One of America’s strangest intellectual intersections comes at the nexus of radical feminism and religious conservatism. Both forces combined to oppose commercial surrogacy, and now they can celebrate a new win: the Victoria’s Secret fashion show is canceled.
The yearly celebration of skinny, mostly white, barely clothed bodies has officially been scrapped this year after much talk over the company’s attempts to rebrand its image. Public opinion has recently turned against the company’s narrow beauty standards, and its own executives haven’t done the lingerie brand any favors.
Former chief marketing officer Ed Razek enraged liberals last year when he said Victoria’s Secret wouldn’t employ transgender models on the runway “because the show is a fantasy.”
Critics have long accused Victoria’s Secret models of representing only one type of beauty: white, possibly anorexic, and with enough plastic surgery to bear the generically beautiful visage of an Instagram model — lip injections and Botox are a must.
“Victoria’s Secret’s angels are so stunning,” Nikki Leigh McKean, a photographer who has modeled for the more inclusive intimates brand Knix, told the New York Times. “But they are not real. I mean they are real people, but they are not a reflection of how we should look at our bodies and at women.”
Victoria’s Secret was founded in 1977 as a place for men to buy lingerie for women. From the beginning, women’s interests were a corporate afterthought. While the company has tried to brand itself as helping women feel good about themselves, its advertising has always been about fulfilling male fantasies.
It’s not good for customers, and Victoria’s Secret doesn’t have such a great reputation with its employees, either. This summer, more than 100 models signed a petition demanding that the company protect its models from sexual misconduct. Did you know Victoria’s Secret was also closely associated with sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein?
Now, after last year’s fashion show had the lowest ratings ever, the sordid event appears to be gone for good. “Oh, Thank God,” ran a headline in New York magazine’s website for women, the Cut. “It’s Over Now.”
Whether concerns about the show center around “the male gaze” or the hypersexualization and commodification of women, both radical feminists and conservatives can agree on one thing: The Victoria’s Secret fashion show was no good for women, and we’re better off without it. Good riddance.
