What's So Wrong About Victoria's Secret...?

...So so so many things are wrong about Victoria's Secret.

First of all, the imagery that you are bombarded with as you walk by and through a Victoria's Secet store are all enormous wall-sized posters of women in sexy lingerie in and suggestive poses... and the models almost all look identical to one another. Aside from the fact that the founder of Victoria's Secret, Roy Raymond, is male, there are many aspects about this retailer that address the issues in American pop culture in advertisements, commercializing products, and selling women.

In magazine spreads and fashion ads, images of these models would take up the entire page, drawing the viewers attention to their voluptuous assets, tiny waists, and flawless face. Yes, these ads are "supposed" to be alluring to female viewers so that they can shop for sexy lingerie and "look just like that model". But come on, really? These images are clearly for the men to oggle as well. Women are still being objectified, "sized down", and become the image or "role models for younger girls" to look up to and chase after.

Here are some examples of what you would see:

It's basically the same image, over and over and over and over again, instilling this idea and belief in peoples' minds that there is a certain way a female must look in order to be beautiful or attractive. It's sending out the message that females (women and young girls) must work hard to achieve that model's beauty (which is NOT real because it's all Photoshop and airbrushing... believe me, I know), and if they don't achieve that beauty, then they fail in their "roles" in society.

Another issue with the images used to sell Victoria's Secret to a multiracial society is the failure to address women of all races. It's always predominantly white women and a few women of color (but they're very light-skinned women of color... does that even make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, that's also thanks to Photoshop right there). What happened to Asian women? Or Latina women? Or Middle Eastern women?
Although there are no (maybe there are a few out there, but I have yet to see them myself) images that have female models other than being of White or Black (but remember, very light-skinned!!) race, women of all races are still surprisingly faithful to shopping at this retailer. Talk about brainwashing people...

Alright. So what else could be wrong other than having an attractive female acting out a female-orgy in front of the camera on a beach? Having an attractive female acting out a female-orgy in front of the camera on a beach in front of... a male photographer. Yes, the most well known photographer for Victoria Secret is a man named Russell James. 

One of the issues in the advertisement and commercial world today is that there are not many (or enough) professional female photographers. There are many women who call themselves professionals, but when you watch popular shows on T.V. such as "America's Next Top Model", their guest photographer is always male. And the issue with that is people believe a female photographer can't capture the "same kind of images". Yes they can. Women know how they would like to be looked at. They don't need a man to show or direct them on how to look sexy. Women just think that way because society has shaped and taught them to think like that.

But maybe having more women photographers photographing women models can bring a change (albeit a bit small, but something nonetheless). It wouldn't be an immediate overnight change in our culture, but it could slowly build up a shift in how women begin to see themselves.