Empowerment and body positivity are huge these days.. and I give that the "hell yeah!" stamp of approval, but let's make sure to get it right! I feel like I say this all the time (and I probably do) but we have to stop playing the us vs them game. I mentioned it in my past talk, #CoEvo. I gave myself a week to think on this and made sure I was sure in my initial response and I feel like I can safely say...
Lane Bryant got it wrong.
...thats right, I said it and they did. I feel like I am the only plus size woman in the world that feels this way but I stand by it. Part of the reason everyone is so behind it is because Lane Bryant threw a lot of money at this thing. They slapped it on every bus, every wall, every social media site they could and used faces we all trust. Rebel Wilson even wore some wings with leather pants that said "Think" on the back instead of "Pink" as an additional jab at the VS Angels. It isnt all bad- I love the empowering message behind the loving yourself even though you don't look like the Victoria Secret Angels. Most of us don't. Some of us do.
Why do we get to promote a certain body type (though, granted they are more varied and contain more of what society views as flaws) but Victoria Secret can't? In reality, the body types Lane Bryant uses are just as rare as the super fit, super hot, super models. How many plus size women do you know that are 5'10'' with a flat tummy, gorgeous angular face and bangin' curves? I know about two.
Ladies (and gents), we now have power! We have more power than we have ever had as plus size women. We found empowerment, we found self love, we found popularity in the media. We are main stream and we are loving it. We can't let it change us. We have to stay humble, we cannot resort to catty retorts.
I feel like screaming from the rooftops at the plus size women of the world "Congratulations! We did it!" but I cant, because I fear that we are becoming who we fought against so hard. Lane Bryant's campaign may make us feel beautiful, but at the expense of others. Women that shop at Victoria's Secret exist and their feelings matter just as much as ours. We cannot step on them to get to the top- well, we can.. but then we are hypocrites.
So if I think Lane Bryant got it wrong, who do I think gets it right? Dove. I think they are much closer to honestly promoting finding beauty, whatever you think that might be, across the board. I'm sure most of that is because their demographic is not just thin women and not just plus size women. They cater to women. period. More brands need to cater to women. period. I know it is tough, I know it is more expensive and I know it isn't everyone's idea of what should be done. We have to bridge this growing gap, we have to be better than who came before us in the seat of power.
I never liked feeling less than someone else because of size. I don't think we should be doing it to others.
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