Lifestyle

Women Of All Sizes Strip Down To Protest Victoria's Secret's Lack Of Diversity

LifestylePublished Dec 11, 2018
By Christina Buff
nunude victoria's secret protest@nunude_official / Instagram

The Victoria's Secret backlash shows no signs of slowing down. Over the weekend, protestors stripped down to their underwear inside one of the lingerie giant's London stores. 

The participants, who dubbed themselves "the fallen angels," were a diverse group of women from all walks of life. They carried signs, chanted "Fashion has failed us!" and made a powerful plea for diversity across all brands — although Victoria's Secret was their original target.

Last month, after the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was filmed, the chief marketing officer of L Brands (the parent company of VS), Ed Razek, said some controversial things about plus-size and transgender women. Razek told Vogue that the show doesn't intend on becoming more diverse because the show is a "fantasy," and clearly, women who don't fit the stereotypical VS mold are not desirable.

Razek offered a half-hearted apology, but it was too late. The brand has been struggling for some time, partially due to its refusal to evolve, but these comments were the last straw for many. The backlash doesn't seem to be slowing down.

Over the weekend, Love Disfigure, an advocacy group calling for more diversity across industries, and Nunude, a clothing brand sharing the same values, teamed up to demand equal representation and visibility of all different body types across the fashion industry, starting with the VS runway.

A group of brave women of all different shapes, sizes, and skin and health conditions marched inside the Victoria's Secret store on London's Oxford Street, stripped down to their skivvies (provided by Nunude), and made their voices heard.

"Fashion has failed us!" the group chanted as they walked through the store.

The women carried signs reading "We want diversity for all brands," "Our bodies matter too," and "Fighting for equality at Victoria’s Secret," among others. People in the streets cheered and clapped as they marched, one protester noted.

Child burn survivor Sylvia Mac, founder of Love Disfigure, took to her Instagram to explain the cause. "We have become so used to seeing one body image that we find it difficult to open up our minds to want to see others. We are representing EVERY BODY TYPE regardless of Age, Ethnicity, Disfigurement, Disability, Differences, Sexual Orientation, Gender, and most importantly SIZE. Open your Eyes and Heart to Change. Our children are suffering because of it."

Both brands posted photos from the protest on social media and received a ton of support.

"Hats (and clothes) off to @LoveDisfigure and her 'Fallen Angels'" one supporter said, adding that the Victoria's Secret fashion show "depicts a largely unattainable image of beauty."

But where there is joy and acceptance, there is always someone trying to steal that joy.

Some people, sadly, missed the point entirely. It's a shame.

SMH.

Some are still under the (false) impression that plus-size women are just "lazy" and that there are "plenty of companies" out there who cater to them. Sigh.

But one Twitter user put it bluntly for those who were missing the point: Companies like Victoria's Secret fail to represent its wide and diverse customer base. These brands are not blind to diversity, but they are deliberately dismissing it in order to push their limited and ignorant perception of beauty.

The thing is, in 2018, that's not what women want. We want to see glimpses of ourselves — and all our "flaws" — in the brands we love. There are a few doing this right, like Savage x Fenty, Aerie, ThirdLove, and, of course, NuNude, one of the powerful protesting brands.

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Tenor

Is Victoria's Secret obligated to change its ways? No. But why should we, as empowered women, continually support a brand who doesn't support all of us as we are?

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