And quite rightly so.
Their new range of lingerie claims to encapsulate everything that a perfect piece of underwear should - but their message? Is completely muddied by their incredibly insensitive advertising. The models, each one barely a size 6 hints that in order to have the perfect lingerie, you'll require the perfect body, too.
Intentional? Who am I to say. Damaging? Completely.
On the flip side we have Meghan Trainor - a brand spanking new artist with her latest hit 'All about that bass'.
Now, whilst I think it's fabulous to have a woman speak out and say 'HEY! It doesn't matter what size we are, we're all lovely' Meghan is also giving a pretty shallow-minded perspective on women's weight.
With lyrics such as 'I'm bringing booty back, go ahead and tell them skinny bitches that' - insinuating that if you're skinny, you're not as attractive. Well, it's not exactly the cheerleader approach we should be taking for each other, is it?
With mixed messages like these what exactly are we meant to do? If you're above a size 14? Not acceptable. If you're under a size 14? Not acceptable. And we only have ourselves to blame. We spend our lives whittling and moaning about how there is so much pressure on us as women to have the perfect body. Yet we are directly behind both extremes.
Both messages are unhealthy. They promote low self-esteem and body-image issues in equal measure. Perhaps we could just stop shaming each other? Accept that we are all different, whatever our size it shouldn't matter.
What makes me sad though? That Victoria's Secret will more than likely have to remove this advert (which I completely agree with). Meghan Trainor? She'll continue to hold on to her number one spot she's had for weeks on end, why? Because we've purchased the record and supported it. Just like we've brought that underwear.
If you're 'skinny' it doesn't mean you're perfect.
But don't think that 'bringing booty back' is an excuse to shame women who aren't.
We should all be in this, together.
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Thank you! I don't know why we, as a society, cannot just celebrate women for who they are regardless of size. I'm all for eliminating the stigma that surrounds bigger women. Their bodies are equally as beautiful as that of a size 8 girl - and vice versa. There is no "one perfect body". What I really don't like is that with the song "all about that bass" is that it does seem to imply that being skinny is not attractive or desirable. It drives me mad when I see something along the lines of "real women have curves" like being skinny or slender makes you any less of a woman. What? We shouldn't be encouraging one body type at the expense of all the others and we certainly shouldn't be trying to make fat/skinny girls feel awful for how they look. it does nothing for anyone's self-esteem! Fat-shaming and skinny-shaming are equally bad. Lets just celebrate us for who we are, regardless of size. Everyone is beautiful after all.
ReplyDebi x
You said it girlfriend! I couldn't agree more.xxx
ReplyCouldn't agree with this post more! xx
Replyhttp://cocoamay.blogspot.co.uk
Totally agreed!
Replyxx
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It's so true that people believe that just because someone is 'skinny' it is ok to call them 'stick figure barbie dolls' when it's not. Any criticism to any kind of body type, no matter how accepted the body type is in the media is just as bad as calling a bigger person 'fat'
ReplyGreat post! I totally agree. All this rubbish about what women should and shouldn't look like is just horrible. Everyone is different, and it's being healthy and happy that's important.
Replyxx Mimmi, Muted Mornings
Well said miss Meg! You're my favorite lady to look up to <3
ReplyGreat post, Meg. I've heard lots of criticism about how they use the word perfect on this advert.
ReplyLizzie's Daily Blog
Well put! The song is catchy but the more I listen to it the more I disagree with the lyrics. It seems like every one is learning to embrace 'bigger' sizes but 'smaller' sizes are shamed. Happiness and health is all that really matters and an obsession with weight is not beneficial for either!
ReplyHeather x
http://heatherrrrm.blogspot.co.uk/
Such a great post Meg, and I wouldn't expect anything different from you. I love to sing along to 'All About That Bass' and I get the message, love yourself no matter what size, but that line has always bothered me too. Some girls want to gain weight and can't, is it fair to call them a 'skinny bitch', and if we were to put the boot on the other foot, would that be acceptable too?! I'm definitely going on a rant here, but needless to say, we should love ourselves, our skin and our bodies exactly the way they are!
ReplyBlog With Laura
I think we need to start teaching girls and women to not listen to a word the media or brands say about body types. We need to be proud of our bodies and not feel bad about ourselves whether we are a size 0 or "plus-size". And if we do want to change, we should do it for the right reasons - e.g. health - not because we think it will lead to acceptance by society.
ReplyYou're a great inspiration and role model - keep up the good work ! x
Shelbi Chic
Very well said! I have no idea how that Victoria's Secret ad was approved - honestly, which creative executive looked at that and though 'yep, let's put text saying "the perfect body" over a bunch of thin women, that won't be damaging to 90% of women at all'. Just when you think the media is taking positive steps towards body acceptance, stuff like this comes out. Absolutely horrible.
ReplyTessa / Bramble & Thorn
I completely agree the messages we sent out about womans bodies are ridiculous. I don't understand why we have to send any message at all, men don't seem to have this problem. Why can't we just leave woman to look how they feel comfortable.
ReplyLauren
livinginaboxx
...but I've kind of sort of questioned whether they should be scrutinised on my blog.
ReplyMalia
cmalia.blogspot.co.uk
Body shaming all together should not exist. I'm naturally a size 6 and find it impossible to put on weight so hearing songs like 'all about the bass' can make me feel horrible about myself and not 'womanly' so I can completely understand that a naturally larger person would feel horrible about themselves seeing a campaign like the victoria secret one. I know it's wishful thinking but we should all just learn to accept how we look and understand that there is no such thing as a 'right' or 'wrong' size. x
Replygraciousghost.blogspot.com
Totally agree with this, it's like anything though, people will always have different opinions. I could criticize someone with blonde hair yet they could criticize me for having brown hair, it's all about people continually judging each other which is why the world has all these problems regarding appearance/weight as we've been brought up surrounding by all these opinions!x
ReplyLucy Jane // A little bit of everything
I totally 100% agree with your point, and I'm really glad people are speaking out against these kinds of campaigns, but I'm not sure I agree with your reading of "All About That Bass". I don't like the line 'Go ahead and tell the skinny bitches that' but it is directly followed by 'No, I'm just playing'. I don't think Meghan Trainor is trying demonise skinny women, but rather to show how women of different sizes and shapes are pitted against each other. The point isn't very well made, because the punchline gets lost in the next lyric, while the phrase 'skinny bitches' lingers with you, but I don't think its fair to attribute such a damaging attitude to her song, when I think its intention is actually the opposite.
ReplyWhat seems far more problematic to me is that the song suggests that women should be happy with their size because men will find it sexually appealing, which should be largely irrelevant to messages on body positivity. Our bodies shouldn't be deemed acceptable based on whether or not someone else finds us attractive. x
I'm in total agreement with you. Whatever the size you are, it should be celebrated. Adverts like these bring up a whole other bunch of areas like ethnicity, disabilities etc. that aren't shown in the media. Which I think is pretty narrow minded! Love your blog and posts :) xx
ReplyI agree. I'm not big, nor am I super thin, I'm somewhere in between, so I think that woman should just embrace their own body. And if they are unhappy with something, then do something about it! If you are big and you want to lose a little bit of weight, then work at it. If you are stick skinny, and you want to gain muscle, do some weight training. Anything is possible!
ReplyThank you for this! Everyone is raving about Trainor's new song, and I'm going, "Wait, she's doing the same thing she's ridiculing!" I completely agree that we don't just wake up and look in the mirror saying, "Ew, I'm gross." Someone says it to us, and then a seed takes root. We should all be in this together instead of tearing each other down.
Replyhttp://mwritesabout.blogspot.com