Body image in ads [Archive] - Women's Cycling Discussion Forums

Irulan

07-11-2012, 10:27 AM

It's a known thing, the way women's bodies are presented in advertising, and the very low key but persistent backlash starting to occur against the images presented.

So I saw this ad in the most recent Kootenay Culture magazine ( really excellent BC magazine) I'm still struggling with my reaction.
What has surprised me the most about my reaction to this is how conditioned I am to think of the super sculpted, cellulite and fat free, no fat on the thighs butt as the ideal, whether I want to think that way or not. When presented with an image of a "real" woman's butt who is no doubt fit and healthy, but is different from what we usually see, I am really having a mixed set of reactions. They range from, "how cool that they did this" to "wow, not the most flattering photo", and "is that what my rear view looks like?" and assorted other things.
Here's a link to google images on "boy shorts" for comparison.
http://tinyurl.com/6t6wqff
(should be safe for work)
I'd be interested in others reactions to this.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-y_Ww00EVCGU/T_2wHRVZufI/AAAAAAAAC0A/zclXcIT7ZSI/s640/ad%2520copy.jpg

zoom-zoom

07-11-2012, 10:32 AM

I wish my @ss looked that good! :p

Tri Girl

07-11-2012, 10:36 AM

I see this and think: hey that butt looks like mine- a little imperfect (although it still has FAR less cellulite than mine). ;)
I like the ad. I think the lighting isn't so great, tho. If the lighting were better, I think it would be a lot more flattering.

lph

07-11-2012, 10:39 AM

I hope I look that good too. That is a fit woman with great muscles! If I were the ad company I'd want to warm up the skin tone a bit to make the pic more appealing, but the body looks great. She would look even better in a more sporty model, there's a bit of a mismatch between the feminine lacy orange+pink and the sturdy well-muscled body.

limewave

07-11-2012, 10:45 AM

I think it looks great too! Although, I think a different color of panties would be more flattering. That orange just looks off against her skin. I think black, white, or a turquoise would look loverly.

GLC1968

07-11-2012, 10:54 AM

I look at that and see how those particular panties probably look on all those women out there who are thinner than I am. But I do think REAL women...so that's very, very cool.

I see very little point to seeing underwear on super skinny, super perfect looking 18 year olds...particularly more so as I age. Maybe men who use those catalogs (I'm looking at you, VS) for ulterior uses would prefer the perfect models, but do women?
I don't.

LovelyGirl

07-11-2012, 11:33 AM

But I am a fan of modesty. Old-fashioned, I know, but I still believe in private parts being kept private. Just think, if I didn't encounter women in their underwear on giant billboard ads, I probably wouldn't be comparing myself to them. And the husbands of the world wouldn't either. We'd just all be happier with our own butts! Haha!

Eden

07-11-2012, 11:38 AM

Puts on photographer hat.....

Of course those "perfect" models are often (usually) not nearly as perfect as the photos.......good lighting, makeup and photoshop can easily create something unobtainable in real life....

Funny my first thought was probably less about the rear end and more on the lines of hmmm low budget photo shoot :rolleyes:

If you crave the real, your best bet is probably to buy a "beach bodies" edition of some scandal rag. Paparazzi generally are not into flattery.

Aggie_Ama

07-11-2012, 11:41 AM

My reaction was only "that color is not flattering". Then after a minute I noticed her minor imperfections and thought looks like a lower budget photo shoot. But mostly I was just hung up on the orange being unflattering.

I am not nearly that fit but I like the fact that this model appears to have an normal, obtainable body. And no one over re-touched it to make her appear fake! Many models either look like they never hit puberty or were molded to be "perfect".

lph

07-11-2012, 12:01 PM

pardon the highjack, but somewhere somewhere I came across a really funny web site dedicated to clothing ads from the 70s, underwear and all. I can't for the life of me remember the name, but the photos and the captions were hilarious. Anyway - this was before photoshopping and airbrushing, and boy did the underwear pics show it :D Stray hairs, bumps, bulges, the lot. It was quite an eye-opener.

eta: Oh, but I found it: http://plaidstallions.com/fashion.html

There's a lingerie section there somewhere, which may not be totally SFW.

eta 2: yup, obviously guys get airbrushed and styled a bit more these days too...
http://plaidstallions.blogspot.no/2011/09/goodbye-summer.html

Tri Girl

07-11-2012, 12:17 PM

Plaid Stallions. LOL Classic stuff!!! :D

lovelygamer

07-11-2012, 12:52 PM

That is a pretty flattering photo, and a nice behind. Just based on where my a** is coming from.

