TikTok Bans ‘Legging Legs’ Trend Amid Concerns Over Body Image
TikTok, the popular social media app, has been accused of enabling a dangerous trend that promotes unrealistic body standards and triggers eating disorders among its users.
The trend, known as ‘legging legs’, involves women posting videos of themselves wearing leggings and showing off the gap between their thighs. The hashtag #legginglegs, which has since been removed by TikTok, amassed millions of views and comments before it was taken down.
Many users expressed their dissatisfaction and insecurity with their bodies after seeing the videos, while others criticized the trend for being harmful and insensitive. “I have been crying for the past 4 hours bc I don’t have ‘legging legs,’ ” one user commented on TikTok.
Several TikTok users, including therapists and activists, have spoken out against the trend and urged others to reject the unrealistic and unhealthy beauty standards imposed by social media. “If you have seen this on social media, it’s repulsing,” user Holly Essler, who’s also a therapist, said in a TikTok video.
“It’s a trend saying that if you have leggings and you wear leggings your legs have to look a certain way in them,” she continued. “Again, this is disgusting. Do not let social media tell your body that it is a trend. If you have a body and you have leggings, you have legging legs.”
According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 9% of the U.S. population, or 28.8 million Americans, experience an eating disorder in their lifetime. Another study from the National Institute of Health found that social media usage leads to body image concerns, along with eating disorders and disordered eating.
TikTok has not yet responded to a request for comment on the controversy. The app has previously faced criticism for censoring content related to body positivity, LGBTQ+ rights, and political activism.
