'Belly Button Challenge' takes over social media

A new online trend has been overtaking Chinese social media.

Called the "Belly button challenge," thousands of Chinese citizens have uploaded images of themselves attempting to touch their own belly button by reaching around their back and waist. The trending topic, popular on the Chinese social media network Weibo, translates to "reaching your belly button from behind to show your good figure."

The challenge exploded in popularity on Weibo, being mentioned more than 130 million times among readers, according to the BBC.

The trend has quickly gained worldwide attention.

Some are concerned though that the trend may be promoting an unhealthy body image. "Quirky poses and pictures can be fun but sometimes they also become expressions of competitiveness or insecurity," Jolene Tan, Programmes and Communications Senior Manager at Aware, a non-governmental organisation in Singapore championing women's rights, told the BBC. Tan said that the trend may be another way of "of scrutinising women's bodies to see whether they are 'good enough.'"