Companies find perfect fit with positive body campaigns

A big girl like me knows when I am not welcomed into a store. From first glance it is easy to tell if a store does not accept curves. When I was young I would try to squeeze into a size smaller than I am at a Hollister because that is what all the "skinny" kids were wearing, but it just didn't feel right. I never understood why some stores did not sell big clothing, and it was not until I was older that I started to notice that there were never any thick girls in any ads for my favorite stores. A girl should not have to feel less than what she is because of a brand. Luckily, times are changing. Stores like Aerie, Lane Bryant, and Target are all combating body negativity with their advertising.

In 2014 Aerie started their ad campaign #aeriereal which featured completely non photoshopped images of all their models. The campaign was an overall hit and caused thousands of people to post pictures with the hashtag to share their support. It could have just been a ploy to boost sales, but the undeniable impact it had on people all over the country was nothing to be ignored.

Anyone with breasts probably know that it can be nearly impossible to find a perfect fitting bra. If they walk into Victoria Secret, theres a good chance they will either walk out with nothing, or with a bra that was overpriced, and unflattering.

There was a time that I walked into three different Victoria Secret's in a week and each one gave me a different size during my fitting, and I am not the only one. There have been many incidents where customers have felt size-shamed and uncomfortable in the store. Almost everyone has seen their store walls and catalog. There is not a single curvy, un-photoshopped woman that is present and it's just not realistic. They do not want to make you feel good; they want to make money.

Lane Bryant is a store that is all about the big and beautiful. Their numerous body campaigns have gotten a lot of feedback; good and bad. One of their commercials was even banned because it featured topless women. But people missed the point. The message Lane Bryant always tries to send in their ads is that any body is a beautiful body, and women should feel comfortable in their own skin.

They have used hashtags such as #imnoangel which throws some direct shade at Victoria Secret. VS tried to do a body positive campaign themselves, but it ended up backfiring. The image of a "perfect body" fell completely flat to the average size 16 woman.

Lane Bryant has also used #plusisequal and #thisbody. The campaigns have done well in getting social media involved in the body positive movement, and many fans of the store have shown their support.

As an employee at Target, I have gotten up close and personal on their advertisements. Everyday I walk past the ads on the walls, and they never cease to make me smile. The ads are all inclusive. People of all races and gender and size are added into the photos, and accepted into the stores.

I work in the clothing department so I am familiar when it comes to the sizing of the products. All Targets have a plus size section. The clothes are not ugly and boring, a lot of the bigger clothes are really cute, and i've been tempted more than once to buy them. All the brands that are not plus size go up to a size 1x so there still is some more variety throughout the store. And the best part is, it's not more money for bigger sizes.

Now that I am older, I would never walk into a Abercrombie because I know that the CEO wants "Beautiful and thin" people in his stores, and I am only one of those traits. It took them years before they finally added XL and XXL to their stores, but only because not having them caused so much profit loss.

The body positivity movement that is coming from these companies may just be a better way to market, but there is no doubt that it is a much needed step in the right direction. Children should not have to grow up feeling not good enough because of what they see on tv or in store ads.