Following the recent Victoria’s Secret fashion show, there has been a surge of voices online criticising the brand for its (albeit limited) attempts of promoting body positivity, saying that the show should go back to the unattainable body standards of the 2000s. What does this say about the future of the body positivity movement?
After last year’s tepid attempt at inclusivity, fashion fans and curious onlookers expectantly waited to see this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (VSFS). The show saw swathes of criticism both in the lead up to the event and in the days since. Unexpectedly, however, much of this year’s criticism sings to a different tune than before, encouraging the brand to return to its unattainable 2000s body standards rather than encouraging body diversity. Where did the body positivity movement go?
The body positivity movement has particularly taken off in recent years thanks to social media activism, but the response to the VSFS throws a shadow over the movement’s future. It can be argued that changing body standards not only threaten the body positivity movement but also wider society.
It is key to note that a fall in enthusiasm for diversity in the VSFS doesn’t mean that body positivity is doomed. Before criticising any suggestions to return to the body standards of the 2000s, one needs to remember that this response may merely come from a place of resignation with Victoria’s Secret specifically. It is possible that the suggestion of abandoning inclusivity in the VSFS comes from a belief that the company is unwilling to be genuinely inclusive, and that their half-hearted attempts are more harmful and insulting than the suggested alternative.
Politics’ power in shaping our beliefs extends to beauty; thus the world’s increasing shift towards right-wing ideologies – which historically promote unattainable and homogenous body standards idealising thinness – sway public opinion of body standards. The body positivity movement’s alternative perspective of body standards automatically puts it at risk in this political environment.
Other than threatening the future of the body positivity movement, this shifting opinion also threatens increased inequality and prejudice against people who are and look different. Thinness is becoming a way for the privileged to flaunt wealth, thus widening inequalities through beauty standards. Being able to afford weight-loss drugs and surgery demonstrates disposable income and, perhaps more importantly, enough free time for rest and recovery. There is a risk that individuals who cannot afford the money or time to go through these beauty procedures will eventually become identifiable and face discrimination because of this. This could be social discrimination or in the workplace, especially in customer-facing roles. Anyone seen the movie In Time?
Beyond exacerbating socioeconomic inequalities, gender inequalities and discrimination against women are likely to see an increase. The rise in popularity of the ‘tradwife’ archetype in recent years plays into the idea that women should not only behave a certain way, but also fit into specific set standards of physical appearance. A fall in ambition within and surrounding the body positivity movement, combined with the current global political climate, risks the tradwife archetype becoming an expectation rather than a choice. Pressures on women to look a certain way, from real life or the media and even if initially light-hearted, very quickly turn into pressures for women to match other expectations of behaviour and roles in the household and society.
Even individuals who do not subscribe to the right-wing views that bring the beauty standard of thinness with them are unfortunately also failing the body positivity movement. Part of the reason for a fall in drive behind the body positivity movement may be one of longing for the ‘glory days’. The current international political atmosphere is more than just right-wing; it increasingly lacks control and predictability. For many, encouraging Victoria’s Secret to return to their 2000s body standards is a gateway to nostalgia of more controlled governance worldwide, particularly in the show’s native U.S. This wistfulness, however, merely furthers harmful glorification of homogeneity in beauty standards and paves the way for acceptance of homogeneity as the standard for other aspects in wider society.
“20141202 Jasmine Tookes at the 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” by Timesniper.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show: The Sinister Politics of Body Positivity
Following the recent Victoria’s Secret fashion show, there has been a surge of voices online criticising the brand for its (albeit limited) attempts of promoting body positivity, saying that the show should go back to the unattainable body standards of the 2000s. What does this say about the future of the body positivity movement?
After last year’s tepid attempt at inclusivity, fashion fans and curious onlookers expectantly waited to see this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show (VSFS). The show saw swathes of criticism both in the lead up to the event and in the days since. Unexpectedly, however, much of this year’s criticism sings to a different tune than before, encouraging the brand to return to its unattainable 2000s body standards rather than encouraging body diversity. Where did the body positivity movement go?
The body positivity movement has particularly taken off in recent years thanks to social media activism, but the response to the VSFS throws a shadow over the movement’s future. It can be argued that changing body standards not only threaten the body positivity movement but also wider society.
It is key to note that a fall in enthusiasm for diversity in the VSFS doesn’t mean that body positivity is doomed. Before criticising any suggestions to return to the body standards of the 2000s, one needs to remember that this response may merely come from a place of resignation with Victoria’s Secret specifically. It is possible that the suggestion of abandoning inclusivity in the VSFS comes from a belief that the company is unwilling to be genuinely inclusive, and that their half-hearted attempts are more harmful and insulting than the suggested alternative.
Politics’ power in shaping our beliefs extends to beauty; thus the world’s increasing shift towards right-wing ideologies – which historically promote unattainable and homogenous body standards idealising thinness – sway public opinion of body standards. The body positivity movement’s alternative perspective of body standards automatically puts it at risk in this political environment.
Other than threatening the future of the body positivity movement, this shifting opinion also threatens increased inequality and prejudice against people who are and look different. Thinness is becoming a way for the privileged to flaunt wealth, thus widening inequalities through beauty standards. Being able to afford weight-loss drugs and surgery demonstrates disposable income and, perhaps more importantly, enough free time for rest and recovery. There is a risk that individuals who cannot afford the money or time to go through these beauty procedures will eventually become identifiable and face discrimination because of this. This could be social discrimination or in the workplace, especially in customer-facing roles. Anyone seen the movie In Time?
Beyond exacerbating socioeconomic inequalities, gender inequalities and discrimination against women are likely to see an increase. The rise in popularity of the ‘tradwife’ archetype in recent years plays into the idea that women should not only behave a certain way, but also fit into specific set standards of physical appearance. A fall in ambition within and surrounding the body positivity movement, combined with the current global political climate, risks the tradwife archetype becoming an expectation rather than a choice. Pressures on women to look a certain way, from real life or the media and even if initially light-hearted, very quickly turn into pressures for women to match other expectations of behaviour and roles in the household and society.
Even individuals who do not subscribe to the right-wing views that bring the beauty standard of thinness with them are unfortunately also failing the body positivity movement. Part of the reason for a fall in drive behind the body positivity movement may be one of longing for the ‘glory days’. The current international political atmosphere is more than just right-wing; it increasingly lacks control and predictability. For many, encouraging Victoria’s Secret to return to their 2000s body standards is a gateway to nostalgia of more controlled governance worldwide, particularly in the show’s native U.S. This wistfulness, however, merely furthers harmful glorification of homogeneity in beauty standards and paves the way for acceptance of homogeneity as the standard for other aspects in wider society.
“20141202 Jasmine Tookes at the 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” by Timesniper.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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