Ubiquitous Cultural Bonding Syndrome is perceived as a mental illness that is present in all societies but is also variable between different cultures. What may be called mental illness for one culture may be called habitual conduct for another culture; that's why many of these diseases seem absurd among individuals who are not affected by them (culture-specific diseases). Many of these culture-bound illnesses can also reflect how the media wants to perceive an individual. With the use of media, individuals see what is acceptable in the culture and what is despised. These acceptable visions that are given to individuals not only make them feel worthy if they achieve these idealistic visions, but can also cause negative connotations not only for the individual themselves but for the extremes they potentially endure to achieve these goals culturally. opinions accepted. A disease linked to culture and well accepted by the media is called "thigh gap". This is a new obsession among teenage girls between the ages of thirteen and twenty. A thigh gap is defined as an “empty cavity that appears between the upper legs when you stand with your feet together” (Brandes). Although many link thigh gaps with an eating disorder, this is not entirely true because having a thigh gap depends on an individual's body structure. Many people who were not born with a gap between their thighs mostly undergo extreme diets to achieve this new obsession found on the web. The social media site that started this fashion statement is called Tumblr. Tumblr has influenced this new culturally accepted view because of the images that are displayed of these supermodels that are...... middle of paper...... cross-culturally acceptable. Although the media plays an important role in creating a specific cultural disease, many other diseases that are viewed culturally are viewed by society itself and not by what the media pushes others to do. Works CitedBanks. (n.d.). “Culture” in culture-bound syndromes: the case of anorexia nervosa. NCBI. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/1376499/Brandes, B. (2013, February 12). It's time to declare war on the Thigh Gap. VICE. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/thigh-gapRare and Unusual Psychiatric Syndromes Part 2: Culture-Bound Conditions. (n.d.). Medscape. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/culture-synd(2010, October 7). Culture-specific diseases. Retrieved from http://anthro.palomar.edu/medical/med_4.htm