In Spain there are posters showing women of all shapes and sizes on the beach. “Summer is ours too,” it reads. Sender: the Spanish government. With the new campaign, the government emphasizes that all bodies may be there. A good idea?
Full women are often insulted about their bodies in the summer. They are also harassed in the street and sentenced. They have even worse access to work. So says the Women’s Institute of Spain, which stands up for women’s rights. That is why the institute came up with this campaign for the government.
Fits the time
“It’s a sympathetic gesture that fits the spirit of the times,” says Linda Duits. She is a specialist in gender and media studies at Utrecht University. “But sympathetic is not the same as effective. This really doesn’t make people look at bodies differently, you can’t achieve that with one campaign.”
The usefulness of the campaign depends on the goal, psychologist Esther Jansen thinks. She works at Co-eur, a mental health institution that treats eating disorders. She also thinks it will be difficult to change behavior with one campaign. “But it’s good to show diversity.”
Diversity on the beach
Jansen does wonder whether the beach is the best setting for this poster. “That’s exactly where you see a lot of diversity, just like in the swimming pool or the sauna. I often send my clients to such places, to get a more realistic picture of bodies.” According to her, it is better to look at commercials and social media. “In any sunscreen commercial you see a young, thin, white woman.”
“The government does not determine the beauty ideal, fashion brands and influencers do that,” says German. As long as there is a poster with a thin woman next to this poster, you still want to be that thin woman.” According to her, it is very difficult to change such an ideal of beauty.
It’s the looks
Do women at least feel freer to go to the beach because of such a campaign? German thinks not. “I can imagine that you feel seen by the government. But as long as the looks on the beach don’t change, it’s of little use. It’s the looks that do it.”
Jansen also doubts whether the campaign will convince insecure people. “It takes a lot to look at your own body differently. That is because you are always looking for confirmation of your own right. If you think you are too fat, you can even find confirmation in such a campaign. You can then thinking: you see, apparently I stand out when I go to the beach.”
Get rid of bikini proof
Nevertheless, Jansen thinks the message ‘every body is a beach body’ is good. “This is how attention is drawn to the eternal question ‘is your body bikini proof?’ You see that in every women’s magazine, and I think that’s harmful.”
She also thinks it’s great that the government is taking on this subject. “It may not be enough or ideal, but it’s still nice that it’s on the agenda. I think it could be broadened a bit. The government can play a role in education, for example. It helps if children get a realistic picture at a young age. of what bodies look like.”
Government: do other things
German thinks the campaign won’t do much. “What I find irritating about it is that the government can do other things. They can, for example, tackle discrimination against full women during job interviews. Or intervene when women are harassed on the street. I think a bit: shoemaker, keep to yourself is reading.”
Arte Mapache, the artist who designed this poster, also apologized on Thursday. She had not asked the models in the poster for permission for this campaign.