Okay, classic fashion ads crack me up!!!! HA!!!!:D

GLC1968

07-11-2012, 01:25 PM

emily_in_nc

07-11-2012, 02:43 PM

eta: Oh, but I found it: http://plaidstallions.com/fashion.html

http://plaidstallions.blogspot.no/2011/09/goodbye-summer.html

I am am amazed that as a civilization, we actually survived the '70s with clothes like that. (And yes, I'm old enough to remember some of this stuff, tho' this catalog seems to be the worst of the worst!)

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Irulan

07-11-2012, 03:12 PM

I so want to open these links but I'm at work and will have to wait until this evening! What a tease! :p

a recent VS catalog shows more than any of the old stuff.

malkin

07-11-2012, 03:34 PM

I am am amazed that as a civilization, we actually survived the '70s with clothes like that. (And yes, I'm old enough to remember some of this stuff, tho' this catalog seems to be the worst of the worst!)

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Fortunately, I guess people took those clothes off enough to get down to the business of ensuring the survival of the species!

Crankin

07-11-2012, 05:04 PM

+1 to that.
My first thought when looking at the ad was "her butt looks just like mine." I'm fit and my azz is a lot smaller than it used to be. But, unless I get surgery, this is what you get.

shootingstar

07-11-2012, 05:17 PM

Yea, even slim people can have a bit of under the bum, back thigh cellulite.
When it happens to me, I know I'm not doing other non-cycling exercises.

The quality of the photo is not great but reality is I don't think any high calibre photography could make it "better", short of photo adjustments thereafter.

The panty is cute (though I don't know how "useful" the front would have been for any potential purchaser).

Though none of us would ever model /place a photo of ourselves in our underwear here on the forums, we have "modelled" proudly some cycling clothing purchases. Now, that is as real as it gets and for certain might have tipped the hesitant readers who were thinking of buying something similar but still unsure.

So reality "modelling" is happening among us..informally on the forums. :) It is the value of a retailer allowing Internet forums to happen with links to photos.

jyyanks

07-11-2012, 07:01 PM

I admit that I had the exact same thoughts as OP in that my reaction was mixed. My initial reaction was "yikes!", then it was "that's pretty cool", then it was "what kind of shallow person am I that my initial reaction was not that great". Note: my butt looks 100 times worst than the picture so I don't know why I initially reacted the way I did.

Sadly, society has us conditioned to expect perfect photoshoped bodies and I've played into the trap. That being said, I do think that more and more companies should show realistic photos of people so that people start seeing and appreciating real beauty.

Antaresia

07-12-2012, 10:18 AM

Part of me is thinking the company couldn't afford a pro photoshoot + air brushing. I did work for a clothing company like that a few years ago.

Orange dosen't look that good on 99% of the population. Over all I'm happy that such an honest image of a woman's body made it into print, no matter the reason. I really don't see anything less appealing here than I would on a "normal" model shot, I think it's kind of hot actually
:p

shootingstar

07-12-2012, 03:53 PM

Has nothing to do with underwear, but it does make a huge difference if the person wearing the clothes has a naturally happy face.

Showing just part of the body doesn't really help anyone.

This is someone's personal blog who just enjoys fashion since she is curvy and bigger.

http://grownandcurvywoman.com/2012/03/

(I don't know this person at all.)

NbyNW

07-12-2012, 04:36 PM

For a moment I thought the ad was for a ski shop ...

Irulan

07-12-2012, 04:38 PM

this is a little bit of a segue, but I found the interviews with the women athletes that participated in the ESPN "bodies" issue to be really awesome. Granted, they are all super athletes, but the realness of it makes it very beautiful to me.
There are at least four different women profiled in the videos here, from pro soccer, pro track, pro MMA, pro surfing...

http://espn.go.com/espn/bodyissue

jyyanks

07-12-2012, 08:05 PM

Wow - how timely! It looks like young women today are proud of their bodies and sick of the way the media has to make everything look "perfect".

Check it out:Teen girls to Teen Vogue: Stop altering photos

http://www.lohud.com/article/20120712/NEWS02/307120085/Teen-girls-Teen-Vogue-Stop-altering-photos-Croton-Hudson-sisters-join-protest?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

lph

07-13-2012, 12:12 AM

Those kids are awesome. They're only 13 years old!

OakLeaf

07-13-2012, 03:40 AM

I think jyyanks' reaction most closely parallels mine. I'm not proud of it, but the conditioning has apparently worked on me.

