having previously opened up about her struggles with an eating disorder, Demi Lovato posed for an un-touched nude photo featured on the cover of Vanity Fair."I basically went from hating every single inch of my body to working on myself and trying to figure out ways to love myself and love the skin that I'm in," she said in an accompanying interview."I learned after working very hard on my spirituality and my soul and my body, I learned that you can get to a place where you love the skin that you're in and I'm excited to share that with the world." (credit:Vanity Fair)
Jameela Jamil (04 of10)
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Jameela Jamil has launched an inclusive clothing range to end the plus-size divide once and for all.“I find it infuriating that in this industry, size 10 and above is defined as ‘plus size’ especially when the average dress size in the UK is a 16," she said."We really shouldn’t be putting a label on size, fashion is for all and I think confidence and happiness is more important than dress labels.” (credit:David M. Benett via Getty Images)
Chrissy Teigen(05 of10)
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Chrissy Teigen proved even models aren't perfect when she posted a picture of her stretch marks on Instagram.Her post promoted comments like: "I've had stretch marks since I was 12 years old at 5'9". So important for young girls and now 29 year olds to see." (credit:Michael Loccisano via Getty Images)
Kate Winslet (06 of10)
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Actress Kate Winslet is determined to help her daughter develop a healthy body image."When I grew up, I never heard positive reinforcement about body image from any female in my life," she said. "I only ever heard negatives. That's very damaging because then you're programmed as a young woman to immediately scrutinise yourself and how you look.""And so I stand in front of the mirror and say to Mia, 'We are so lucky that we've got a shape. We're so lucky we're curvy. We're so lucky that we've got good bums.' And she'll say, 'Mummy, I know, thank God.' It's working, that thing that I've been doing. It's paying off." (credit:Matt Crossick/Matt Crossick)
Lupita Nyong'o(07 of10)
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Lupita Nyong'o has spoken out against the lack of diversity in the media saying: "European standards of beauty are something that plague the entire world—the idea that darker skin is not beautiful, that light skin is the key to success and love."She also loves her skin, as proven by her appearance in a brilliant Sesame Street sketch. (credit:Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
Ashley Graham (08 of10)
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Model Ashley Graham refuses to be defined by her size."It’s fantastic when I’m not labeled as a plus size model in any interview or editorial I do," she told HuffPost UK Style."It makes a statement for women out there, 'look she’s not being described by her size, she’s being honoured by the things that she’s doing in the world'." (credit:Andy Kropa /Invision/AP)
Amy Schumer(09 of10)
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When a film critic called actress and comedian Amy Schumer "chubby", she responded by saying: "I am a US size 6 and have no plans of changing. This is it. Stay on or get off."Brilliant. (credit:Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Alexa Chung (10 of10)
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Alexa Chung has been skinny-shamed and called "gross" by online trolls, but instead of letting the haters get her down, she's become a spokesperson for body diversity in the media."I would love to look like Daisy Lowe, but I don't... but I'm happy with how I look. Equally, I don't want to use this as an example of how young girls should look," she said. (credit:KGC-146/STAR MAX/IPx)

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