Ribcage Bragging Is The New Thigh Gap And It's A Concerning Trend

Ribcage bragging is trending on Instagram, and this alarming new body fad is sending women a disconcerting message. What is ribcage bragging? Daily Mail coined the term after celebrities began posting bikini photos of themselves on Instagram that clearly flaunt a protruding ribcage.
A post shared by Emily Ratajkowski (@emrata) on Apr 14, 2017 at 10:29am PDT
Back in 2013, model Robyn Lawley posted a picture on Facebook where her thighs were touching. According to The Guardian, Lawley’s post was met with a deluge of negative comments, shaming her for not having space between her thighs. And so, the “thigh gap” became popular as a term. Even though Lawley publicly spoke out against her detractors, it was too late: a new way to make women feel shameful or desired by the size of their bodies had taken shape in the collective consciousness. Someone even created a Twitter account devoted to model Cara Delevingne’s thigh gap.
A post shared by Bella Hadid (@bellahadid) on Apr 2, 2017 at 8:36pm PDT
The question becomes, who is responsible for these types of “thinspiration” trends? Is it the celebrities who post these pictures well-aware of their influencer-status? Or media outlets like Daily Mail for coining this type of lexicon? Or is the problem much more complicated, and tied up in a beauty industry that makes billions off the insecurities of women seeking solutions in products and procedures designed to fix them?

Of course, not everyone is buying the “ribcage bragging” hype:

‘Ribcage bragging’ – showing the bones of your ribs is trending on Instagram. This is not healthy and celebrities need to stop this craze.
— Miss Emma Hill 👑 (@emmahill95) May 9, 2017
My thoughts 💭 on the disturbing ‘Ribcage Bragging’ trend 😒 https://t.co/4GMS1Nyn4O #RIBCAGE #ribcagebragging
— Pandora (@pandoratweets) May 11, 2017
Certainly, there are body positive trends, like “mermaid thighs,” aka the anti-thigh gap, and plenty of Instagram stars who share body positive messages. So, in the end, it becomes your personal responsibility to decide what trends affect your self-esteem and self-perception. Of course, in this world, that’s easier said than done.