Body Confidence

First there was the thigh gap. Then, there was the bikini bridge, the space between a woman's bathing suit bottoms and her hipbones when she lies down (although this "trend" was uncovered as a hoax meant to trick the media into covering it—even though it wasn't really a thing). Then, last week, the new It term was "thut," a word for the point on a woman's anatomy where her thigh and butt meet. It's a thut, apparently, if the area lacks muscle tone and appears to blend together. Never mind the fact that how defined this spot is has more to do with genetics than the number of squats a woman does. Some media outlets actually found trainers who advised women with thuts to do specific exercises to build it up and give it definition. 

We get how easy it is to jump on these ridiculous fake body problems; the terms are catchy, and they provide an excuse to dissect women's bodies, which is a sexier topic than, say, health care. But there are consequences: Non-stories about thuts give women more reasons to feel bad about themselves for not living up to impossible body standards. "Coined terms like 'thigh gap' and 'bikini bridge'—and the news articles, images, hashtags, and social media comparisons that come with them—have given those obsessions larger and more competitive platforms," Claire Mysko, of the National Association of Eating Disorders, told The Washington Post last week. 

That's why it's important to keep in mind that these fake terms are made up by body shamers just trying to cause a stir—they're not something you can even control most of the time, and no healthy woman needs to worry about these fictional problem areas (or any others that you may notice popping up on social media). 

MORE: 6 Ways to Boost Your Body Confidence

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