Victoria Beckham Gets Slammed for Using a Thin Model for Her Eye Wear Campaign

The size of models used in ad campaigns and on the runway has been a source of controversy for some time now. The waif-life body types that dominated magazine pages since the 90’s and 00’s have been criticized for promoting an unrealistic body image. Some countries have even gone so far as to ban models under certain BMI or weight standards. Victoria Beckham has been in the industry for a long time, most recently with her own clothing and accessory line. To promote her new line of sunglasses, she posted a few images on her Instagram account. But rather than focus on the product, people slammed her for the size of the model in the pictures.

Victoria Beckham is probably best known for being 1/5 of The Spice Girls. Her foray into clothing design has been successful, but a recent ad campaign has people calling foul. Not about the glasses she’s selling, but about the model used to sell them.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdzyUQclgck/?taken-by=victoriabeckham

Victoria posted the pictures for the Victoria Beckham Eyewear Spring Summer 2018 collection on Instagram. Almost immediately, commenters weighed in on the model’s weight and body frame.

victoria beckham
Image: Instagram/@Victoriabeckham

“Feed these models!” “This girl quite possible has an eating disorder judging by her emaciated frame.” The comments were endless and ruthless.

Eating disorders in the modeling industry are a problem. These young women, some of them no older than 17 or 18, feel compelled to maintain a body weight that might be contrary to their own natural size. But, people seem very quick to judge a model for something that very well may be out of her control. Just as some people are tall, or muscular, or heavy-set, there are PLENTY of people in the world who are naturally very thin. They don’t starve themselves, they aren’t unhealthy, they’re just skinny.

The attacks on the model and Victoria were, ironically, made by people calling for an end to body-shaming. And then they went right ahead and shamed this model. Calling her skeletal, Skeletor, assuming she was unhealthy or had an eating disorder.

victoria beckham
Image: Instagram/@victoriabeckham

Yes, she is very thin. But I don’t know this woman’s life story. To attribute her appearance to a mental illness or unhealthy lifestyle is, whether people want to admit it or not, body-shaming.

Calling someone unhealthy because they are thin is just as problematic as calling someone unhealthy because they are overweight. Body size is not a good indicator of a person’s health. Attacking and criticizing a thin woman in the name of body positivity is cruelly ironic. And accusing Victoria Beckham of promoting eating disorders, when it’s pretty clear she’s just trying to promote sunglasses, is a huge leap for people to make.

(Image: Facebook/Victoria Beckham)

 

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