It is in their interest, surely, to cater for all female body types, isn’t it? Am I missing something, here? Financially, it’s in their interests, if not aesthetically.
It’s time every woman and with her own unique female body type is able to see herself online, in advertising, on the runway, in the store, in television and in film. Because each body shape is beautiful and normal. I do not know about you, but I don’t see a herd of gazelles surrounding me on the tube every day on my way to work. Just look around you. What you see are, quite simply, women. Women of every shape, colour, and size. Unique women. Women with their own individuality. Women with very normal female body types, thank you very much. And, sadly, here we all are, each of us silently holding on to some kind of body issue, thanks to our thin-obsessed society. It’s ridiculous.
You know what? We are sick and tired of having to imagine what we would look like in clothes. Mercifully, here is a useful tool from Asos that reduces the pain in this process.
And we’re sick and tired of body shaming. The perpetual body shaming that happens among women, unconsciously in daily life and viciously online is tired. It’s exhausting. When did the idea that women cannot or should not love their natural bodies (or that a healthy beautiful body that isn’t Vogue’s idea of a woman’s body is unappealing) gain so much dominance? Why must we always feel that our bodies need more of this and less of that? That we should be ever vigilant, exercising, and dieting and hiding. What nonsense.
What happened to the Italian Renaissance ideal that a full shapely body was an indication of health, royalty, something to be aspired to? We have overcome so much as women, over the past centuries. And we still fight for our sisters, to overcome even more. We fight for the profoundly important things in life. Liberty, safety, education, equality. How dare we make each other feel shame about our bodies? It perpetuates the stereotypes, that only particular roles are acceptable for women. That there are only certain shapes for women to fill and be proud of. Enough.
If we cannot support each other, lift each other up, validate each other, how do we expect big corporations to make changes in manufacture and the marketing of their businesses? Just how? By hitting back at trolls! Shout out to the fierce and fabulous singer Lizzo, who has repeatedly refused to bow down to all the crazy.
We need to support each other by showing the world that we are proud of the diverse range of female body types. We should NOT support brands that do not cater to and celebrate all our magnificent and varied shapes. And on the topic of shape, stop trying to squish me into a fruit or push me into a box.
I am not an apple or a pear. I am not a triangle or a square. No more objectifying. I am not a number or a letter. I am, simply, a woman. It’s not complicated, or difficult.
Let’s step up the revolution ladies. Help us support brands that are making a difference.
Tell us about your favourite brands that support all female body types.
