Victoria’s Secret revealed their 2017 “What is Sexy?” list and what’s on it does not seem to come to a surprise to its readers. The women who are considered sexy fall in the category of white and thin, or in other words, not a diverse bunch aligning with the demographics of their customers. Of course the women considered are of a worthy and talented group, but it appears as if the focus should only be on them, not mention the implication that being white and thin is the only appealing figure. Lady Gaga was “Sexiest Songstress” and Taylor Swift got “Sexiest Entertainer” but women of color celebrities, such as Priyanka Chopra and Vanessa Hudgens won in categories that perhaps were not as strong and recognizable: (Chopra won Sexiest Red Carpet Look and Hudgens won Sexiest Style Risk-Taker). Clearly there is a lot of work to be done to represent people of color better in the media. This is important because it sends a message of how we should see ourselves: just being who and what we are should be beautiful enough.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCLA chapter.