Bikini Bridge Gap: 4 Fast Facts About The Internet 'Fad'

There's a new 'fad' on the Internet and it is, once again, setting unrealistic body image standards for women. But unlike the "thigh gap" trend--where women should have a gap between their thighs when they stand upright--this fad is nothing short of a hoax. Unfortunately, as with many pranks, the lack of authenticity of the bikini bridge trend is not known to many, who are using the phrasing and affiliated images as "thinspiration." And given that an estimated 91 percent of women admit they are unhappy with their bodies and a mere 5 percent of women naturally have the body frame portrayed by Americans in the media, the prank is troublesome, to say the least.

What is a bikini bridge? Curious about what exactly qualifies to be a bikini bridge? I suppose the unofficial definition--the made-up term has no official definition to date--is the following: Bikini bridges are when "bikini bottoms are suspended between the two hip bones, causing a space between the bikini and the lower abdomen." Translation: It's when a woman is so thin that a bikini bottom rests on a woman's portruding hip bones and creates a gap between the fabric and her abdomen.

How did the 'trend' start? The bikini bridge gap 'trend' came into existance after online forum 4chan created a hoax about it, which then proceeded to go viral. 4chan created a fake Tumblr that boasted screen shots of fabricated celebrity tweets endorsing the bikini bridge from A-listers like Harry Styles and Justin Bieber. Since then, #bikinibridge has taken social media by storm, with thousands of tweets and Instagram hashtags promoting the phrase.

What are the implications? It's no secret that women have a history of being subjected to a harsh "ideal body" standard and are vulnerable to such trends. As such, the implications of the prank can be serious. "People with poor body image who are at risk or actively struggling with disordered eating tend to fixate on particular body parts; there is nothing new about those obsessions," said the National Eating Disorder Association's Claire Mysko in an e-mail to The Washington Post. "What is new is that 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."

What is being done? "Social media creates competitiveness between other women. We know this largely effects younger women and this is exactly who is using these sites," said Louise Adams, a clinical psychologist who specializes in eating disorders and body image, to The Sydney Morning Tribune. "This is a generation who has grown up with social media and at the same time, eating disorder figures have doubled." Fortunately, most news and media outlets are on the same page when it comes to the bikini bridge: It sucks. And they're covering it accordingly--by preaching acceptance, pointing out that the entire thing is a hoax, and explaining how the viral prank came into existance. With social media being a powerful tool in the lives of people around the world, one can only hope that impressionable young girls don't take this trend to heart.