Aerie Real Gives Young Women A New Perspective

“91% of women surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting. 22% dieted often or always and 86% report onset of eating disorder by the age of 20.”

The pressure is at an all time high in today’s society for everyone. We are setting unattainable goals for our bodies in hopes to look like the models we see on Instagram. Our perception of what is normal is completely morphed. Everyone is on this constant mission to better themselves so they can compare even the slightest to these skinny models and fitness gurus. Due to high engagement of social media our perception is tainted each and everyday. We scroll by these people and wonder “why can’t I look like that?” or “what can I do to look like that.” With perfection being a main goal people are never happy with who they are. Striving to be perfect causes self doubt and depression. Why is it that marketers are promoting lines with unrealistic perfect campaigns when the majority of society is far from perfect? We want to have that “ahhh” moment when we see models who look exactly like us in the clothes we are buying, not the “how many squats do I have to do to look like that in this bathing suit.” According to Bordo “It has been amply documented that women in our culture are my tyrannized by the contemporary slenderness ideal than men, as they typically have been by beauty ideals in general. It is far more important to men than to women that their partners are slim.” (Bordo, 337) This puts a massive amount of pressure on women looking good for their partners, and the models on social media heighten this pressure to a whole new level. Slenderness is what is “sexy” yet girls in today’s society need to come to the realization being yourself is sexier. You should feel comfortable in your own skin even if you aren’t slim or a Victoria’s Secret model.

            Marketers are starting to take a step back and realize the “slender” body is not one many can relate to. Efforts are being made left and right to embrace accepting your body and feeling good about yourself. “Feminist values” are rapidly changing so marketers are doing the same. The newest of the campaigns is the “Aerie Real” Campaign featuring advertisements that are not retouched. The campaign has been going on since 2014, however, it is getting a lot of buzz with this year’s newest and first plus size model Barbie Ferreia. The campaign is exceptionally strong this year because so many younger girls are on the mission of self acceptance. Power to #aerieREAL for finally making a bathing suit advertisement feel relatable. The perceptions are real and not a bit tainted.

People need to stop worrying about all their imperfections and embrace their bodies. Aerie presents girls with models who are relatable everyday girls. “The 2016 swimwear campaign includes the first full figure model and the result is not only beautiful but empowering.” According to Bordo “we see a tightly managed body- whether demonstrated through sleek minimalist lines or firmly developed muscles- has been over determined as a contemporary ideal of specifically female attractiveness.” ( Bordo, 339) Yes, some people are born with athletic figures or slim bodies, however, what about the people who are constantly dieting and exercising in order to feel happy are they truly happy? In some cases, seeing people with muscly bodies and slim figures leads us to believe there is restriction being involved. The people who look best are the people with confidence, who are comfortable in their own skin. With any good story there is some kind of bad. The new model Barbie has been faced with some hateful comments on twitter regarding her size because of what people think is “normal.” Yet, Barbie has been standing by her body image because she believes “every girl should feel good about who she is on the inside and the outside.” (stylenews,1) 

 

When comparing these two advertisements a familiar term is brought to the mind “expectations vs reality.” That should not be the case, reality is normal everyday women not the small percentage of supermodels in the world. Normalcy is far beyond looking slim and beautiful, we need to escape these “gendered meanings” which have become so prominent in culture. Aeries solidifies the message that imperfection and normalcy is beauty. When looking at the two pictures the aerie campaign is more retable, while Victoria’s Secret is intimidating and represents women who do no represent us. Everyone is a different shape and different size. Aerie does an unbelievable job marketing their swimwear line with untouched models which make girls feel like they have someone to look up to that is real and natural. So many girls and women are lacking confidence because they are constantly comparing themselves to unrealistic photo shopped models. Aerie just recently signed a new model to represent their line. Barbie Ferreria is a “self proclaimed curve model” (cosmomoplitan,1) representing the Aerie Real campaign. Barbie believes the “world needs more women who are strong.” Girls of all different shapes and sizes need someone to look up to. Being strong, muscly, and skinny is not the only body type that is attractive. It is important that marketers represent a wide variety of women to create a positive message. This powerful campaign is something we absolutely need in today’s society. This advertisement strategy will not necessarily “solves the complicated relationship between young women’s self-esteems and images of women in media, but it can certainty help.” (huffingtonpost, 1) There is a need for these advertisements because so many young girls have a bad self image and dysmorphic thoughts. With eating disorders on the rise advertisers need to mold the minds of young girls so they don’t feel pressure to be perfect. In the 1970s what once appeared slender and fit now seemed loose and flabby.” ( Bordo, 331) This just shows how the pressure has continued to escalate for women. Perceptions of what a “normal” body is are unrealistic because of the current media. Everyone is striving for a body that is completely “tight, contained, and bolted down.”  However, does having this body define feeling confident and feeling good about yourself? By having this ideal body are girls truly internally happy. The pressure to maintain this ideal body is leading girls and women to lack confidence and happiness. By increasing “real images” of women marketers can help end the epidemic of girls who are unhappy about their image. Aerie is taking every step they can to make young girls and women feel good about themselves. It is important for girls to see this unpolished glimpse of real women in advertisements, girls should not be wanting to loose weight because of what they are seeing in the online space. 

Works Cited

"ANAD." Eating Disorders Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Bordo, Susan. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body. Berkeley: U of California, 1993. Print.

Krupnick, Ellie. "Aerie's Unretouched Ads 'Challenge Supermodel Standards' For Young Women." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Krupnick, Ellie. "Aerie's Unretouched Ads 'Challenge Supermodel Standards' For Young Women." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

"Size-12 Model Barbie Ferreira Goes Unretouched for Aerie's New Campaign." Cosmopolitan. N.p., 25 Jan. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.