With their “Angels” all over their stores, as well as all over magazines and television, Victoria’s Secret banks on women’s desire for sex appeal. From stores brimming with products to the annual fashion show, this mega corporation has become a status symbol. This week, another Victoria’s Secret marketing ad went public, complete with petite flawless models, as per usual. This time, however, the ads' main headline read, “The Perfect ‘Body,'" resulting in a major backlash from the public.
The public had a frenzy. A campaign asking for a public apology was created, as was a long stream of tweets with “#iamperfect. Women everywhere were ready to make a change, calling out the company for “body shaming.” The perfect body headline hovers over a line-up of tiny models, making for an ad that sends a completely wrong message.
The ad was in fact referring to the company’s “Body” line, which makes the initial backlash seem as if they blew the whole situation out of proportion. As you read on, the subheading reads, “Perfect fit. Perfect comfort. Perfectly soft,” showing that the “Perfect ‘Body’” headline was referring to their product, but it is easy to see the double meaning within the words. It seems as if this ad is the public’s ammunition to cause yet another battle in the war against the media’s depiction of a “perfect” image.
However, with all these battles, the media is still winning the war. Victoria’s Secret still rakes in the cash, and their marketing approach probably won’t change overnight. Although the fact that so many people are standing up in disagreement is a great combat strategy, it seems as if it is a baby step towards the end goal, with little initial accomplishment.
These campaigns are a much-needed step toward eliminating body shaming, but we need more than this to really make a difference. Companies such as Dove have made their own ads showcasing women of realistic proportions in their “Real Beauty” campaign, but it seems even that isn't enough. As shown in an article on Huffington Post, “Why ‘Love Your Body’ Campaigns Aren’t Working,” girls still see "feel good" campaigns and think, “That’s nice, but I still want to be skinny.”
What society needs is day-to-day women showing their confidence in every aspect of their lives. Seeing real women being successful and confident will make more women catch on to the fact that they don’t need to look like a Victoria’s Secret Angel to be confident and “perfect.” Although Dove showcased commonplace women, we need to see the women with whom we work and the women we sit next to in our classes have this same level of confidence. This will inspire us, as well as young girls, to adopt this same mentality.
Young girls, as well as grown women, have come to think that looking like a model is at the first step to being successful, happy, and the only way to be seen as beautiful. Seeing women being confident in their own skin will be equally as uplifting as receiving 25,000 signatures on a petition. It will be more empowering to see women ignoring the ads surrounding them, and remaining confident despite them. This mentality will bring a smile to their peers' faces, instead of seeing that very same woman only ordering a salad because society has told her she has to lose weight.
As great as these campaigns are, we need to make the change in our day-to-day lives to really make a difference. Without more ways of standing up against this issue, it seems as if our efforts will go without any significant change, no matter how many petitions we sign.
Reach the columnist at dpharias@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @_Desirayray
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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