But here's the other thing. Those panties are already starting to ride up her crack, and I'm going to assume that she hasn't been walking around for an hour without an adjustment before they took that shot. The photo is proof that those panties are neither flattering nor comfortable on a slender, fit, REAL woman. How is this advertising???? They should just ditch that style and make something different.

limewave

07-13-2012, 05:45 AM

But here's the other thing. Those panties are already starting to ride up her crack, and I'm going to assume that she hasn't been walking around for an hour without an adjustment before they took that shot.

Those are the kind of panties I keep for when I don't plan on wearing them for very long. ;)

amb

07-13-2012, 09:03 AM

I admit, my reaction was much like many of you....first negative, then "well ok, what's so wrong with a real butt?! ". I think my butt actually looks very similar to that photo - muscular with some cellulite on top. It's no model butt but it's MY butt and it's normal. And my husband likes it so why shouldn't I?! :) Thank you for reminding me to be more accepting of reality!

amb

07-13-2012, 09:04 AM

BTW, The ESPN athletes have amazing bodies but I just don't have the time or motivation to work quite that hard so I'll accept my avg body! :)

Crankin

07-13-2012, 11:46 AM

I don't know; the underpants look just like the Hanky Panky brand I wear. Super comfortable, one size fits almost all, and of course they center on your crack, that way, they aren't showing through your clothes.
I guess I'm the only old lady who wears thongs.

Irulan

07-13-2012, 11:48 AM

GLC1968

07-13-2012, 01:20 PM

mandiam

07-13-2012, 01:49 PM

cool to see a normal chick on the ad--but i'm going to have to agree...poor photography. :( OH well!! cool thread!

Miranda

07-13-2012, 08:03 PM

One of the things I love about TE: how we can have a thread about some random woman's azz in orange underware and we're on page 3, posts in the 30s :D.

Ok, so all this discussion about the orange color...

I like orange. It's different and fun.

Sometimes a bright colored panty under your jeans can be your own personal frivolous secret. Even if the color isn't something you might not wear normally with your skin tone that's showing.

Unless of course you make a habit of going to the grocery store wearing panties only with half your azz hanging out :rolleyes:... who cares :cool: lol.

:)

Penny4

07-13-2012, 08:56 PM

Post 35 :)

I get the Athleta catalog, and while i love the fact that there are no super skinny high fashion modelly types in it, I get a bit depressed looking at all of the perfectly toned models doing crazy yoga poses. And then I think , there is no way this stuff will fit a curvy, sometimes plus sized girl like me!

When I see a pic like orange undy girl, I can at least sorta see my own image there, and it makes me think, Ok, I could possibly shop in that store.

Check out the Lane Bryant page for the lingerie models. I'm sure they are airbrushed too, but at least you can see some curves and common shapes. Most of those models are considered plus size, even though they are 12's or 14's. I can at least relate to them, and I don't think they look bad....so maybe the photography is really the problem in the orange shot!

Just another rant...I hate when fashion mags do a Plus Sized spread and make a big deal out of the fact that they included plus sized. Why can't the plus sized girls just be a regular part of the mag without special headlines??

Good thread...

Crankin

07-14-2012, 03:13 AM

Slightly off topic, but related to above post.
I buy a lot of stuff from Athleta. The way the models look doesn't bug me; it's what they do. If you go to the Athleta blog and even in the catalog, you can follow their "chosen" athletes. I know these people get financial support and publicity, but these are supposed to be regular people who often have overcome hardships to become athletic. Why do they all have to be super "competitors?" The focus is all on doing some half marathon or tri event. Cycling is only mentioned in a tangential way, as something the athletes do as part of a tri, even if that was their original sport (which is mostly not). There's a few mountain bikers.
I wish they would focus, at least partially, on people like me, who are serious recreational athletes, who never will enter an event, who are not training for anything except fitness and health, and are not all runners or paddle boarders.

shootingstar

07-14-2012, 05:56 AM

The focus is all on doing some half marathon or tri event. Cycling is only mentioned in a tangential way, as something the athletes do as part of a tri, even if that was their original sport (which is mostly not). There's a few mountain bikers.
I wish they would focus, at least partially, on people like me, who are serious recreational athletes, who never will enter an event, who are not training for anything except fitness and health, and are not all runners or paddle boarders.

+1
I don't like companies that advertise their products primarily in this manner --that gives the impression of exercise and health as "competiton". That immediately knocks off probably a significant % of wannabe folks who are thinking about being healthier, but haven't done anything about it.

Because they might be afraid of looking too fat, too dorky in "athletic" clothing because they know they are unfit. So they continue to wear loose fashion clothing styles, etc.

It gives the impression that "competitive" behaviour in exercise and health as some sort of pinnacle/desired goal. It doesn't need to be and is not the best/only perspective for a person to be continously self-motivated to continue exercise for...several decades of their life.

