I’m an influencer – here’s how easy it is to fake a thigh gap just by posing

A body positivity influencer has revealed how you can easily fake a thigh gap on Instagram with a simple pose, slamming social media as being fake.

Danae Mercer Ricci, who is from California but living in Florence, showed how you can model a ‘wider pelvis’ and give the illusion of a completely different body just by angling your legs in a different way.

The new mother, who welcomed her first child last month, took to Instagram – where she has more than 2.3 million followers – to urge viewers not to ‘panic’ if their thighs ‘touch or rub or don’t gape apart in the mirror’.

Posting a social media clip on Sunday, Danae showed how she looks like with and without the forced posing, showing just how plausible it is for an influencer to misrepresent their body in photos.

First, she filmed herself at the gym wearing shorts while posing in the mirror, with a clear gap between her legs.

But then the influencer relaxed, showing a far more natural stance, with her thighs touching at the top.

The post went viral with more than 10,600 likes and left fans stunned at the difference.

Danae even explained how the unnatural look was achieved in the caption, writing: ‘Here, I tipped my pelvis back really far to elongate the legs, tighten the abs.

‘I rotated my knees and quads inwards, did both at the same time while not breathing and bam. Magic thigh gap. Woah.

‘You can do it while walking too. Just push one leg out to the side instead of actually in front of you. In a photo, it looks like a thigh gap. It’s that easy.’

She hit out at body image standards which leave people thinking that their natural body shapes aren’t good enough.

‘Thigh gaps. Hip dips. Gosh darn bikini bridges. All of these things are so darn stupid,’ she wrote.

‘They’re dependent on either genetics, or just knowing how to work your angles. That’s it. That’s the whole of it.’

A body positivity influencer has revealed how you can easily fake a thigh gap on Instagram with a simple pose, slamming social media as being fake

The new mother, who welcomed her first child last month, took to Instagram – where she has more than 2.3 million followers – to urge viewers not to ‘panic’ if their thighs ‘touch or rub or don’t gape apart in the mirror’

Danae hit out at body image standard which leave people thinking that their natural body shapes aren’t good enough

Danae stressed that having certain body features aren’t indicative of health, nor wellness or fitness.

‘Just, ya know, having a wider pelvis (hello, thigh gap) than someone else,’ she added. ‘Or knowing how to pop your hips out (yup, hip dips) in a photo.’

The influencer urged her followers not to feel bad about their own features. 

She penned: ‘So next time your thighs touch or rub or don’t gape apart in the mirror, please don’t panic. Don’t stress. Don’t let it get you down.

‘Mine don’t either. And that’s so darn OK. Because health and fitness and wellness matter so much more than whether we can see some air between our limbs or not.’

The influencer, who  welcomed her baby last month, urged her followers not to feel bad about their own features

The post clearly resonated with her followers, who praised Danae’s reality check. Pictured in a social media post last year

The influencer pictured in 2021, showing how easy it is to change your body just via posing

Danae stressed that having certain body features aren’t indicative of health, nor wellness or fitness

The post clearly resonated with her followers, who praised Danae’s reality check. 

‘I LOVE your posts! Thank you so much!,’ one fan gushed.

Another added: ‘I had to Google bikini bridge. Literally so sad.’

A third shared: ‘I needed your page. Thanks for providing some balance to my feed!!’

‘I cannot express how grateful I am for you on this platform,’ one commenter admitted. ‘Instagram can be a pretty toxic place, but influencers like you are what make it redeemable!’