Despite the fact that the world is full of billions of people who are a variety of shades and shapes, when your body doesn't fit the narrative pushed by mainstream media, it is tough not to feel alone. To help lift the veil, body-postive bloggers and Instagrammers are circulating #hipdips to bring attention to this rarely discussed body type.
Firstly, it is important to understand that "hip dips" or "violin hips," an extra curvature between your hip and thigh, occur completely naturally.
Basically, it is how your pelvis and joint sockets shape naturally where the hip meets the thigh. No matter how much "fat" you have in this area, this shape will fundamentally not change, despite the fact that there are billions of Internet tutorials out there on how to "fix" them.
Rebecca Nolan says when she discovered via Reddit that her "hip dips" or "violin hips" were a result of the way her skeleton was set, it changed her.
While she admitted feeling that it meant she "wasn't fat" (and, girl, if you were, who cares?), a bigger takeaway is that realizing this helped her to not compulsively work to change her body.
As she wrote on Instagram: "I'm gonna be honest, I don't love my hips; but we all have body parts we're not sold on. However, I know I can't change them … and that makes me happy, 'cause I can focus on working on things that I can change — eg., growing quads that can crush a watermelon [If you're wondering what the point/message of the post is supposed to be, tbh I'm not sure. Body confidence in the things you can't change, and bettering the things you can change? Self-love? Learning what hip dips are? Take what you will]. Also PS not saying hip dips are a bad thing, just talking from my own experience."
And she's not alone in this self-discovery.
Many other women are "coming to terms" with their shape thanks to this hashtag.
"I've spent so many years ashamed that I don't have muscle or fat that lays on my high hip bone that extends to my thigh giving me the perfect curved hip shape," wrote Lyndsey Hoover on Instagram. "I thought there was some weird thing wrong with me some workout plan I must have been missing. My plastic surgeon has even suggest we put fat there… I'm so relieved to hear this is actually pretty common and a thing that it's not just me…"
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In fact, it's making them feel downright beautiful.
Blogger/photographer Girrlscout writes, "I've had them all my life and they have always been somewhat of an insecurity of mine. Turns out your hips are just high, it's literally how the skeleton is. It is not a deformity. I reposted this article and saw so many friends of mine have the same surprised and calming reaction. It personally made me feel so much better. So let me scream it from the back – it is Normal. You are not alone. You are beautiful."
The coolest part? Women of all shapes and sizes are sharing their hip dips.
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The fact that so many women are taking solace in this viral hashtag is just further proof that body diversity and representation matters.
Keep fighting the good fight, ladies!
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
