"The body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5 percent of American females" is a fact listed by ANAD, an organization for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. Only five percent. Then why do we stick to using only those standards when there are 95 percent of females who do not fit it?
Aerie, a popular lingerie brand, realized this problem back in 2014 when they launched their "Aerie Real" campaign. Aerie stopped retouching their photos, stopped using Photoshop, started using real models and a campaign to help women feel more confident in their own skin, no matter what it looks like.
Since there is no retouching and real models are used, their ads show girls with blemishes, tattoos, and more weight than your typical model. These are all used to challenge the known supermodel standards. This is needed in today’s society, especially with the demographic Aerie is reaching out to, females ages 15 to 22.
Media does not solely impact self-esteem and eating disorders, but it certainly sends out a message that affects them. When females see only Victoria Secret models, they begin to have a warped view on beauty and because only five percent of American females naturally fit that standard of beauty, It makes 95 percent of females not meet that standard of beauty. Most girls don’t realize that that standard of beauty placed on us by media is not real.
You can go online and see a model changed into a piece of delicious looking pizza using photoshop. Just like any real girl can have her waist pulled in, her eyes enlarged, blemishes removed, all using Photoshop. If you look closely at the picture above, before Aerie would have even Photoshopped this girl's hand as if there was something "wrong" with it! It causes girls to go on extreme diets and exercise regimes and to constantly feel bad about themselves because of this unrealistic image.
Up to 30 million people of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder) in the United States. That number is only people from the United States, not even the whole world.
The #AerieReal campaign isn’t perfect, but it’s progress. A past worker from American Eagle, the parent company of sister store Aerie, responded to the campaign:
“Working for American Eagle Outfitters for the last five years was an incredible experience beyond the paychecks and discounts. American Eagle’s motto is “Live Your Life” and it lives this each day. With a dress code that encourages employees to be their most authentic self and does not dictate or discriminate based on personal style choices (piercings, hair color, etc.), AEO company sets itself apart from competitors such as Abercrombie and Hollister that dictate style choices down to an exact silhouette and for employees. AEO company embraces and celebrates all body types, and as a personal survivor of an eating disorder I could not be more proud to say that I was part of a company such as AEO.” – Shayna Zweiback
They accept all body types! Something we need more of today in society. Their most recent model, Barbie Ferreira, is a curve model. She states in Aerie’s teaser video:
“What makes me #AerieREAL is that I am unapologetically myself, no matter what anyone’s opinion. Not being retouched in the images is something that’s very important to me- people knowing that that’s what I look like without anyone’s perception of what my body needs to look like.”
Even though Aerie is trying to promote this positive body image and loving yourself for being yourself, Barbie still gets backlash for it.
This shows that no matter what, we are constantly judged by people. It is time to start ignoring that and loving ourselves for being our real selves, not society's view on what a person should look like. It is time for other companies to start following in Aerie's footsteps to a future that accepts us for being simply us.
