Women Who Lived Through The “Thigh Gap” Era Are Having None Of This New TikTok Trend

Another day, another god-awful social media trend that makes us worried for our kids and also the state of the world in general. Over the years, women in particular have endured a veritable onslaught of made-up terms meant to make us feel crappy about our bodies: thigh gap, hip dip, muffin top, even cellulite. And now the “legging legs” TikTok trend has taken ahold of our already exhausted body image. Here’s what you need to know about this fresh hell.

What are “legging legs?”

As far as we can tell, the origins of this particular TikTok trend can be dated back to as early as October 2023, according to KnowYourMeme. In these early examples, female users generally bemoan their lack of “legging legs,” which is to say “slim, long legs that look good/ideal/perfect in a pair of leggings.” While some outlets, such as The New York Post and USA Today reference “a wave of young women proudly show off their ‘legging legs,’” such posts are difficult to find. (We’ll get to why in a bit.)

“Legging legs” began trending in January 2024... for a good reason.

If you search for “legging legs” on Google, most of what you will find is backlash to the term itself. In fact, it’s the outrage for the term, which appears to be fairly niche before earlier this month (at least if we look at the Google Trends data).

TikTok user @sydneymarie469 went fairly viral earlier this month (nearly 10 million views as of press time) for a simple video captioned “What are ‘leggings legs’ and why is there a new insecurity on this app every week?”

“Do we understand what we are doing to the younger generation of women?” @emilyxpearl asks indignantly. “Do we understand that there are 15-year-old girls that wear leggings every single day who now feel like they can’t because they don’t have ‘legging legs’? Legging legs! The most stupid thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

New videos have proliferated on the site, all expressing anger, sorrow, annoyance, or snark about this dubious term. Many pointed out that the concept is effectively a repackaging of the “thigh gap” that slithered its way into public consciousness in the 2010s.

“Here to remind you that all legs are legging legs,” wrote @ashleerosehartley over a video in which she is wearing leggings while looking flabbergasted as America Ferrera’s Barbie monologue plays over her.

Therapist Holly Esser, @empoweringyou.therapy on TikTok, weighed in on the rise of the new term as well. “This is disgusting,” she said. “Do not let social media tell your body it is a trend. If you have a body and you have leggings, you have legging legs. Wear the leggings, be proud be confident: you have legging legs.”

“The whole ‘legginglegs’ thing isn’t even shocking to me as a survivor of the ‘thigh gap’ era,” laments Twitter user @angtaysversion. “We never learn from history when it comes to women because there’s too large of a market hinging on us hating ourselves.”

TikTok no longer allows users to search for “legging legs.”

Remember when I said it was difficult to find the kinds of posts (aka those of women swanning about showing off their “good” legs) that prompted the January 2024 backlash? That’s because TikTok no longer allows users to search for the hashtag or term “legging legs.” Well, more accurately, you can search for it, but instead of a slew of videos, TikTok has posted a cartoon picture of what appears to be a contented but abstract stomach with the caption, “You’re not alone. If you or someone you know is having a hard time, help is always available.” Users are prompted to check resources via a link and are provided with the phone number for the National Alliance for Eating Disorders.

Honestly, it’s refreshing to see a social media company nip this in the bud once it started really gaining traction. Between this and so many content creators, mainly women, flatly rejecting this very silly idea, it’s heartening to think that maybe, just maybe, we’re (very slowly) learning that the only way to win this toxic game is not to play.