For years I’ve tried to fit in with my friends and enjoy the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. I’ve tried to appreciate the fashion and these models for owning their sexuality and walking the runway. However, I find it hard to ignore the possible negative effects the show could have on young women.
Buzzfeed shared that Victoria’s Secret’s chief marketing officer, Ed Razek, recently faced controversy after talking about diversity within the VS brand. He was quoted as saying, “Does the brand think about diversity? Yes. Do we offer larger sizes? Yes. So it’s like, why don’t you do 50? Why don’t you do 60? Why don’t you do 24? It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this? Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should. Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. That’s what it is.”
In branding the show as a “fantasy,” Razek tells his audience that trans women, plus size models, and frankly anyone that isn’t a size zero, are not worthy of being someone’s fantasy.
According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 0.9% of American women suffer from anorexia and 1.5% suffer from bulimia sometime in their lifetime. The unrealistic expectations the media and fashion industries place on young women often have dangerous effects, and it is ignorant to believe that the Victoria’s Secret show does not play a part in this.
Women of all ages need to start seeing themselves better reflected in the media, so until Victoria’s Secret and Ed Razek are willing to change their fantasy, I won’t be watching.