A new body-positive trend is taking the internet by storm

#MermaidThighs The New Body Positive Message
#MermaidThighs The New Body Positive Message

There are several established movements that celebrate body positivity, such as #effyourbeautystandards and My Body is not an Apology. Now, a new hashtag is targeting a harmful trend.

"Thigh gaps" -- having a space between thighs when legs were closed -- have surged in popularity in recent years. Research has shown that this trend that they could cause negative body image and, in severe cases, eating disorders.

As the thigh gap obsession can lead to unhealthy behaviors, there has been backlash by the body-positive community. Most recently, the hashtag #mermaidthighs has swept social media for this cause. The tag has garnering thousands of posts of people showing off their touching thighs -- which resemble the bottom half of a mermaid, hence the name.

PHOTOS: See people's posts celebrating their #MermaidThighs

Users are celebrating their bodies, no matter what they look like. Furthermore, they are discouraging negative body ideals in favor of self-love. "There's a new hashtag in town and I'm digging it," said model Justine LeGault -- and judging from the multitude of social media posts, others love it as well.

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