(Image curated from Business Insider, curated from Victoria's Secret)

Just today, I read that Victoria's Secret "discreetly" changed the slogan to "A Body for Every Body". 

(Screenshot from Victoria's Secret)

While some people are applauding the move, I still am not happy with this. While you say "A Body for Every Body", I do not see every body type represented in that advertisement or even on the individual shots of the bras on the webpage. Even though the word "perfect" has since been removed, not changing the models still perpetuates the stereotypical image of the "perfect" only achieved by an elite class and stereotype of body. Not all women can have bodies like Victoria's Secret models. It's just not realistic. 

While there are many people who are able to take a step back and think critically about the "every body" statement contrasted with only leggy and slim models, there are impressionable and especially young girls who think that if they want to wear a Victoria's Secret bra and look and feel as good as the models in the advert do, they have to look exactly like them. In fact, such a body type is only achievable for some people, in this case, the models in the advert. But do these impressionable people know that? Are they aware that all women are born with different bodies and that they are just as beautiful as Victoria's Secret models even though they do not have the same body type?

How many girls and women are going to step into the dressing room, try on the bras and look in their reflection, mentally comparing how their bodies look in relation to the advertisement? The "A Body for Every Body" advertisement has models posing to look sexy, their hair is styled and they have on makeup and body makeup while at the same time, looking absolutely confident and happy. But what happens when the woman who puts on a push-up bra has a gut that is not flat nor does she have a thigh-gap realises that she does not look like the model? What happens when she believes that it's for every body but she doesn't look as sexy or as confident as the model? What happens when a woman has large breasts but are conditioned to believe that small, pert breasts are sexy? Perhaps it is just from personal experience but as a large-chested girl, I was severely bullied for having large breasts.

Also, as a plus-sized woman, I had severe body image issues and although I never suffered from eating disorders, I was beating myself up mentally for not looking perfect. I never look like the models. I have a gut poking out obscenely and jelly thighs. I have the world's shortest legs. I am glad that when I did buy my bras, I bought them from department stores where they usually do not have enough floor or wall space to perpetuate body image stereotypes. Hence, I stepped into the dressing room completely comfortable in my skin and loving the way a bra looked on my breasts. 

The point of this, Victoria's Secret, is that although you have "discreetly" changed the slogan of the campaign and many people are satisfied, it still perpetuates and reinforces the body stereotype. "Every Body" is clearly not represented in the ad. All I see are stereotypical models. Where are my apples? Where are my pears? Where are my hourglasses? Where are my Alexa Chungs or Kiera Knightleys? Where are my plus-sized sisters? Where are the real women of the world?