The westernized portrayal of beauty is prevalent throughout and has become ingrained into the fabric of American society. In adolescence, the development of an individual’s body influences their sense of self. With the growing prevalence of social media usage young adults are being introduced to a barrage of images celebrating westernized ideals of beauty. Currently, three out of every four young adults ages 18-24, use at least one social media platform (Perrin & Anderson, 2019). Recently, group of “influencers” noticed the single illustration of beauty, began to rally for change, and the body positivity movement was formed. The movement “hopes to remove the abundance of these images and replace them with images of real-life women of different shapes, sizes, ethnicities, ages, etc.”
BODY POSITIVITY MOVEMENT 2010s. Net revenue for the Aerie company has continued to increase and has seen an annual increase of around 25% in the last two fiscal years (AEO Investor Relations, 2020). Using this marketing strategy has greatly increased profit margins for the American Eagle Outfitters corporation. Coinciding with the release of the popular Aerie Real campaign corporations that had previously established themselves as lingerie and undergarment powerhouses began to see decreases in their annual revenue. In the early 2000s one of these lingerie powerhouses, Victoria Secret was incredibly successful and saw a large increase in sales while simultaneously producing a successful yearly fashion show that at its peak saw 10 million viewers. In 2015, sales began to decrease, and this year net sales fell 46% in the first fiscal quarter (Ettinger, McDowell, 2020). Figure 5 presents a typical Victoria Secret advertisement image.
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Figure 5 Victoria Secret (2010) [Image of Love My Body Campaign] [Photograph]. InStyle. While Victorias Secret has managed to stay relevant for the better of two decades, it is more frequently in the headlines for a scandal rather than the company or products sold. In 2018, Vogue interviewed Ed Razek, the chief marketing officer of L Brands and Monica Mitro, executive vice president of public relations at Victoria Secret about the upcoming fashion show and growing calls for larger variety of models. Ed Razek said, Its like, why doesnt your show do this? Shouldnt you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I dont think we should. Well, 15
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BODY POSITIVITY MOVEMENT why not? Because the show is a fantasy. (Phelps, 2018). In the interview he also stated that he would not be letting any plus size models into the show. These comments faced extreme backlash, Razeks position was terminated at the company and in May of 2019 regular Victoria Secret model, Shanina Shaik, revealed that there would not be a televised fashion show that year (Lopez, 2019). Many brands have taken notice to the mistakes of Victoria Secret and now there is more inclusive sizing and lines by a large influx of companies including Target, Universal Standard, and many smaller clothing brands. Similar to social media, advertisements influence an individuals self-image and how they perceive themselves. The larger range of models used in advertising campaigns may work to improve body image especially in those with higher rates of social appearance comparison. Sense of Self
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Social Appearance Comparison In a process referred to as social appearance comparison, an individual will compare themselves to the standards that are produced on social media (Convertino et. al, 2016). Developed in 1945 by social psychologist Leon Festinger, social comparison theory states that individuals strive to obtain accurate self-evaluation (Wills, 1981). This theory was influenced by social rhetoric to analyze the phenomenon seen when an individual began to compare themselves to images on social media thus the social appearance comparison theory was developed. Those who display higher levels of social appearance comparison are more likely to display the product of exposure to images in the media. (Convertino et.al, 2016). High levels of social appearance comparison have been linked to lower levels of self-esteem and mood (Convertino, et.al, 2016). Those who are heavily invested in social media specifically emotionally are more likely to report 16
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