Victoria’s Secret is slowly going downhill. Women are empowering themselves and each other like never before in history. We reached a point in time where we are okay with just being, rather than trying to be. We reached a point where plus size is sexy, where trans women are beautiful, where body hair is finally okay, where nobody is looking to fake it anymore. We reached a point where big boobs are sexy and small boobs are sexy, where cellulite is beautiful and natural. We have finally reached the point where we don’t tolerate brands like Victoria Secret anymore.
I remember walking into Victoria’s Secret when my mom agreed that I should get my first bra. I was 12. It was like walking into girl wonderland. The air was filled with strong perfume. There was glitter on the walls, on the lotion bottles, on the lingerie. Images of flawless, sexy, women hung on the walls and it was almost empowering. For the first time, I felt like a woman.
As time went by, and I repeatedly counted on the brand for my supply of bras, I realized I was not exactly the Victoria’s Secret ideal woman. My bra size was not like that of the angels I highly admired. My body started growing into a shape that didn’t seem flawless and sexy like the pictures my friends and I would gaze at in awe. My skin wasn’t smooth and perfectly tan either. I was (and am) rather pale, and it was implied that this wasn’t too attractive. I wasn’t hairless at all times either. This is when I began feeling like I maybe wasn’t that sexy.
My friends felt this too. We all felt it. We all fell into self-destructive patterns in effort to be like the angels, like Adriana Lima and Miranda Kerr. We used unhealthy, restrictive diets which contributed to mental problems that persist to this day. We constantly bleached our hair, had obsessive exercise routines, went to tanning salons at age 15, and even planned for future plastic surgery. Getting together to watch the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was our own kind of ritual.
I slowly drifted away from this fantasy, because in reality it was a struggle. It broke my heart to see girls feeling unworthy because of the beauty standards this brand set. I remember one friend calling me right after the 2016 VS show finished airing, desperately stating that she needed to start a diet and asked for my support. I started to strongly oppose VS.
I’m not saying they’re the only brand that thrives on setting unrealistic standards for women. But Victoria’s Secret is now doing even more harm by refusing to evolve with the positive social changes we’re going through. They have always instead opted for a lifestyle of “perfection.” Only the most incredible, tiniest, sexiest of women could even come close to being an angel. Then that leaves the rest of us, trying everything to fit into that angelic beauty standard.
Today, the brand is in decline. They can’t keep up with the female revolution and that is why people are losing interest in the toxic messages they send. They refuse to include trans or plus size women in the show and this year it suffered it’s worst ratings in it’s broadcasted history. According to USA Today the show was only watched by 3.27 million people. This may still sound like a large audience, but it’s actually the smallest audience they’ve ever had.
This decline has been going on for a couple of years now, thank God, and at this point it’s unlikely they can climb back to the popularity they experienced in their prime. Unless the brand changes its whole image, they risk losing people to newer, fresher, and more inclusive brands. Even if it does make an effort to be inclusive and body positive, I believe it will always stand for the society we don’t want to go back to being.