Tis’ the season of ad controversy, ABC and Fox’s ban of Lane Bryant’s new lingerie ad gave me quite the delight. First, it’s continued proof that the media is fighting hard to sustain it’s unrealistic status quo of the perfect woman ie; thin. Secondly, the beautiful model in the ad is Ashley Graham, a personal friend of mine. In person, Ashley is stunningly gorgeous rocking the Eva Mendes vibe but with her own naturally effortless swagger.
ABC and Fox delayed airing the Lane Bryant sexy lingerie ad citing that the spot didn’t meet their content standards and stated the plus-sized retail giant refused to make the requested edits. Lane Bryant took their disgust to the blogosphere showing the commercial in its entirety on their Inside Curve page as well as their YouTube channel appealing to their consumers and general public about the networks discrimination against plus size women. However, Fox did agree to air the unedited commercial during the final minutes of an upcoming episode of American Idol.
In the face of the Biggest Loser, Celebrity Fit Club, the fashion industry, and overall media, we struggle to stand up and be counted as acceptable beauties. Obviously in our fluffy world we think it’s ridiculous to still be dealing with this dilemma. It’s amazing to me that with the saturated presence of the average woman being sized 12 -14 we are still dealing with continued rejection even hostility towards women who are your sisters, mothers, wives, or friends when we what we see everyday, everywhere is plus sized?
Does anybody remember the monumental success of the Dove “real beauty” campaign where women posed with their un-retouched and non-altered bodies in uniform white underwear and bras declaring their natural beauty? Those ads aired on every network, channel and print media outlet over an substantial amount of time. Of course it didn’t enjoy it’s tenure unscathed from criticism but the ad campaign triumphed in the face of controversy thanks to Oprah’s endorsement and Dove’s commitment to encouraging positive self-esteem in young girls.
The overall issue lies in the potential threat the Lane Bryant ad poses to the status-quo idea of desirable beauty. Lane Bryant asserts they are being treated differently from Victoria Secret whose ads have aired on both networks leaving little to the imagination.
I know there are a plethora of opinions and theories out there but I like the idea of plus sized women being sexual as threatening. The Dove beauty standard is safe; mom, home, and apple pie while Victoria Secret is the opposite; sexy, pleasurable, dangerous. Fusing these two concepts together and coming up with a thick sexy woman threatens what has been covertly designed to make people think of us as asexual.
It forces everybody to rethink beauty & sex and here at Fluffylicious, we LOVE it!