People have to be shown how to integrate daily healthy habits in physical exercise and diet for life. This is not competitive behaviour at all. I'd rather that women/men modelling the clothing be shown walking their children to school (or biking them to school/daycare), doing gardening, they can be golfing, just regular exercising at home, running after their young children, etc.

Maybe TE can consider their marketing ads to include women doing such activities. For certain, this would broaden their potential market. :):rolleyes:

I have never bicycled-competed/raced in my life. And never will. But my level of fitness for the past few decades, is clearly a result of adopting exercise, etc. into daily lifestyle and recreational activities. It is a form of self-discipline, like brushing teeth. Cycling is like brushing teeth for me: it is necessary for me, but it's an ordinary activity. When I don't do it, my body misses it. Like forgetting to brush your teeth, I notice it.

PamNY

07-14-2012, 06:26 AM

I'm really surprised at this thread. I cannot imagine letting advertisers, clothing manufacturers, or retailers have so much power over me.

When I was growing up, my biggest source of insecurity about body image was from people I knew in real life -- mothers, teachers, etc.

I know the world has changed -- young people are exposed to much more advertising than I was in the 1950s and 1960s. And people with power over children are -- I hope -- a bit more evolved.

Even so, someone has to mention personal responsibility -- we don't have to be passive victims of advertising we choose to look at.

Advertisers are going to present their products in the most attractive way because doing that works to sell products.

When I shop for an electronic product, most likely I will not see the power cord in photos of the product. That doesn't lead me to conclude the product operates without electricity.

lph

07-14-2012, 06:36 AM

Hmm. I don't think I'd say that I in general let advertising make me feel very insecure. But still - if I'm shopping for a piece of clothing, especially something closefitting or underwear or swimwear that I hope will look attractive and maybe even hot on me ;), it's not much fun to try on something that looks fantastic on a model but makes me look pudgy and ridiculous, not matter how happy I am with my body and it's excellent functioning otherwise.

Buying clothes is a lot more personal than buying appliances, because you look at the photo and try to translate the image into yourself wearing it.

PamNY

07-14-2012, 06:55 AM

it's not much fun to try on something that looks fantastic on a model but makes me look pudgy and ridiculous, not matter how happy I am with my body and it's excellent functioning otherwise.

Actual fit is a separate issue. It wouldn't be possible to show enough photographs to give a good concept of fit for every conceivable body type.

Actual measurements would work better -- at least in some cases.

Irulan

07-14-2012, 07:08 AM

Athleta I don't have issues with them not really doing cycle gear. I think it's a conscious choice to focus on other stuff. I don't ever look at the blog. I am fine with the very fit models as I see that is their thing that they do: that is what makes them who they are. The image of the buff muscular gal with washboard abs and not a lot of boobs is something I can relate too a lot more that a Heidi Klum kind of model. The swim suits are extremely practical. Other than the clothes not being cut for curvey waist and hips.... Their phone staff has been very helpful when I call and say, "Hey I have CURVES!! Which one should I try?" Quite a bit of their stuff went down the Grand Canyon with me last year.

(slight derail) anyone have the experience of them being out of stock or back ordered on a high percentage of their stuff? The last three times I've tried to order something within 24 hours of the new catalog being delivered, its backordered foot two months or out of stock because they only have one size in that particular color.

Crankin

07-14-2012, 07:33 AM

Irulan, I don't have issues with them not doing cycling gear; what little they have isn't really what I like. I did buy one sleeveless jersey from them (the same brand that Terry sells, you know, that one that is super pricey, but I got on sale), and last week, the zipper broke after one season of wearing. I'm not paying $20.00 to get it fixed. I mostly buy hiking, running, and more recently, regular casual or work clothes. Yes, and bathing suits. They fit me perfectly. I love their dresses, but most of all I love the fact that they have almost all of their styles, especially pants, in petite sizes, and their pants still have a 28.5 or 29 inch inseam in my size, unlike other companies.
I haven't had too much trouble with things being out of stock. Sometimes they don't have the color I want, in my size, as I am sure I am not the only athletic petite/short person who appreciates the fact they have clothes in my size!
Like I said before, I have no issue with the way the models look. They look like me, actually, just younger :). I just wish their "chosen" athletes they support would be more like me... I agree with everything Shooting Star said, in general.
And somewhat back on the original topic, I received my first 2 piece bathing suit I've bought in 20 years, yesterday. It's from Athleta and it is definitely made for an athletic body. I might look like that person in the underwear ad, but, I think that looks pretty good, actually.