Introducing Thigh Gap Jewellery, The Beauty Spoof Ridiculing Society's Negative Female Body Image

This is one beauty trend the world could do without.
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The thigh gap - where if you stand with your feet together and your thighs don't touch - is widely agreed to be one of the most potentially damaging beauty trends that encourages extreme dieting and body image issues.

Despite being impossible for some people to 'achieve', while perfectly natural for others - it's all about the width of your hips compared to the length of your femoral head - the quest for a thigh gap is proof, once again, of society's one-size-fits-all attitude towards beauty.

That's why Singapore designer Soo Kyung Bae has taken the issue head-on, by designing a collection of spoof jewellery, called TGAP, to challenge the thigh gap trend.

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TGAP

"Thigh gap represents one of the first few trends regarding body ideals the media has popularised," Bae told Dezeen. "It clearly demonstrates media's power on influencing one's perception of body image."

"The jewellery pieces take the thigh-gap trend to another level, the pieces are created in hopes of sparking questions," she added. "If we let the media to keep popularising such unrealistic body ideal, will this eventually become reality?"

The pieces are created from 18-karat gold-plated sterling silver, and are marketed on the TGAP website

The website functions like a regular shopping site, until you go to pay for your goods. Once shoppers hit 'checkout' they'll be forwarded to another website, which explains the aims of Bae's project, using quotes and statistics.

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TGAP

"There's an increased trend in which girls and women are engaging in extreme dieting in pursuit of a so-called thigh gap," reads a quote from Tania Heller, Medical Director of Washington Center for Eating Disorders and Adolescent Obesity in Bethesda.

"The bone structure defines whether you can have a thigh gap: the shape of the pelvic girdle and distance between the hipbones. Most women have narrow hips that even with little fat on their legs, there is no gap between their thighs," reads a quote Angela Guarda, Director of Johns Hopkins Eating Disorders Program.

At the foot of the project page are links to further information and support.

Before You Go

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)