Last month, the plus-size retailer Lane Bryant was praised for releasing a body-positive advertising campaign called #ImNoAngel to show "all sizes are sexy."
But the campaign didn't win over everyone. Activist Jes Baker felt it still showed a limited range of bodies – so she decided to launch her own.
The campaign, called #EmpowerAllBodies, was snapped by photographer Jade Beall and features women of all shapes, sizes, ages, and colours.
Baker wrote a letter to the CEO of Lane Bryant, Linda Heasley, that expressed her concern with the campaign and its “attempt” to be inclusive.
She said she wasn’t convinced that the campaign could be empowering for “all women” and that it only showed one shape: that being “the traditional hourglass and a body with a waistline considerably smaller than a larger bust and hips.”
Barker added: "When we, as a society, fail to include diverse bodies in our media, the message becomes clear to those excluded: You are unworthy of taking up space."
Baker said she understood it was difficult for Lane Bryant to represent every type of body, and that although its models were “beautiful,” they did not show “the whole story.”
Instead, Baker asked the retailer to consider women with cellulite, bellies, all abilities, transgender women, small boobs and wide waists, and stretchmarks in the future.
"If you’re truly interested in empowering all women and joining the body positive conversation," she continued in her open letter, "I strongly suggest you consider widening your definition of sexy."
You can read Baker's full letter here and follow her campaign using the hashtag #EmpowerALLBodies.
