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"It's amazing; women have climbed over tube lines to get to the other side and write 'fuck you' on the posters," my mum gushes, literally glowing from the revolt against Protein World's body shaming adverts that hit our underground stations only a few weeks ago "the feminists have spoken!" she cheers into the darkness ahead, as we near the end of our park circuit, my dog huffing and puffing behind us angrily.
This isn't the first time I've heard about the protests, and I can assure you I agree with what the people in revolt are saying, and to illustrate this I created a professional and balanced list to display my er-professional and balanced conclusions.
Main reasons why the advert isn't okay:
Main reasons why the advert is totally cool and we should all just sit down and applaud Protein World's super duper marketing scheme:
But on top of this, I have two other reasons why we should be angry at Protein world, and after that, the whole world, regardless of its food group (har har).
1. Protein world isn't the first advert, or even aspect of media, that has been size-ist.
How many times have overweight people been made the punchline in films and TV? Norbit, The Nutty Professor, Friends and Bridget Jones' Diary are only a few examples. All the time, we're harassed by images of what is 'acceptable', and what is socially ugly, and deserving of a laugh - we see plastic people standing next to their old size 18's, and slogans shouting 'Shed those pounds and be the real you!' in caps-lock aggression, as if people with larger BMIs are somehow a work of fiction, a unicorn, or a species found in the land at the back of the wardrobe. When really 62.1% of adults in the UK are overweight or obese, and I can see why.
We are shown all these ridiculous body ideals, ones that are only achievable with surgery (not many people can be a size 6 and still have DD cups without the help of a surgeon or skilled wizard). After years of denying yourself and being told that happiness only comes in a size 'S', it's so much easier to let go and eat what you want to eat, still having these alien-like body types shoved down your throat. Not to mention the people who gain weight through certain health issues, and are made to feel like they aren't deserving of the same acceptance as a supermodel.
Secondly, being shown these size stereotypes isn't always as obvious as it was with Protein World. As a kid, and a lover of clothes, I'd flip through my mum's Next catalogues, dribbling over t-shirt sets and the miniature girls sporting them. Then, in the orange glow of my night light, I'd stand in front of my mirror, pulling and poking at skin, every shadow exaggerating a curve, every yard of skin was one too many to be able to squeeze into the candy coloured jeans I'd begged my mum to order, and I hated my body.
This isn't the first time I've heard about the protests, and I can assure you I agree with what the people in revolt are saying, and to illustrate this I created a professional and balanced list to display my er-professional and balanced conclusions.
Main reasons why the advert isn't okay:
- It feeds on our insecurities in order to sell a product.
- The model in the advert was airbrushed by a team of tech-peeps to make the body ideal even more unattainable.
- The weather in England is so pitiful that anyone who spends time and effort into becoming 'beach body ready' would have also have to splash out on a plane ticket to somewhere where they could actually wear a swimming costume without their nipples getting freezer burn.
Main reasons why the advert is totally cool and we should all just sit down and applaud Protein World's super duper marketing scheme:
- Hmm, yes.
But on top of this, I have two other reasons why we should be angry at Protein world, and after that, the whole world, regardless of its food group (har har).
1. Protein world isn't the first advert, or even aspect of media, that has been size-ist.
How many times have overweight people been made the punchline in films and TV? Norbit, The Nutty Professor, Friends and Bridget Jones' Diary are only a few examples. All the time, we're harassed by images of what is 'acceptable', and what is socially ugly, and deserving of a laugh - we see plastic people standing next to their old size 18's, and slogans shouting 'Shed those pounds and be the real you!' in caps-lock aggression, as if people with larger BMIs are somehow a work of fiction, a unicorn, or a species found in the land at the back of the wardrobe. When really 62.1% of adults in the UK are overweight or obese, and I can see why.
We are shown all these ridiculous body ideals, ones that are only achievable with surgery (not many people can be a size 6 and still have DD cups without the help of a surgeon or skilled wizard). After years of denying yourself and being told that happiness only comes in a size 'S', it's so much easier to let go and eat what you want to eat, still having these alien-like body types shoved down your throat. Not to mention the people who gain weight through certain health issues, and are made to feel like they aren't deserving of the same acceptance as a supermodel.
