Earlier this summer, thousands of women began posting photos of their thighs to Twitter with the hashtag #ThighReading, forming a vast mosaic of thighs of all sizes, textures, and colors.
As #ThighReading – meant to be a play on palm reading – started trending on Twitter, countless news outlets from BuzzFeed to the BBC covered the trend, describing it as “part of the body positivity movement online” and a celebration of stretch marks, cellulite, scars, bruises, and other perceived imperfections. The movement was praised for encouraging women to embrace their bodies and helping people understand that not all thighs fit into the slim, smooth, spotless societal ideal that is possessed naturally by few while somehow remaining ubiquitous in mass media.
My legs r filled with scars strechmarks and a few spider veins but I love them theyll always hold me up #ThighReading pic.twitter.com/2cahTNwtdk
— selena abou (@grassfaery) August 4, 2015
learning to live with the way my body looks. survival scars come through. #ThighReading pic.twitter.com/mNtdKl3lPR
— katherina chachki (@kidvicious_) August 4, 2015
However, many online cynics seemed to believe that the #ThighReading movement is frivolous and unnecessary, perhaps even counterproductive in promoting body positivity. Commentators scoffed at the hashtag, claiming that the movement somehow cultivated self-hatred by encouraging women to share photos of their thighs instead of keeping them hidden. Others complained that the movement was anti-feminist in that it objectified women by reducing them to their body parts.
These critics were missing the point of #ThighReading…
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