Aerie: No Better Than Barbie

“DEAR AERIE GIRLS,

We think it’s time for a change. We Think it’s time to GET REAL and THINK REAL, We want every girl to feel good about who they are and what they look like, inside and out. This means NO MORE RETOUCHING OUR GIRLS AND NO MORE SUPERMODELS.
Why? Because there is no reason to retouch beauty. We think THE REAL YOU IS SEXY

XOXO
Aerie”

This one of the valiant statement from Aerie in their last campaign. A statement that has been almost universally applauded. Who could disagree with this? This is a major breakthrough and I am thankful to them to be among the first ones to adopt this policy.

But I wish they would have followed through on their claim to authenticity.

Look at the above ad. Next to that fabulous butt is written: THE REAL YOU IS SEXY. How many girls can think that this butt is comparable to their own?

I think this ad is a joke.
TIME TO THINK REAL. (Who can disagree?)
TIME TO GET REAL. (This butt is real, sure, but far from belonging to the girl-next-door.)
NO SUPERMODELS. (Really? – What exactly is the definition of a “supermodel”?)
NO RETOUCHING. (Sure, given the beauty of the butt and the flawless quality of the model’s skin.)

How many girls can identify with the models that are featured in these ads? Aerie’s models are not photo-shopped but they don’t need to be! In this series of ads, Aerie does no better than Barbie.

The images of these girls have not been airbrushed, or retouched, but are still ideally beautiful! Aerie is featuring precisely a beauty ideal that strays far from reality. The beauty may be inside, but, in what they show, it is clearly outside…

This does not help the huge majority of young women to attain a positive body image or enhance their self-esteem.

Aerie speaks loudly, but doesn’t do much. They are far behind Dove in the reality of their body images.