Comment on The fashion industry is still pushing crazy thin body images
Veedem@lemmy.world 6 months ago
So, where does body positivity start and stop? It seems silly to say one extreme is acceptable but the other isn’t.
Now, I worry body positivity, in general, encourages people to ignore the need to make life style changes for their own personal health, but also, maybe, if it’s not my body, it’s none of my fucking business.
Health. Hurts a bit knowing all those teen girls out there feel like shit because of some tiny “imperfection”. Hurts a bit that we don’t tell people whose weight is not what medical science is recommending to adjust it.
I am a fat guy, I am doing well on my diet. My doctor was honest, if I don’t lose the weight she is going to have to start talking about medications.
mrbubblesort@kbin.social 6 months ago
Please don't be obtuse. When it gets put into an ad campaign aimed at me and the 99.9% of other people where looking like would be extremely bad for our own personal health, it becomes our business.
Look at it another way, a year ago would you have said to an antivaxxer / antimasker "who am I to judge"? The effects here are much more subtle and take more time, but the same logic applies, and the results of inaction are no less insidious.
So sure, all right, maybe a single person might be all right without a vaccine/without a mask/eating only 30 calories a day, but that is not something that should be encouraged. And the dumbass republicans/marketers who spread this behavior should be ashamed and called out.
StunningGoggles@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Obesity is also extremely bad for our own personal health so we should stop seeing obese people in ads too right?
phx@lemmy.ca 6 months ago
How many ads actually have obese people in them? I don’t such any online but I haven’t had stuff like broadcast cable for ages. Is it a thing?
JCreazy@midwest.social 6 months ago
It’s quite common because companies want to market to people by seeming relatable and wouldn’t you know it, for a lot of people being overweight is relatable so you see it a lot more in advertising now.
skyspydude1@lemmy.world 6 months ago
It’s definitely become a thing within the past decade, especially with products/ads directed more towards women. Remember that obese is not “Jabba the Hutt” levels of fat, and someone who looks like this is far past obese at 5’4" (1.61m) and 200lbs (90kg). Then, you have companies like Dove ( with ads like their “Body Positive Trailer” showing characters that are well past Class III obesity. That’s an extreme example, but it’s become quite common overall to show severely overweight people as “normal”
Companies have realized that people are getting fatter and fatter globally, so like any good capitalists they’re going to take advantage of it. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Dove is owned by Unilever, who is also the world’s largest producer of ice cream, and suddenly their push for “body positivity” makes a bit more sense.
Now, before people go and attack me, I think that there have been many positive changes in how people are being more realistically portrayed in media and appreciate the push for more realistic body standards. Shaming people for looking “different” is not okay, and that includes being overweight.
However, what’s not okay in my mind is how quickly it’s become “being severely overweight is totally okay if you #slay queen, yaaaas”. I’ve noticed a growing trend of these types of ads, generally portraying black/PoC women (who are already statistically far more likely to become obese) who are hundreds of pounds overweight as doing all kinds of “fitness” and/or “boss babe” kinds of activities, which seems like they are trying to convince the broader audience that it’s totally okay to be 200-300lbs overweight because this obese black girl was shown wearing athletic wear.
StunningGoggles@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
Yeah I go to target and the mall and etc and see obese (women in particular) being used to advertise.
JCreazy@midwest.social 6 months ago
Yes? I don’t know what kind of gotcha you thought you had but it didn’t work out too well.
StunningGoggles@sh.itjust.works 6 months ago
I’ve encountered lots of people in real life and the Internet who think it’s perfectly acceptable to be obese(health at every size, etc), there’s a whole anti diet campaign and everything. I’m glad you personally don’t feel that way, I agree with you the extremes in either direction are unhealthy. But let’s not pretend like that is some unheard of viewpoint.
mrbubblesort@kbin.social 6 months ago
Took the words right out of my mouth. I will never say a single unkind word to an obese person, I was there too once and know how hard it is, but lets not pretend it's healthy to be that way either.
afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 6 months ago
The ad isn’t aimed at you. It isn’t even aimed at customers. It is aimed upwards.
Is there a human being on the planet earth who can afford a Prada bag and has never heard of that brand? Seriously, 8 billion members of humanity and I will put down money right now that there is literally not a single one who has the money and has never heard of the brand.
The ad exists in the form it exists because someone thought it would impress their manager who in turn was trying to impress their manager and so on. All the way up to some heiress who sits on the board.
Look right now at Walmart or Target’s or Amazons website for clothing. Do you see the models? They look like normal people and they are smiling. Those retailers are trying to get money from you. Because those companies are sane normal businesses that want your cash and nothing more. They impress the higher ups by how much of your cash they can get.