What is beauty? Is it an internal feeling or an external one? Is it determined by the opinion of one’s self or the standards determined by a community? Beauty standards are ever-changing and oftentimes have a negative impact on the self-esteem of many individuals. This may seem like an insignificant issue, but the statistics associated with eating disorders and body dysmorphia continue to climb, turning it into a public health crisis.
Social media has exaggerated the effects of body dysmorphia, by causing adolescents to compare themselves to the “influencers” they are seeing online. This online community has manipulated physical traits into being “trendy”. This highlights specific anatomical parts of the body as being desirable or unwanted. It is impossible for adolescents to change their body shape, in a healthy and safe manner, so many are left feeling insecure.
The popular teen clothing store, Aerie, has established an advertising campaign to promote body positivity and increase representation of different body types and ethnicities. It is very typical for brands to gravitate toward models who have a similar appearance. This creates a cohesive brand image but does not allow young women to picture themselves in the product. Aerie’s campaign is titled #AerieReal. It highlights women from all career sectors, such as athletes, writers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and activists. The brand celebrates women of different ethnicities, women with physical disabilities, and women of all shapes.
This advertisement campaign is also investing in the community. Women can apply to become role models, the name given to Aerie models. This title is accompanied by a grant that allows these women to invest in the passions that make them unique. These women are meant to be role models in their physical community and online communities.
The celebration of diversity among women is inspiring and will hopefully be adopted by other brands. It is important to think about how the unrealistic portrayal of women is affecting the mental and physical health of women across the world. I am hopeful that young girls will see the power in being strong, gain confidence in being unique, and find inspiration from women at the top of their field.
I really like the topic you picked for rhetorical situation. Unrealistic standards for women and young girls is such an important topic that needs to be addressed and talked about more. To go deeper into the topic, maybe highlight parts of the Aerie ad that make this a rhetorical situation. For example, was this triggered by a certain event or was it that body dysmorphia was at an all-time high. Context of the civic engagement would add to your topic.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post of yours! I’m so glad that this topic is finally gaining the acknowledgment that is needed for the mental and physical well-beings of women and young girls all over the world. Societal beauty standards, further fueled by social media, have become dangerously harmful to the self-esteem and comparative nature of adolescent women, and it is because of brands like Aerie that these stereotypes are being broken down, one clothing item at a time. That being said, one difficult constraint to overcome in this field is making the clothing items more affordable to all. It is a constant battle to make good quality clothing at affordable prices. My hope is that over time, the inflation of textiles will decrease so that more women and girls can afford to feel confident in themselves while wearing Aerie clothing.