IMG: Anton Oparin / Shutterstock.com
If you’ve walked by an Victoria’s Secret store, you don’t see a whole lot of diversity within their models bodies. The lingerie retailer got some negative attention this past Saturday when a group of women and one man had a friendly protest in front of the San Francisco store. These women were of all shapes and sizes, and stood in front of the store in their underwear. This protest was arranged by About-Face, which is a group that helps promote women’s self-esteem and body image.
This demonstration was called Operation Real Bodies Real Love: About-Face Action of Body Acceptance and Self-Love! Most of the people carried signs with messages like “I pledge to love my body.”
IMG: Facebook/Kendra Hyett
“We want people of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, abilities, genders, and gender expressions to join us as we walk around Union Square,” stated the Facebook event description.
Seeing different bodies in stores like Victoria’s Secret, even if it’s just a size 6 would be great. Young girls walk by the store plastered with sexy pictures of bodies they feel they will never have.
On one hand, I like the message. I too want to see greater diversity in modeling. On the other hand, trying to “force” companies to do what we want them to is entirely unAmerican. It’s one thing to show your dislike for a company. It’s quite another to send in all kinds of petitions “demanding” they do this or that. It’s simple. If you don’t like it, don’t spend your money there and encourage others to do the same. I do not spend my money at VS. I think this speaks louder than my signature.
Furthermore, the VS models do have real bodies. Just because the rest of us don’t look like that doesn’t mean they aren’t “real bodies”. Even when they aren’t photoshopped, the VS Angels are still ridiculously tall and slender.