#AntiVictoriaSecretFashionShow

[sociopplwatcher]

Body Empowerment- Anti Victoria Secret Fashion show

Sociology teaches us how gender is a societal concept that we create and its way more than male and female.  While I could discuss numerous aspects of the genderbread person I’ll be focusing on another way our predefined gender roles become influenced by society.

Genderbread Person 3.3

Men have always held a dominant status in our society leaving females seen as unequal’s and unfortunately many of us still experience this in some form of indifference in inequality almost daily. We experience this in many ways when it comes to jobs, education and even the roles we have inside our homes. One of the most unsettling things still is men who use their power over females and treat us as objects. We are often devalued, degraded and labeled. It’s bad enough the media tells us how we should look and act but we even deal with it from strangers who think these behaviors are ok.

Sexism hasn’t seemed to slow down. It seems to be continuing and even easier with the technology we have available. The ads available and television shows have a huge impact on what young girls and boys are seeing. We are teaching our daughters they are invaluable at times and only wanted based on appearance. We start them young with body confidence issues and keep the insecurities going by playing on normal human appearance that we socially constructed into “bad” or gross rather than normal and okay. We’re teaching boys it’s ok to treat females with harshness or harm them if you like them under a “boys, will be boys” mentality which doesn’t fix the issue at all and only allows for them to further treat females like we have no voice and simply don’t matter unless it’s for their needs. We are conditioned to these beliefs not only in based on our gender roles and stereotyping but by the misogynistic views felt as we enter the job force and are placed under a glass ceiling as we struggle to look for equal treatment to that of our male counterparts. The right to be taken seriously, have equal pay (although the gap is closing it still exist!) and the right to not have our bodies being what simply defines us as being “inferior”.

So, what are some women doing to help to change this message and build up other women? 

Women are working on spreading the message of body positivity and equality amongst all women. We are saying the world shouldn’t be defining us we are all beautiful and unique. 

I’m sure many of you tune in for the Victoria Secret fashion show. But, did you ever notice almost all the girls are built similarly? To combat some of the divides even amongst our own gender a group of females created an Anti-Victoria Secret Fashion show. When I say anti it’s important to understand that doesn’t mean they are against Victoria Secret or the show but are stating it doesn’t show average women and portray what most women look like. It leads to false expectations on how women should look according to society they’ve given us this “ideal” of what beauty looks like rather than promoting more acceptance and diversity. It stopped being about beauty is in the eyes of the beholder but more about equality amongst each other and promoting self love and body positivity in a world that places stipulations and views on what we “should be”. 

As most of us know these images can have a major effect on self-esteem and create body dysmorphia and lead to eating disorders especially amongst young girls trying to obtain the same appearance. The goal is to say we are all beautiful no matter your shape, color, or flaws. We are equal until society that keeps telling us we aren’t good enough.

Take a minute and watch the show. 

I planned on leaving this here as the video speaks for itself. But, then I read the comments underneath and I felt it was more important to speak out because this simply highlights the point of my post. One of how women are being treated differently and how we are presented verse men and attacked if we open our mouths to speak up and refuse to conform to these ideals. There’s a denial at times about how women are treated still.  When you read the comments online you can see we still clearly have an issue with women being treated harsher than men. At the time I’m posting this around 98% of the comments made were negative, crude and attacking these women's appearances and making assumptions about them. As a female this is disheartening and I’m using this platform to speak out. 

The comments made highlight we still have a huge problem in society when it comes to how females are treated. If comments are posted so blatantly online I struggle seeing how people can deny that this doesn’t spill over in the workforce, in the general public and while some people have come to casual accept it as part of society for many of us feminist it’s not ok and we don’t accept this. It’s an underlying prejudice that is real and often still overlooked due to the progression woman have made from past feminist movements.It doesn’t mean however that the problems have simply gone away or have been resolved.

Comments from males about this video created for body positivity:

“I like watching the freak show, bring back the circus”

“The models are tranny men”

“I thought they outlawed freakshows”

“All I see is a bunch of heavily painted (up to the level of disgust) lazy feminist crybabies who act like victims. No one owes you anything, so GFTO w/that bullshit!” 

“Is this a promotional for Type 2 diabetes?”

and several I can’t even post due to crudeness.

+ many more! 

Keywords saw numerous times: 

“Gross”, “Disgusting”, “Pigs” “Insecure”, “Jealous”, “short and stupid”, “Losers” and “Too lazy”.

Those are just a few of numerous comments made. If words were painted on your skin, how would you feel? Now imagine your mother, sisters, daughters, girlfriends, wives and then put yourself in that position too. This is what many of us woman go through daily. Still, think feminism only affects women? Wake up! This isn’t ok. These women, all of them deserve to be treated equal and looked great doing it. That was their night to shine! 

Assumptions are crazy especially knowing one of the models is 60 years old. Another is a mom of 2, nurse and fitness model, the ones who created show are fitness models/promoted athletes. All these women are so diverse and unique and to read these comments from men criticizing them. This is why feminism exists. My point being we choose to label each other and can’t allow society to define us, the act of being yourself is a form of rebellion. Be you anyways! 

Sources: 

[Bite Sized Fitness]. (2017, October 16). The Anti-Victoria’s Secret runway show proves all women can be angels. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/cyNvC9ckZuY

Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: an introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York: W.W. Norton.

[Future is Female]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2017, from https://weheartit.com/entry/279905898/via/lisaxmcl?context_type=inspirations&inspiration_id=138&page=2

Killerman, S. (2015, March 16). Genderbread Person 3.0 [Digital image]. Retrieved December 6, 2017, from http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2015/03/the-genderbread-person-v3/#sthash.ltYB9RVK.ygSFTbOq.dpbs