‘Toblerone Tunnel’ Is The Latest Celebrity Instagram Trend

By : On : 22 May 2018 11:12
0 Shares
Toblerone tunnel on Kimberley GarerKimberleyGarner/Instagram

Until this morning I believed Toblerone was something you found wrapped up under the Christmas tree from your panic-buying Secret Santa. How naive I was.

Advertisements

Although the phrase ‘Toblerone tunnel’ may conjure up images of miners hacking chocolate from the walls of a picturesque Swiss cave, this could not be further from the truth.

The ‘Toblerone tunnel’ actually refers to a not-quite-so-yummy Instagram trend, where girls strive to obtain a triangular shaped gap at the top of their thighs. Y’know, like the sort you could stick a Toblerone through should you so choose to.

Advertisements

Although – for reasons of practicality as well as hygiene – it’s probably always best to just bob your chocolate stash in your handbag.

Embrace the ?

A post shared by Cara Delahoyde (@cara_delahoyde) on

This trend has been sported by a number of influential Instagrammers, including Kendall Jenner and Made In Chelsea’s Kimberley Garner. This is, unfortunately, only the latest in a long line of increasingly bizarre thigh-based beauty crazes.

Body positivity advocates were deeply concerned by the advent of the notorious thigh gap, which celebrated legs so slim they didn’t touch above the knee.

The term ‘thigh gap’ was coined following the 2012 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show with worrying images cropping up on many ‘thinsperation’ blogs.

Advertisements

By 2015 we had the ‘thigh brow,’ which rather disappointingly had nothing to do with cultivating tiny eyebrow shaped patches of hair on your thighs, it actually refers to a skin fold formation at the top and front of the thighs, becoming visible when a woman bends forward, sits or kneels.

Check out this video below about body modifications:

Many confused people have taken to social media to discuss this strange new standard to which our poor, innocent thighs are apparently now being held.

Advertisements

One wise person pondered:

I always thought your Toblerone tunnel was the one between between your nose and your chin.

Another sensible lady laughed:

Toblerone Tunnel? You couldn’t get a Toblerone through my thighs if it was melted!

Although it’s all too easy to mock these fleeting body fads, such pressure can have a very real and damaging effect on the self-esteem of impressionable young women.

Liam Preston, Head of the Be Real Campaign told UNILAD:

Social media crazes like the Toblerone Tunnel tend to go viral pretty quickly and can have a damaging effect on young women’s body image and self-esteem.

We’ve seen it before with the thigh gap trend, which saw many young girls try to conform to a beauty standard that’s not only unobtainable for the majority of them, but also can encourage them to use unhealthy methods to achieve it.

It’s important that we celebrate different bodies and shapes and not thrive to look the same by following the latest social media craze.

Body positive fitness model, Louise Aubrey, recently posted a side by side picture of her bottom to show how misleading the ‘body perfect’ world of Instagram truly is.

One picture shows her posing, while the other shows her standing naturally. Her bottom looks very different – and perfectly fine – in both pictures.

Louise told UNILAD:

I think a lot of women struggle to love their body because of the ideal body we are pressured to get.

What is even harder nowadays is that this ideal is informal – it is not the one we see on billboards, the girls we know are models anyway, it is all the women showing their best angles on social media.

And it is natural to want to look good in a public space, but it is just detrimental to me to only show one side of reality that makes us believe we are the problem not to look flawless 24/7.

« You cannot understand, you have a perfect body ». ⠀ ⠀ Yes, I workout. Yes, I eat healthy. No, I do not have a perfect body. And you know why ? Because I stopped looking for it. ⠀ ⠀ When I started working out, I had these crazy expectations on the body I hoped / wanted to get. Finally, I will get a thigh gap, a flat stomach, and no more cellulite !! Because that’s how a healthy body is perceived. Because people make you think is it not normal to have it. But you know what ? It is. Yes, I still store fat on my stomach. Yes, I still have cellulite. And yes, I am still « healthy ». Remember one thing : your body is NOT the enemy ? _______________________________________ « Toi, tu ne peux pas comprendre, tu as un corps parfait ». ⠀ ⠀ Oui, je fais du sport. Oui, je mange sain. Non, je n’ai pas un corps parfait. Et vous savez pourquoi ? Parce que j’ai arrêté de le rechercher. ⠀ ⠀ Quand j’ai commencé le sport, j’avais ces attentes incroyables sur le corps que je voulais / espérais avoir. A moi le thigh gap, le ventre plat, plus de cellulite !! Pourquoi ? Parce qu’on vous fait croire que c’est ça, un corps sain. Parce qu’on nous fait croire que ces choses là ne sont pas normales. Et vous savez quoi ? Elles le sont. Oui, je stocke toujours la graisse dans le ventre. Oui, j’ai toujours de la cellulite. Et oui, je suis quand même quelqu’un de « sain ». Rappelez-vous d’une chose : votre corps n’est PAS votre ennemi ? . . . #youareenough #selfacceptance #bodypositive #realitycheck #bbg #tbc #gfg #girlgains

A post shared by Louise| Thinker & Maker (@mybetter_self) on

I for one couldn’t fit a miniature hero through my thighs, let alone a Toblerone, and I have never once been arrested by the thigh police.

I hope anyone reading this knows happiness does not come from comparing themselves to what they see on Instagram and other forms of social media.

All of us have very different bodies and embracing and accepting this is a far more beautiful and empowering thing to do.

If you’re experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They’re open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58, and they also have a webchat service if you’re not comfortable talking on the phone.