By ALEXIS CAREY
If you’re anything like me, Victoria Secret’s recent “Perfect Body” campaign left you livid.
If you need a refresher, here it is again – in all its patronising, body shaming, confidence-crushing glory:
Because of course there is only one type of ‘perfect’ and it’s tall, thin, toned, thigh-gapped and also photo-shopped for good measure.
Now, we all know Victoria’s Secret is a brand that is pretty cray-cray at the best of times. Besides the whole angel obsession, they are notorious for their airbrushing and photoshop disasters. And then there was that time they dressed a model as a bicycle… (not a euphemism, she had handlebars and everything).
But this? This ad took it to a whole new level.
It ticked off people right across the globe who are (understandably) worried about the message it sends to women and girls – one that glorifies so-called “perfection” and striving towards an unhealthy “ideal” of thinness. The message is one of conformity; a single ideal of beauty. One that for many women is not only unattainable but could, quite simply, be physically dangerous.