A new, weird social media trend in China has women using the hashtag #A4waistchallenge to share photos that compare their waistlines to a piece of paper.

In the photos making the rounds on social media, young women hold a 8.27 inch wide piece of paper in portrait position over their waists to prove that they have perfect waistlines. Several have used the challenge as a fitness goal.

A photo posted by (@jojoyin07) on Mar 15, 2016 at 8:12am PDT
A photo posted by Vicki SG (@vicki_yuxuan) on Mar 16, 2016 at 8:46am PDT


While the women taking part in the trend consider it a reachable goal, the controversial fad is being slammed on social media for promoting unrealistic and unhealthy standards for women, who are already the subjects of criticism when it comes to body expectations.

One Twitter user, a young man named Xavier Xiong, even mocked the fad with his own photo, writing,"A slim waist thinner than paper."

This isn't the first time that women on social media have compared their bodies to objects or used objects as a harmful way prove their bodies' worth.

Back in January, the pencil underneath the breast challenge became a fad. Women took pictures with pencils, pens, eyeliner tubes and other items placed underneath their breasts to prove that they were "true women," showing they had a desired breast size. Thousands participated in this challenge despite the criticism it received.

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