Every December I mark my calendar for the Victoria's Secret Fashion show. I don't own a particularly large amount of lingerie, nor do I consider myself fashionable. But I love watching the glitz and glam of the Victoria's Secret fashion show.
It's not that I watch it because I want to be them, although I wouldn't mind if I was a little taller and slimmer. It's not that I can't wait to see the latest trends in hip hugging underwear and negliges. It's that I'm in awe watching these women strut their assets down a runway without care. It's entertaining and it's pretty. And I'm usually excited about the musical line up, too. I call myself a feminist, but that doesn't mean I have a problem with watching a fashion show and I certainly don't feel bad that I don't look like that. If it was my job to be thin, I might be thin. But my job revolves around me sitting on my butt, so here I am.
Victoria's Secret has expertly branded themselves. They're established as a place for all women to feel comfortable when shopping for bras and panties. Both women and men can buy from the store without feeling weird and they extended their line from sexy lingerie to relaxed sweats.
Before the show aired last night I found various articles ranting against the show. How it makes us feel bad, ruins our self esteem, and is harmful to all girls out there. I'm not saying to pull up your 5-year-old and make her watch the show, but I don't necessarily think it's harmful.
My social media was flooded with thoughts on the show. Images of honey boo boo grabbing her flesh and saying “what I feel like when watching the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.”
I think a lot of women indulge in watching the show and in the personal bonding experience of discussing it and our inferior bodies as it airs. We somehow feel like we know the supermodels, err, Angels and talk about them by name. “Adriana is perfect.” “I love Candice's wings!” “I want to be best friends with Karlie.” “Taylor Swift should be an angel.” “I can't believe Doutzen just had a baby!” “Alessandra is smoldering.”
I like that we get a behind the scenes look of how it all goes down. Cameras backstage, models doing a quick change while dancing to the artist performing, it all seems to be fun. My friends and I always wonder who will get to wear the coveted and most prized “Fantasy Bra.”
I know I'll never look like that. I can appreciate their out-of-this-world beauty without feeling bad about myself. I don't compare myself to them, instead I admire them. Why can't it just be a fashion show? Why can't it just be pretty things? Why does it have to be a discussion on how women's bodies should or shouldn't look? After all, we all look different and have different bodies. I know I'm not alone in this since virtually all of my girlfriends (and all my Facebook/Twitter friends it seems) watch the show. I think women love the Victoria's Secret Fashion show because it gives us a glimpse of another world. A whimsical world where everyone looks like beautiful. So instead of railing on why we don't look like that, or how they need to eat, why can't we just appreciate it for what it is?
Did you watch the show? What do you think?
