How the “Bikini Bridge” Went Viral and Why


Three women on the beach in bikinis. Credit: Flickr/Phil Chambers

What happens when you combine a cultural obsession with thinness, a bit of organised propaganda and a catchy hashtag? Enter the ‘bikini bridge‘: the space between the bikini and the lower abdomen that occurs when bather bottoms are suspended between the two hip bones.

On January 5, 2014, anonymous internet trolls on 4chan, an imageboard website, launched “Operation Bikini Bridge,” a campaign aimed to garner buzz and popularity for a little-known term (first coined on Tumblr in 2009).




Credit: Twitter/Author provided/Conversation

How body ideals spread through social media

Trends such as ‘thinspiration‘ and ‘fitspiration‘ provide insight into the darker side of how social media shapes attitudes to women’s bodies. However, what is less understood is how body ideals are communicated through social media to gain traction.


Firstly, it was a simple, singular body goal: the term ‘bikini bridge’ offered catchy mass appeal as something that users could strive to achieve. As Riley tweeted (January 7, 2014, 9.34 pm): Y is having a #bikinibridge suddenly 2014 news? Please, I was obsessed w/ bikini bridge before it even had a name.

Secondly, it did not matter if the notion of a bikini bridge was real or fake – it was believable as it drew on innate cultural beliefs about how a woman’s body should look. As Chrissy tweeted (January 1, 2014, 1.46 pm): You can’t blame the Internet for a body image culture that already existed #bikinibridge

Thirdly, the bikini bridge was accelerated by other online communities, such as pro-anorexia groups and online pornographers, who leveraged the bikini bridge hashtag to spread their own messages. As pro-anorexia user Ashley tweeted (January 12, 2014, 8.05 pm): Perfectly concave #thinspo #bikinibridge #hipbones

A ‘bikini bridge’ image from Twitter. Author provided Credit: Conversation

Finally, online users helped further spread the bikini bridge trend by voicing conflicting opinions about it – creating a very public conversation. For example, BridgesAreBest tweeted (January 7, 2014, 12.06 am): @FeministGroup This is a movement for feminists, by feminists. Free your body. It’s your choice. Embrace the #bikinibridge.

In response, FeministGroup tweeted (January 7, 2014, 12.08am): No way! The #bikinibridge craze is the new thigh gap – telling young women their worth is based on their lack of body size. Not ok!

An image from Twitter. Author provided Credit: Conversation

Hashtags, social media and body idealisation





Body ideals as viral sensations



Online body image trends like the bikini bridge reward women for achieving a single body part, rather than focusing on overall health and well-being. Hashtags move cultural messages beyond generalised ideals of body perfection, such as being thin, and toward singular versions of body perfection, such as attaining a ‘bikini bridge’ or ‘thigh gap.’

The ConversationSuch simplistic, social-media-driven body ideals create a disturbing new set of pressures for young women.

Jenna Drenten, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Loyola University Chicago and Lauren Gurrieri, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, RMIT University. 