Secondly, being shown these size stereotypes isn't always as obvious as it was with Protein World. As a kid, and a lover of clothes, I'd flip through my mum's Next catalogues, dribbling over t-shirt sets and the miniature girls sporting them. Then, in the orange glow of my night light, I'd stand in front of my mirror, pulling and poking at skin, every shadow exaggerating a curve, every yard of skin was one too many to be able to squeeze into the candy coloured jeans I'd begged my mum to order, and I hated my body.
I began to refer to my legs as 'thunder thighs' - a term I'd picked up from reading Grazia Magazine, and would sit out on school swimming lessons because I hated the way they bulged out of a swimming costume. Even though they never faltered. Even though no sickness left me unable to run, or jump, or dance, or laugh. It was because I didn't look like the candy coloured girls in the candy coloured jeans, smiling away like I thought I didn't deserve to.
Now, in no way do I still feel that way, but a Girl Guiding survey showed that 38% of girls aged 11-21 say they've skipped meals before to help lose weight. This is a startling statistic, and the survey was taken two years before Protein World's advert flood the undergrounds like some biblical plague.
2. Another version of the advert was released, with a male model instead.
In the past few years, male anorexia has hit an all-time high, with the demands that men must be built like Greek Gods - six packs, a height of over 5,9, chiselled features, the ability to throw a lightning bolt etc. Protein World's advert made no exception, but no-one made as much of a fuss over the male stereotypes at play, which I think is unfair.
Now, in no way do I still feel that way, but a Girl Guiding survey showed that 38% of girls aged 11-21 say they've skipped meals before to help lose weight. This is a startling statistic, and the survey was taken two years before Protein World's advert flood the undergrounds like some biblical plague.
2. Another version of the advert was released, with a male model instead.
In the past few years, male anorexia has hit an all-time high, with the demands that men must be built like Greek Gods - six packs, a height of over 5,9, chiselled features, the ability to throw a lightning bolt etc. Protein World's advert made no exception, but no-one made as much of a fuss over the male stereotypes at play, which I think is unfair.
As a new gen-feminist (although those from other age groups are allowed in the clubhouse too!) I'm passionate about including all genders ('cos there are more than two, thank you), all sexualities, all ethnicities, in the fight for freedom from the oppressive stereotypes shoved in our face, which generally make everyone unhappy. The more the merrier. So it's important to stand up for the genders that I'm not, because we're all friends here.
Couple the body ideals with the fact that boys and men are discouraged from talking about feelings (how many times have you heard a guy, or if you are one, being dubbed a 'pussy' or told to 'grow some balls' because they're rejecting the idea that men should always have a stiff upper lip?), and you've got one crazy statistic that the biggest killer of young men is suicide. Girls are encouraged to talk about their frustrations more, and if you're a boy, and your role models are the likes of Wolverine, Vin Diesel, and Chris Hemsworth (who are all white, and super ripped btw), what are you supposed to do when you need to talk to someone, but you've never seen anyone do it, AND you get the pooey end of the emotional stick when you try?
Couple the body ideals with the fact that boys and men are discouraged from talking about feelings (how many times have you heard a guy, or if you are one, being dubbed a 'pussy' or told to 'grow some balls' because they're rejecting the idea that men should always have a stiff upper lip?), and you've got one crazy statistic that the biggest killer of young men is suicide. Girls are encouraged to talk about their frustrations more, and if you're a boy, and your role models are the likes of Wolverine, Vin Diesel, and Chris Hemsworth (who are all white, and super ripped btw), what are you supposed to do when you need to talk to someone, but you've never seen anyone do it, AND you get the pooey end of the emotional stick when you try?
There are programs set up to educate young girls about body confidence, but I haven't heard of any that solely cater to the male stereotypes around, and that needs to change. All genders are affected by sexism, and Protein World was yet another sword in the back of the body image beast, making the issue of self-confidence a national conversation topic. It's time we learn how to recognize the other, subtler stereotypes, so that we can stand up to them in the future as a collective.