The Victoria’s Secret Fashion pulled in just under 5 million viewers this past week, and it is safe to assume that the majority of those viewers were most likely women.
Every year, just a few minutes after the show, the internet is flooded with comments such as: “Hitting the gym after watching the #victoriassecretfashionshow”, “I look like a linebacker compared to the #angels”, and (my personal favorite) “I feel like a potato, thanks #victoriassecretfashionshow”.
After seeing all the comments about “new year, new me” paired with ‘hitting the gym’ memes once the show finished, I was personally sad for all the girls who genuinely felt this way. In regards to an event that is meant to showcase lingerie that should make us feel amazing about ourselves, the show gets a lot of heat for having the exact opposite effect.
One Cosmo writer abstained from watching the show and made this comment in her article, I Don’t Watch the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show Because I Don’t Want to Hate My Body: “What I don’t love is that, in reality, the whole fantasy hinges on making one body type seem superior to all the other body types in this world. And then what are we left with? A bunch of young women who feel like they’re inferior for eating food on a Tuesday night.”
I can completely understand her feelings toward the show; it does have a plethora of one type of girl. She is the girl that the majority of us most likely hated in high school: slim, tan, tall and loved by all. She was the Carmen, the Kacey, the Amanda, or the Emily who had the sparkling smile and the heart of every boy.
Unfortunately, this is exactly how I felt a few years ago. But now, I can honestly say that I watched the Victoria’s Fashion Show and Didn’t Hate Myself. What happened between high school and my senior year of college that changed this? I (for the first time) figured out that I wasn’t a Victoria’s Secret Model; I am me.
That sounds silly, right? What do you mean I don’t get to wear wings to my campus job at the library?! In all seriousness, it is easy to forget that these women on that screen are professionals who are paid thousands of dollars to look the way they do and walk with the confidence they have on that runway. Between being pressured by ads to buy products that promise to make you beautiful in ten minutes flat and being told we would be even more perfect if we finally shaved that freshman 15, it is hard to forget to compare ourselves to those girls strutting it.
I think the biggest turning point in my life was the confidence I gained from my sorority sisters as an Alpha Gam. The best thing they have done for me was truly love me as I am and teach me that I am only as good as my best deed. I’ve realized my true value comes from the way I make others feel, not the way I feel about my appearance. If I do my best, whether it be in school, leadership, or relationships, it doesn’t matter what I look like! I know that if it’s my best, then I’ve done all I can do to better myself and those around me. My sorority has given me something that no one else can: confidence to be me.
The best advice I can leave any girl comparing herself to the Victoria’s Secret Angels (or the women in media in general) is find your true confidence in your passions and values. One of my favorite quotes of all time is one of the ones that genuinely reminds me of myself worth everyday; I’ll leave it with you in hopes it gives you the same.Love,
A girl who once watched the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show and used to hate herself
Cover Image courtesy of http://www.capturemodels.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/victorias-secret…