Every Woman’s Body is Beach Ready

[StarlightLady]

I never thought l’d see the day when l would start a post praising the actions of any government on MN. This advertising campaign by the Spanish Government is revolutionary.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62325030

Take heed Mumsnetters and enjoy the summer.

The woman who has had a mastectomy is particularly inspiring to many and reminds me of a woman l saw topless on the beach some time ago. I take my hat off to her!

I found it to be a very positive message too. I see it's attracted some hate from people saying that they're creating a problem where one doesn't exist, or that women don't need permission to visit the beach. But I think it's well-intentioned and refreshing, very positive.

I love this campaign. In the sea of stick thin models on posters everywhere, seeing this will give some with insecurities that boost they need.

Stick thin models get insulted a fair bit, compared to boys, prepubescent. I think they could've included skinny women, other body types as well as bigger, every body matters yet only show one weight category.

Is the woman in the bottom left not slim?

I like it. I’m slim but still feel self conscious on the beach.

It it makes some people happy/more confident then great, but I’m not sure whether or not it will be effective or whether it’s needed.

Every summer I see scores of women of all shapes and sizes wearing bikinis, swimsuits, shorts…. I’m sure some of them are perhaps feeling self conscious but lots don’t appear to be. There are plenty of bigger/older women who have enough confidence to wear less/smaller clothes in summer.

I’m just not sure how much this kind of advert would make a difference to women who really are struggling with their self-image. Is seeing this advert going to suddenly make them feel able to don a swimsuit?

I am slim but I have insecurities about parts of my body that mean I won’t wear certain things. An ad like this won’t change that. And I’m ok with that. I won’t wear a bikini because I don’t want people to see my tummy. I don’t have FOMO for not being able to wear one and I’m not crying into my kaftan over it. I’m just wearing things that cover up the bits I’m not keen on showing. Women who want to show more and who have the confidence to do so can go for it!

"I’m just not sure how much this kind of advert would make a difference to women who really are struggling with their self-image. Is seeing this advert going to suddenly make them feel able to don a swimsuit?"

No, by itself this advert won't achieve that. But saying that all bodies are welcome, regardless of shape or size, is a small step in the right direction imo.

Apparently two of the images were used without permission and also digitally altered, including the editing out of a woman's prosthetic leg.

Depressing that even bodies that aren't conventional 'beach bodies' can only be unconventional within someone's pre-conceived ideas of what is unconventionally attractive.

Sources here:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-62345734

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62365796

Not so wonderful when the pictures were used without knowledge let alone permission. As for the editing out a ladies prosthesis? Just appalling. The producer of the advert has said they used them without permission so it wasn't even a mistake!!! WTF 😳

Revolutionary in a very bad sense. As in looting and blood in the streets. That kind of revolutionary.

I really did not like the advert at all. Every woman’s body is beach ready!

• Why do we never say this about mens bodies?


• Why is a beach ready body even a thing?


• Why is the only diversity in the photo age, sex, race and number of breasts?


• Why is near or half naked the only beach wear? Where are the other beach styles for women?

I don’t like the message. I don’t like how it’s targeting women only. I don’t like any of it. I was not shocked to find out this was produced without the womens’ consent- or that a prosthetic leg was photoshopped out.

And I may be flamed for this but I fully believe the subtext to the average woman is get your kit off because womens bodies on the beach are there for the male gaze. It’s almost saying you have no excuse to not go topless when 65yr old Sally with a mastectomy is rocking about the beach. That our purpose is decorative.

"Stick thin"🙄

Leaving aside anything else, I stopped giving a fuck what people thought of my 'beach body' many years ago. I don't really need an advert to tell me I can wear a bikini if I want to.

But some people do feel self conscious and an advert saying nobody cares what your body looks like, is a refreshing change from the ads for Love Island, fake tan, tiny bikinis etc that are all over sm.

But awful that the images were taken from the internet and used without permission. I see that the photographer has said she'll share her fee, it is the least she can do.

Now there is a third allegation of a stolen image.

The picture of the woman with the single mastectomy is being claimed to have been taken without permission and digitally altered from a picture of a woman with a double mastectomy.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-62371773

When anyone says 'there were all shapes and sizes at the beach', they are invariably women talking about other women. Does anyone even notice the men? The pressure to wear something revealing just because you are sitting on a beach is ridiculous. And women telling other women not to wear a one piece because they will stand out even more just piles on the pressure. Unless you want an all over tan (and melanoma), there should be no need to wear a bikini - unless you want to, which is absolutely fine. No one should feel forced to wear next to nothing and no one should feel that they can't, just because of their body size or shape.

It's a disgrace that these women's images were used without permission and that they were digitally altered. The campaign was, I am sure, well meaning, but the image looks unrealistic and forced and, as pp said, assumes that the only way to be beach ready is to be half naked.

I am the OP. When l made the original post, l had no idea that any of the images used in the advert were stolen. Models used in advertising should not only be content for their images to be used, they should be paid an appropriate fee, unless they agree to waive it.

l agree that nobody should feel they need to wear a bikini at the beach unless they want to. Likewise no woman should feel that she shouldn’t wear a bikini because her body does not conform to (an often male created) stereotype.

Where I’m able to do so, I prefer to go to topless (to me it’s more natural and relaxed than some of the gel “almost reveal everything squeezed and pushed” bikini tops you see about) but again, that is not conforming.