Ladies in knickers

"Whoever's bodies it is, it's still about what women's bodies look like, isn't it? "

YES!! Too pretty/not pretty enough, too much surgery/not enough surgery, too saggy/not proud enough about your saggy bits, we CANNOT win because it is still about what women look like. Trying to have a counterbalance to the only young, pretty, smooth, taut female bodies are acceptable, I can appreciate the sentiment, but it still shows, as someone else said, that just the women we know and what they look like, isn't good enough for us to know it. Our everyday experience isn't enough, because for so many women, their everyday experience is being obsessed with what we look like, or what others think about what we look like, or what we think about how other women look, or whether or not others are obsessing about how we look today, and so on and so on and so on..................

Are the presenters in Loose Women good TV presenters, do they have inspirational careers as journalists and writers, are they writing exciting books..............No, yet again, it's what do they look like, and are they being correctly brave about it. How do we change this obsession with female appearance, and female bodies as something that is continually being looked at and judged, or women being judged for displaying or not displaying whatever bodily changes they are currently undergoing...........

Not all dismal though -- I was thinking of the change in perceptions of the bodies of disabled people during the paralympics, where the focus was not so much on what they look like, but what they can do.
The statue of Alison Lapper pregnant in Trafalgar square. I think it has had the effect of more people feeling able to display their multi-coloured painted protheses, rather than the old-style hide it and try and make it look like a 'real' limb surgical pink (which is a bit of a bugger if you're black!).But for women, we still have women and girls being kicked off flights for wearing the wrong sort of trousers, or having their clothing taken off for wearing the wrong sort of swimming attire, and so on and so on. Women and what we look like and what we wear or don't wear is still a battleground.............

If only I looked half as good in my undercrackers!

When I was young, I never saw an image of a woman with a body like mine, I felt too fat, too hairy, out of proportion and the wrong shape, and the media have the impression that I was the only one who looked do bad

But if you look around any office, shopping centre, beach, swimming pool , public place or indeed for most people, friends and family, you will see plenty of women who look just like you. Why do women need images of women to validate themselves rather than the women they meet in real life everyday?

I really don't understand how anyone can look at a picture of say Kate Moss and think it is realistic for anyone other than Kate Moss and the tiny number of women who look like Kate Moss.

So far as stupid campaigns like Dove's I have boycotted Dove ever since they started that ridiculous "every women is beautiful " nonsense.

or even kittens in knickers

I could fit one hell of a lot of kittens into my knickers.

Now there's an image women would actually want to see - knickersfull of kittens

Whoever's bodies it is, it's still about what women's bodies look like, isn't it?

to me, a far more powerful message would be showing women doing stuff while not looking perfect (like This Girl Can). I love my body because of what it can do, not what it looks like. I don't need to see picture of the wobbly bits of perfect strangers to feel better about mine. It's still me comparing my looks to other women's looks, and there is nothing healthy or "empowering" about that!

It even fails Caitlin Moran's basic sexism test (a low bar). Is this being done to men? No. Then sexism.

saving kittens from house fires in their knickers

I could fit one hell of a lot of kittens into my knickers.

I find it very irritating. Don't think I've ever seen a row of old, fat blokes parading around in their underkegs to show what "real" men's bods look like (nor would I want to!)

I'm glad it's not just me.

Although it was a set of nude breastfeeding pictures against arty inspirational backdrops that left me grumpy this morning. I'm as lactivist as they come but find rampant exhibitionism really unhelpful, uninspiring and frankly ridiculous.

The same goes for Dove adverts and the Loose Women ad. I value my fellow women for many things - their cellulite and willingness to share it with me is not one of them.

Apparently Kanye is sulking because the photo of Kim's unairbrushed bottom has 'damaged her brand'!!!

I've never given this much thought. Thanks op and others

To me, it just reads as "hey ladies, even if you're a bit fat or old, we still want to perv over images of you/persuade you to buy unnecessary beauty products! you should be so grateful to be included".

Patronising pile of shite.

I'm all for a variety of bodies being represented in the media, not just slim white women with no body hair

So much this!

There are various problems I have with this:

1. Women being judged by their bodies.
2. That there is a concept of 'perfect' bodies in order for this to have any point at all, when really our bodies are just a record of the lives we've lived.
3. That objectifying anyone, by looking at their bodies like that, is objectifying, not empowering.
4. Younger women are unlikely to be empowered/relieved. They're more likely to think 'I don't want that to be me' and hit the gym/spa etc more as this could still be seen as a bit of a warning about what happens when you get older.

I'm sure I'll think of more, but going to do some work now.

I kind of get it. I'm all for a variety of bodies being represented in the media, not just slim white women with no body hair.

But no, not empowering for women as a whole.

I really get it. When I was young, I never saw an image of a woman with a body like mine, I felt too fat, too hairy, out of proportion and the wrong shape, and the media have the impression that I was the only one who looked do bad. I would have rejoiced to see pictures of women who did not look " perfect ", and who knows, it might have had some positive impact on what turned into years eating disorders and dysmorphia.
I don't know about empowering, but anything that loosens the iron grip of needing to be perfect for young women is a step in the right direction.
Now I'm old and saggy and don't a flying fuck what anyone thinks, who'd be young, eh?

Yep, it's just like the Dove campaign of which says that every woman is beautiful - it's a lie isn't it? And all it does is reinforce the belief that women are supposed to be beautiful and that not being beautiful is a failure at womanhood. But then I suppose you can't sell many products with the message "it's ok not to be beautiful"

"And I for one am not really shocked by the fact that "real" women aren't all smooth, slim and young. Who'd have thought it?"

But some women are, if you remember the case of some younger woman who posted a picture of an older woman who dared to get dressed in the swimming pool changing rooms (sorry, can't remember names/details). Although if not surprised, the attitude was that she may look like that, but she should have had the decency to not impose it on others.

Given the propensity of many female celebs with supposedly more photogenic bods to post pictures of themselves looking fab and toned five minutes after giving birth (or even Jenner looked fab all tucked-in in a basque!), the retort of some different celebs saying 'this is us' is some sort of balance or at least starts a debate.

Yes, it is itself has many of the same problems with the original pictures, in that it is still women or wannabe women who have to posts pictures of themselves unclothed in order to make some important statement about womanhood or their entitlement to it. In a way that men don't have to.

I get what they're trying to do - we're always seeing perfect women beclad in their undercrackers and we don't look like that and it can be demoralising but frankly no- I feel empowered when I look at myself and feel strong, healthy and powerful. Not a bunch of women who tbh often look like they don't have a good right hook ....

I just thought it was a loosely women publicity stunt
The comments pissed me off. Male comment said, and I'm paraphrasing, good on you ladies that will annoy the feminists because they don't look as good as you
Twat. Like a woman would be a feminist because she feels less attractive that loosely women

Totally agree with walde, it's the whole premise that women's role is still predominantly to be seen, to be an object, whether as a size 6 18yo model or as a "real" (yuk) woman.

And I for one am not really shocked by the fact that "real" women aren't all smooth, slim and young. Who'd have thought it?

I have no intelligent response to this. When I saw the picture I thought boring. I don't really need or want to see pictures of anyone in their knickers. I am over it!