In an era where body positivity has become one of the leading social movements, many brands are jumping on the body-positive bandwagon. However, it is not as simple as using a few plus-sized models or making a social media post with the hashtag #loveyourbody; it goes much deeper than this. Some brands do carry out body-positive values in all areas of the brand, and some truly miss the mark, creating a noticeable gap between their alleged ideals and their actual practices.
This gap between ideals and practices is what can be related to the concept of woke-washing, which can be further explored in my previous blog post. As consumers, we can explore what brands close this gap and which do not. To do this, we can establish different areas where body-positive ideals can be practiced within a brand and analyze how they all align.
So, what measures can we use when analyzing the authenticity behind body-positive branding?
In developing this list, the opinions of plus-sized individuals must be considered as these are the people affected by this misalignment. When searching for viewpoints of plus-sized individuals, I came across a blog titled "Curves with Kicks" written by Carrie Beth. Beth is a body positivity and female empowerment advocate who is plus-sized. In this blog, she shares her personal thoughts and experiences aiding in the conversation surrounding body positivity and self-love, along with many other topics.
Specifically, she wrote a blog post titled "The "Size-Inclusive" Buzz Word: What Fashion Brands Just Don't Get" (Beth, 2021) In this post, Beth discusses how she personally feels about brands who attempt to present an illusion of inclusivity for the sake of sales.
"...when I see brands claim inclusivity, I am immediately skeptical. Too many times now, recognizable large brands have claimed inclusive sizing to completely fall short on this promise. And those that continue to play in this sandbox are still missing in some areas to truly be inclusivity..." (Beth, 2021)
Being a plus-sized individual herself, Beth provides a list of what she looks for in brands in order to determine how inclusive they really are. I have used her list, in combination with the measures I identified in my previous post to develop how we will analyze brands today their level of inclusivity.
List of Measures
1. Size Range
First and foremost, we must look at the size range offered by clothing brands. By this we mean the smallest size a brand offers and the largest size they go up to. From here, we can establish whether or not their size range is reflective of their inclusive messaging. Another aspect to consider when looking at the size range, discussed by Beth, is the actual size charts themselves. Some size charts claim to go up to sizes like 6X however, the actual numerical measurements correspond to a much smaller size.
2. Plus-Sized Product Assortment
Beyond looking just at the size range, we must look into how many styles are offered in the said size range. If only limited styles are offered in extended sizes, we can assume that consumers of that size are not the brand's priority. Beth states "They don't see fat bodies as equals to their thinner core customer therefore telling me that they are chasing a tick in a checkbox more than providing quality design and options for plus-sized consumers." (Beth, 2021)
3. In-Store Size Availability
This is a very common theme seen among brands that claim a body-positive image. They might carry plus-sized clothing online, however, when it comes to in-store availability, the same sizes are not seen. But, when it comes to straight sizes, they are all right there in store. "If brands actually cared about this community they would recognize how imperative it is for this consumer to have in-store experiences." says Beth.
4. Body Representation
In this scenario, actions speak louder than words. If a brand claims to be size-inclusive, consumers need to SEE this inclusivity in the models on their websites and social media pages. It even goes beyond just the models but also the people they hire and the leaders of the company. The representation of all body types needs to be present in all areas of the brand. This is even still present within plus-sized models; there needs to be a variety of different shapes and sizes of plus-sized individuals, not just one that is perfectly proportioned.
5. Consumer Voices
When evaluating authenticity, consumer voices should hold more weight than brand actions alone. For example, if a brand claims to be size-inclusive and carry plus-sizes in-store, but then a plus-sized consumer speaks out that they had a terrible in-store shopping experience, we should trust the plus-sized consumer. Similarly, if a brand's leadership contradicts their alleged values with negative words, we might want to consider how authentic the brand is being. So, when determining authenticity we need to consider the voices of consumers as well as the voices of people within the brand.
Many other additional factors can be used to measure inclusivity, however, these are the main five that we will be focussing on as we analyze a real brand today.
What is already being done?
It is clear that many individuals feel anger towards brands regarding their inclusivity, and some even have careers focussed on this topic. Before we dive into our brand example, we must observe what is already being done in terms of calling out un-inclusive practices. Katie Sturino is an entrepreneur, author, and body acceptance advocate. She, along with Carrie Beth, is a plus-sized person who shares her experiences and opinions towards body-related topics. She produces a variety of original content, with one genre being content regarding her shopping experience as a plus-sized woman. To give us a sense of what it is like to shop in-store as a plus-sized person, below is a video Sturino created documenting her experience trying to shop in SoHo, New York.
Brand Example
Now that we have heard from plus-sized voices to gain insight into how to measure inclusivity, we can use our established measures and apply them to a brand that heavily pushes a body-positive message.
Aerie
Aerie is a sub-brand owned by American Eagle Outfitters, a men's and women's clothing brand. Aerie is a women's clothing brand specializing in loungewear and activewear, whose sales primarily lie in the realm of bras, underwear, loungewear, and swimwear. So, what does body positivity mean to them?
Well, in 2014 the AerieReal campaign was born. This campaign is circled around highlighting real beauty; no supermodels and no photoshop, they stated. (AEO inc)
“The purpose of ‘#AerieREAL’ was to let our customers know that there is no reason to retouch beauty, while giving young women of all shapes and sizes the chance to discover amazing styles that work best for them…We wanted to help empower women to be confident in themselves and in their bodies.” (Foyle, )
Let me ask a question; does the image above appear to represent all shapes and sizes? I don't think so.
Looking further into Aerie's mission, they acknowledge that accepting beauty without revision was only the first step and that their customers wanted to see real bodies and faces. To them, they made this shift towards real change with the launch of the AerieREAL campaign in 2014. To me, they didn't quite accomplish this. Below is a video Aerie created for this campaign.
