The idea of braving a day in Spanx is a daunting one, to say the least. The constant need to adjust your undergarments, the incessant crushing pain of your internal organs and the general fear of how eating lunch will only exacerbate both of these problems is enough to deter us. But now brave teens across the country are deciding to wear them everywhere -- and they have no qualms talking about it.
"You get the training bra and then you get the Spanx," one teen tells "Good Morning America." It's now become fashionable for girls as young as 13 years old to wear the teenage version of Spanx, in-your-face neon patterned "spankies." We certainly didn't spend our formative years in constricting, insecurity-inducing gear, but apparently teens are so concerned about "muffin tops" that they're wearing shapewear everywhere from the sports field to the classroom.
This trend is more alarming than it sounds though, as the growing bodies of teenagers are vulnerable to the health risks that Spanx impose like bladder infections, gastro-intestinal problems and nerve damage that can result in numbness and burning in the thighs -- yikes! To make matters worse, this hyper-awareness of looking perfect is only harming the already-fragile body images of most teens. "More and more the skinner girls think they're bigger than they are, so they feel like they have to hide something," a teen told "Good Morning America."
So with teens calling for magazines to stop airbrushing models to perfection and body-image issues taking front-and-center in the fashion world, we wonder if this trend is not as harmless as it seems. Do you think it's OK for brands to market special shapewear to teens?
See celebs who have set an example and gone Photoshop-free...
