Sizism in Advertisement and Life
TARGET gets an A for effort but a C for execution. A better ad would have been five different body types and five different racial representations. As it is now, this feeds into the stereotype and implicit desexualization of the Black Woman.
I am a zaftig woman myself, and primarily only date zaftig woman. I see and appreciate the beauty and sexiness of a woman full of fleshy fabulosity. However, when a national ad places a full figured African American woman alongside four thin white women, it moves away from the attempt to change perceptions and moves into reinforcing them.
Everyday I experience dismissal from the men in my workplace. As a lesbian of a certain age, that means very little to my everyday life, however I can't help wonder, "Is it my perceived age? Is it my size? Is it my color?" My younger, thinner and non black co-workers receive distinctively different attention than I. The willingness of men in my work environment to openly engage with my co-workers, to have more then a perfunctory conversation is a marked change from my experience with them. It's so blatant at times its laughable. At other times it's infuriating.
Ads like this, while good intentioned, do a disservice. What are your thoughts?
For more on the article from Huffington Post - click the image.
