“Every society produces and socializes the kinds of bodies it values.” – John Powers
This week in my class on Buddhism, Gender, and Sexuality, we read an article called “A Manly Monk” by religion scholar John Powers. This article highlighted the masculine characteristics of the Buddha and, in the words of my professor, showed how sexy he really was. When I came across the quote above towards the end of the article, instead of making me think of how the Buddha’s body was created to fit some kind of sexy, masculine ideal, I immediately thought of the ways in which the Western society we live in does the same kind of thing for women’s bodies. Instead of making statues of religious figures or writing about their perfect bodies, we use advertisements, social media posts, and signage to indicate which women’s bodies we value as beautiful and, by the absence of them, which bodies we don’t.
After reading that quote in the midst of one of the best months of the year (Women’s History Month, duhhh), I can’t help but reflect on the new Victoria’s Secret rebrand. Since its founding in 1977, Victoria’s Secret (VS) has become a household name for women in the United States and around the globe and is now “the world’s largest intimates specialty retailer.” Going to the mall as a little girl, VS always seemed like the place for grown, sophisticated women and I could sense that it held a special status among the women I knew. As I became a teenager, it was also a status symbol to have clothing with PINK plastered on it from the company’s offshoot brand targeted at young women. Clearly, VS has been one of the most authoritative brands on trendy intimate wear and clothing for women of all ages; however, they have also been one of the biggest authorities on deciding which women’s bodies are considered sexy, beautiful, and worthy of praise, and which ones are not.
Specifically during their expansion during the 1990s and 2000s, VS became known for the VS Angels model collective and campaigns like Body by Victoria that represented the brand with women who fit the “perfect” thin-ideal body type. These women had flat stomachs, thin legs, and airbrushed skin that made customers believe that if they bought Victoria’s Secret clothing, they could look like that, too. While with some differences in race and possibly other invisible social identities, these women all had the same types of bodies, emphasizing that there is only one way to look beautiful. Only flat tummies are sexy. Only thin legs are desirable. Only photo-shopped quality skin is worth displaying.
While photo-editing, extreme dieting, and professional hair and makeup teams make this body look achievable, it puts an unrealistic beauty standard on everyday women to look a certain way in order to be viewed -and to view themselves- as beautiful. Creating unattainable images of thinness like the ones by VS has caused unthinkable damage in the lives of everyday women who spend their time, money, and energy on dieting, clothing, and exercise regimens in an attempt to achieve this unachievable standard of beauty. Instead of using their resources to look after their health, achieve in the workplace, or pursue their personal passions, they use them to work towards a body that is ultimately unreachable. While this cycle damages women, it benefits companies as they can use this image to keep women buying their products in hopes of achieving this body type and returning to their products time and time again as they fail to meet it.
I grew up in the aftermath of this damage as I was surrounded by many women in my family who struggled with body image. They spent time talking about the best diets to try, how it was impossible to keep the weight off, and praising each other for getting down a size. I’ve seen women counting points, not eating but one meal a day, totally eliminating the carbs and sugar that are necessary for survival, using calorie tracking apps, and more. I myself resorted to using a calorie tracking app during my freshman year of college when I felt lost, lonely, and out of control of my life. Because I felt I had no control over my life, I could at least have control over my body, right? I started becoming obsessed with calories, food, exercising, and my body, putting the time I spent climbing stairs and walking to class into the app so I could allow myself to have just a little bit more food. I became disgusted with what little fat was on my stomach and wanted to shave it off to look like the women I was seeing online, whether they be celebrities or regular women who were posting pictures of themselves to look like they had achieved the thin-ideal body type.
While the Internet was a major source of my body insecurity, it also provided me with my first exposure to people doing the work of expanding the definition of beautiful. I started watching and following former athlete, content creator, and body image advocate Victoria Garrick who has taught me about intuitive eating, female body anatomy, and the diet culture that informs how women view our own bodies. I also started following and shopping from Aerie, an offshoot brand from American Eagle. From the time I started shopping them around 2018, they have never used retouched photos and have included a wide array of models with different body types and sizes, races, abilities, and “imperfections.” I always felt empowered shopping from Aerie as opposed to Victoria’s Secret because I felt that the images of the girls at Aerie looked much more like me and the women I knew than any VS Angel (and the dark lighting in VS stores was always so scary and intimidating lol). I liked the diversity of women represented in their ads and social media and it comforted me to see models with rolls, stretch marks, and acne spots like the ones I had. I felt empowered, safe, and seen.
Fortunately, Victoria’s Secret has started to make some changes in working to expand and diversify the idea of which women’s bodies are considered sexy and beautiful. On February 14, 2022, VS came out with their Love Cloud collection that they describe as “a powerful, first of its kind campaign” that “features eighteen dynamic women from a myriad of backgrounds.” These women are diverse in race, age, body size, occupation, and ability and are all shown off in underwear that is aimed to be both sexy and comfortable. Additionally, PINK has also embraced diversity on their website with a range of models of different races and body-sizes, as well as a section on their website for “Gender Free” clothing that depicts people of all genders wearing their pieces.
While many people may critique Victoria’s Secret for doing too little too late, I am actually excited about the changes they are making to their brand and the impact it will have on girls and women of all ages. Yes, VS has done immense harm to the women who have shopped their clothing or even just viewed their advertisements, and this damage may not be reversible. However, progress is progress and I am proud that the work body-image advocates have been doing to counteract these images has had an effect on the way corporations operate, how they communicate with their customers, and how they shape our ideals of beauty. For those that say VS is just following a trend, I say, if this is the trend, let them follow it! If a trend leads to positive social change, I don’t care who or how many people jump on the bandwagon. Let’s get as many people in the wagon as we can. Let’s make expanding the idea of beauty trendy.
With that being said, will I suddenly turn into a loyal VS customer and wear clothing with PINK plastered all over it everyday? Probably not. Do I believe that VS made this move out of the goodness of their heart without considering changing economic trends? Absolutely not. However, I am hopeful that with this shift in branding, young girls will get to grow up in a culture that celebrates all body types, and that women -young and grown- will be able to see themselves, their mothers, their sisters, their friends portrayed as the sexy and beautiful people they have always been but have failed to be recognized as until now. We are finally living in a society that is expanding and reconceptualizing the definition of the bodies we value and I am HERE. FOR. IT.