I’m beginning this post without I title because I hardly know where to start.. hoping something will come to mind!
You might have spotted in the news that a cosmetic surgery clinic (MYA) tried to place some on-line banner ads of real women pinching their wobbly bits. You know, those bits we all pinch while looking in the mirror – there’s one shot of a lady grabbing a spare couple of inches on her bum and it could be me! I do that! I’ve no objection in general to cosmetic surgery if it’s for the right reasons – I don’t like ‘celebrity led’ faddy procedures for example, but I do think if you’ve spent all your life hating your nose or your ears and you have the option for change, then go ahead. Life is too short. I’ll just add in the rider here that please, please don’t have any kind of surgery at all unless you have thoroughly checked the establishment and done research into the company and the surgeons.
So, the surprise is, that our women-loving, supporting, friendly magazines would not take these ads in their ‘real woman’ format. What?? Sorry, what? But the biggest WTF is that they asked for them to be replaced with ‘slim, tanned models in bikinis’. Now you look at the bum shot:
MYA ImageSo far as I can see that just looks like a normal woman to me – and we’ve ALL done that pinchy thing. What do you say? Would you find this offensive if you saw it on line? What I find more offensive is the tanned model ads that suggest some cosmetic surgery will make you look like said model. It won’t! And anyway, what would all the models do for a job if we all looked like models. Just sayin.
On the one hand, I recognise that cosmetic surgery ads in general aren’t great – it’s not ideal that we have an entire industry that goes to any lengths to make us feel inadequate, but on the other, the MYA clinic tried to do things a little differently to highlight Vaser Liposuction more realistically and were shot down in flames by another industry that’s supposed to be on our side. Anyway, if you want to have a look at the MYA site, it’s HERE – it’s mainly celeb shots to be honest but the section for Vaser now has a diagram pointing to body areas rather than a line up of perfect or even imperfect bodies.
I know who refused to take those ads.. I’m not naming and shaming but I am pretty ashamed of them. Refusing to take pictures of real women in ads is just awful – and anyway, I didn’t know that the print industry was in such fine shape it could turn ads away. There’s a much bigger debate here about how the quest for perfect is out of control, but I’ll leave that for another day.
Transparency Disclosure
All products are sent to me as samples from brands and agencies unless otherwise stated. Affiliate links may be used. Posts are not affiliate driven.
11 comments
Keep cool, real beauty comes from within 🙂
That publications choice strikes me as more than a bit daft… I’m more likely to look at something that bares a resemblance to myself and I am not slim, tanned, and i just checked to be sure, I am certainly not wearing a bikini.
When I see that type of stuff I’d be more likely to the page without reading it, thinking whatever the story or ad, it wouldn’t apply to me.
Charlotte – blotandreapply.blogspot.com xx
wow. Shocking!
A very interesting read! Thanks for highlighting the issue; it really is sad when things like this happen.
i knew they would refuse because even on tv the adds for slimming creams or pills are advertised by models, they make a point of making women feel ugly so they can sell whatever they want and claim it will make you beautiful therefore happy! happiness doesnt come from appereance/beauty or the end of cellulite … and to be honest when i saw the photo i said finally an add with a real woman maybe there is hope they will stop using photoshop on everything.
Oi! I don’t remember giving permission for my butt and thighs to be used in a national ad campaign!! But seriously folks, you’ll see Hell freeze over before the “real woman” is used more than occasionally for advertising purposes. I don’t worry about it. I’m not stupid or unrealistic. I don’t need to be reminded that the models are 17 and airbrushed to within an inch of their young lives. But I think companies already know that we are aware of all this and expect us to use our own judgement.
Gosh interesting and….sad. I do hate that the majority of ads at the back of women’s mags are for plastic surgery. Have got to say that women’s mag are the worst offenders as far as not celebrating women goes. Every single day I see the most ridiculous articles and front covers with every Z-list celeb bragging about their latest procedure. As you say shame on them for refusing the ads.
I think you’re missing the point a little here.. surely it’s more about the fact that they are using pictures of real women to advertise cosmetic surgery.. saying that if you look like this then you should be getting lipo. I’m glad that magazines won’t use them. I know using skinny models is the same thing, and I’m all for adverts with real women in, but using real figures in this context is apalling.
I’m absolutely not missing the point.. my final line is “There’s a much bigger debate here about how the quest for perfect is out of control, but I’ll leave that for another day.” What I’m saying is that lipo or other procedures are a choice but I quite agree that the fact that anybody is having it at all is questionable and that’s what I mean about the wider issue. It’s a massive subject that I wasn’t prepared to tackle in that particular post.
Had those magazines run the ads, it would have been glaringly obvious how retouched the rest of their ads are, even the ones with models. I wonder if they rejected them not out of “ewww fat woman!” but of sheer shame.
In any case, their behaviour disgusts me.
“what would all the models do for a job if we all looked like models. Just sayin.” i really agree with you, not everybody is suppose to look like model and one must realize that what she’ll get after a cosmetic surgery is just the unwanted fat removed from the body and get in shape. and the rest depends on how much you work out and what diet you keep up with to maintain your looks.
however, i really condemn the use of models for cosmetic procedure and even celebrities too, before and after pictures of real patients would be a great way to describe how well a surgery center is doing it.
~Aansy Stone