Op Ed: Curvy Women Can Rock Lingerie Too

“Maybe I’ll be a Victoria’s Secret Angel this year for Halloween since it ain’t happening in real life…” says Tabria Majors on her Instagram post.

Image via Instagram.

Tabria is smashing down Victoria’s Secret for body shaming and only showing skinny women rocking their lingerie. She is posting many pictures of herself in her bra and underwear and comparing it to an Angel. In my opinion, Tabria looks fabulous. She is very brave by showing everyone what she is passionate about and she deserves to win this battle.

This isn’t the first time that Victoria’s Secret has been called out for body shaming. In 2015, Lane Bryant launched their #ImNoAngel campaign as a way to put down the company’s body shaming images. No changes were made after that campaign started; Victoria’s Secret is not getting the message.

Image via Eonline.

Tabria was interviewed by HuffPost Canada. She told them, “I really want to open the discussion of inclusivity in mainstream media… I just want to know why they, and so many other companies, don’t cater to the average sized woman.”

Women should never feel ashamed of themselves, and that goes for men too. The media and large corporations pump us full of insecurity with unrealistic expectations.

Take Abercrombie & Fitch for instance. The company had the ‘look policy’ when Mike Jeffries, former CEO was in charge. He only wanted beautiful people in his stores: tall, skinny, blondes, with muscles and flawless faces. The scandals led to change for A&F, but only once people spoke out. It’s okay to be different; it makes every one unique. It’s not okay to look down on those differences and perpetuate shaming.

Image via Complex. (A&F’s look policy)

If a curvy woman saw a woman in a lingerie ad that had the same body as her, then that woman would feel more confident about buying it. That’s why companies like Aerie and Lane Bryant represent many different body types in their lingerie ads. Aerie, which sells their lingerie items in American Eagle, shows many plus-sized models in their ads.

Image via Businessinsider. (Aerie).
Image via Glamour. (Lane Bryant).

All women are entitled to wear lingerie and feel sexy and beautiful in it. Victoria’s Secret and other companies need to start making changes. They owe it to women everywhere, and they should realize their future hangs on a thread as thin as their models.

Image via Instagram.

Readers, how do you feel about all this? Should companies like Victoria’s Secret feature more plus sized models? Is Tabria a hero in the fashion industry right now? Let me know in the comments below.