TwitterTalk about a week of body shaming. First, the Walmart "Fat Girl Costumes" incident. Then, a traffic reporter called her news anchor coworker fat. And now, this. WHEN WILL IT END?
Victoria's Secret is guilty of a few things, namely: thigh gap Photoshop snafus and underwire that still finds a way to stab you in the boob. (Seriously, you mean to tell us that with all our technical advances, we can't find a way to avoid this?!)
Adding another hiccup to their list, Victoria' Secret has come under fire for advertisements featuring models with "the perfect body." The word "body" is meant to refer to their "Body" line of bras, but it's clear the public has interpreted it a wee bit differently.
We all have different ideas of what is a #perfectbody, & different ideals & goals which is essential as we are all beautifully different...
? Immodesty Blaize (@immodestyblaize) October 29, 2014..so of course people react strongly to media trying to force feed the myth that only one aesthetic is the #perfectbody eg #VictoriasSecret
? Immodesty Blaize (@immodestyblaize) October 29, 2014What gives Victoria's Secret the right to say what a "perfect" body is?? Stop body shaming!! pic.twitter.com/m57SJ96mn1
? hb (@hannahmbooth) October 12, 2014"I just think it's a really, really damaging message to send to young women," said Frances Black, a 22-year-old student, in an interview with The Telegraph. Black launched a petition on Change.org asking Victoria's Secret to apologize, change the wording of the ad and refrain from using similar language in the future.
Folks on the Internet pointed out the advertisement may be damaging to women's self-esteem, especially since all of the women in the previously mentioned ad could probably squeeze into a size two or four, easy. Black went on to point out that such a famous brand in the U.S. and U.K. (and one that markets to young women) should probably be a little more aware of the message they're conveying.
Victoria's Secret had no comment regarding the backlash to their "Perfect Body" campaign.
A time may not come when the world is free of body shaming, but Victoria's Secret could at least try to do their part.