It is important to note that the efforts they are making are far greater than many other brands, and it is great to see campaigns surrounding natural beauty, however, it is still important to view brands like this with a critical lens to deeply analyze their authenticity.
Aerie analysis
Now that the emphasis that Aerie places on body positivity as a core value is obvious, it allows us to explore the authenticity of this claim.
In my analysis of Aerie's body-positive practices, they fell short in three main areas; body representation, size range, and in-store availability.
Body Representation
For a brand that has created an entire campaign around real bodies and all bodies, there is not one plus-sized model on the first page of the clothing section on their website.
All of these models adhere to a very narrow set of beauty standards, along with the models shown in the campaign video above. Claiming body positivity and inclusivity but not showing it through models and campaign imaging implies that this "representation" is not a true value within the brand. If it was, they would make more of an effort to achieve representation of all body types.
Size range
After analyzing the Aerie website, most products are available in sizes XS-2X, which is great, however, the bra department is where I saw the most faults. Aerie is very well known for their bra and underwear selection, so this is where we would assume they have a heavy focus on size inclusivity.
Before diving into their bra sizing, let's start with some background. I work and have worked in a size-inclusive bra boutique for four years. The sizes we carry range from band sizes 30-48 and cup sizes A-K, which converts to A-O in US sizing. Our average bra size sold is a 38 GG, which converts to a 38 J in US sizing, and nearly every customer who walks in is wearing a bra that is too small. This issue is largely because size-inclusive bra sizes are very hard to come by in accessible bra-carrying stores, like Aerie and Victoria's Secret.
So, now let's take a look at Aerie's bra size range. They carry band sizes 30-42 on their website and cup sizes A-H, however, this only converts to A-FF in UK sizing, and G (F in UK) and H (FF in UK) cups are only available in band sizes 34-36. To help put this into perspective, using the sample of individuals who shop at the store where I work, if our average customer (38 GG) tried to shop at Aerie, the closest they could get to their size would be three cup sizes too small. Additionally, with band sizes 40-42, cup sizes are only offered up to a DDD, which is four cup sizes smaller than the average customer where I work. So, to conclude, if you fall in a 30-38 band size with a cup size DDD or smaller, you are probably safe to shop at Aerie, however for the rest of the population with a bigger band and cup size, you will not find success or will be forced in a size that is significantly too small.
For a brand that is most popularly known for their bra selection, it is clear they have not put an adequate amount of time and effort into learning what size-inclusive bra sizes truly look like. Additionally, they only offer the full A-H cups in band sizes 34 and 36 further stressing their focus on straight-sized individuals, with band sizes 38-42 as an afterthought.
In-store availability
To assist in the analysis of in-store size availability at Aerie, we will be looking at a blog post written by Jessica Torres, a plus-size blogger, body-positive advocate, and stylist. In this post, she documents her experience shopping in-store at Aerie as a size 2X or 3X, alongside her friend who is a 1X.
"I'm on the verge of being able to shop at Aerie, but given that many of its items are loungewear with plenty of stretch, I hoped I'd find something. The fact that I have to "hope" is strike number one for Aerie. For a brand that wants to be inclusive, its size chart is a joke (except I'm not laughing)." (Torres, 2017)
After Torres and her friend searched every rack of the store, they did not find a single 2X. So, referring back to their online availability, we saw that they carry a 2X in nearly every style, however, in-store, Torres could not find one. Torres tried to fit into some of the 1X styles and had essentially no luck, all while she watched her friend purchase an entire summer wardrobe.
"Shopping here didn't make me feel confident — it made me feel left out and ignored. Aerie's commitment to unretouched ads and and body-diverse models deserves all the praise in the world, but if those ads don't translate to an inclusive shopping experience for consumers, what is it all for? PR and marketing, that's what." (Torres, 2017)
In light of Torres' disappointing in-store experience, the limited bra sizes available online, and the noticeable absence of plus-sized models in their campaigns, it becomes evident that Aerie's body-positive messaging may serve more as a marketing tactic than a genuine commitment. While Aerie often receives praise for their body-positive efforts, this analysis reveals that their practices do not consistently align with this image.
Next steps
We must consistently engage in these conversations surrounding brands' actual body-positive efforts rather than accepting surface-level messaging. When there is a noticeable gap between alleged ideals and actual practices, this is where we can see characteristics of woke-washing, leading us to question authenticity.
With the framework outlined in this post, we have a guide to assess the authenticity of brands that claim a value of body positivity. With our measures being: size range, plus-sized product assortment, in-store size availability, body representation, and consumer voices, we can evaluate any brand that promotes a body-positive message. By applying these measures, we can get a sense of how well their actions align with their words, giving us the power to either accept or challenge their commitment to inclusivity.
Stay tuned to read my next post, where we will use these measures to establish brands that execute a true commitment to body positivity.
References
About. Katie Sturino. (n.d.). https://katiesturino.com/about
AEO inc. (2021, August 11). Aerie’s journey to $1b: #aeriereal power of positivity. AEO. https://www.aeo-inc.com/2021/03/22/aeries-journey-to-1b-aeriereal-power-of-positivity/
Beth, C. (2021, May 19). The “size inclusive” Buzz word: What fashion brands just don’t get. Curveswithkicks. https://www.curveswithkicks.com/post/the-size-inclusive-buzz-word-what-fashion-brands-just-don-t-get
Torres, J. (2017, June 22). We went to Aerie and saw why it’s NOT body positive. CafeMom.com. https://cafemom.com/lifestyle/aerie-is-not-body-positive/8124-47447-its-clear-that-aerie-is-not-as-body-positive-as-it-claims-to-be
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