Is there a less loved part of a woman’s body than her thighs? Companies try to pretend they don’t exist, there’s amachine dedicated just toexercisethem and —let’s admit —it’s probably low on the list of body parts most of us are happy with. Maybe that’s why we’ve never noticed that they have some impressive powers.
It began with Twitter user @princess_labia posting a musing imagine of the stretch marks on her thighs, comparing their stories to the ones that fortune tellers claim to see in the lines of our hands.
✨show me ur #thighreading✨
— EMO SLUT (@princess_labia) July 20, 2015
The idea took off worldwide, with thousands of women of every age posting their own#thighreadingimages on Twitter and Instagram.
“It’s especially exciting because you get responses like, ‘I didn’t realize how many girls had this’ or ‘it makes me feel more comfortable having these’ or ‘the more I look at them the more beautiful I realize they are,” @princess_labiatold MTV. The problem with thighs, she continued, is that there’s no “normal” because the images we see are so stylized.
Women took#thighreadingnot just as a call for body positivity, but a chance to share the struggles their thighs have seen — and, more importantly, carried them through to the next adventure. They used the photos to tell their stories about their past…
How they go to where they are now…
Each line is a testament to how much I’ve grown, literally. There’s nothing wrong with stretch marks. #ThighReading pic.twitter.com/HD3rcKHOHq
— Sylva (@queenfeminist) July 30, 2015
And their hopes for the road ahead.
I survived bone cancer. My legs aren’t a symbol of beauty; they’re meant to take me on great adventures #thighreading pic.twitter.com/Bn87Ms7KjG
— pdbowen (@pdbowen) July 27, 2015
They bear the scars of our weakest moments, because we were strong enough to see ourselves through.
stretch marks from my eating disorder, they hold the strength it took to survive #Thighreading pic.twitter.com/Ks2iQ7K8Hj
— bagelprincess (@bagelprincess) July 21, 2015
They symbolize our optimism about the future, too.
And they deserve a turn in the spotlight.
So ladies, love the skin you’re in, because remember…
own the body uve grown into, stardust & trees have worked hard for you to be alive respect your parents #thighreading pic.twitter.com/N9Oey0ePqh
— Taliana Spears (@babyducks4lunch) July 23, 2015