Say hello to 'hip cleavage': the bikini trend celebrities can't get enough of

Those bikini bottoms are just getting higher and higher [Photos: Instagram]

Summer is almost here, which means it must be time for a bizarre new body trend. Step forward the ‘hip cleavage.’

Scooch over boobs, when it comes to cleavage it is all about the hips these days. Apparently.

For those not in the know, hip cleavage is essentially the little sliver of skin around your hip bone.

Think that little makeshift cutout, which appears when wearing high-leg under or swimwear a la the A-list and Insta set.

According to Page Six , a whole plethora of celebrities including Bella Hadid, Kim Kardashian (of course!) and Emily Rajratajkowski have been taking to social media to show off their hip bone décolletage.

But like ‘ribcage bragging’, a term coined by the Daily Mail, pointing to celebrities uploading bikini pictures which proudly display their protruding ribs, thigh gaps, ab cracks, bikini bridges and thigh brows there’s a worrying side to these so-called body crazes.

For a start, they tend to pile the pressure on other women to strive for unrealistic #bodygoals.

Where ‘strong’ not ‘skinny’ was the previous desired mantra, this latest body trend seems to celebrate hips the more they stick out.

While stars currently sharing bikini clad images proudly flaunting their hip cleavages, are likely unaware the effect the shots could be having, it’s hard to ignore the impact this could be having on body image.

But don’t be thinking our dislike of this new hip cleavage craze is about skinny-shaming women who happen to have naturally protruding hips.

It’s more about having an awareness of the pressure these images might be placing on young girls who may never actually have a hip cleavage, no matter their exercise or healthy eating regime.

Thankfully, not all social media body trends are on the worrying side and last year we reported on the #MermaidThighs trend, which encouraged women to embrace their natural body shape, touching thighs and all.

Where the thigh gap, ab crack and bikini bridge and now hip cleavages could subtly shame women who don’t fit into a certain narrow definition of beauty, the #MermaidThighs movement was all about celebrating your body shape, whether you have a gap in your thighs, or a cleavage in your hips.


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