Challenging the Beauty Standard

2012 H&M swimsuit campaign 

H&M's CEO, Karl-Johan Persson, announced this week that his company will be attempting to use models that are not "too skinny" and are instead will focus on using a variety of body types in their models, marking a huge change in fashion advertising. As someone who has never been a size 2 past the age of 13, I feel that many women out there will feel refreshed in seeing their body type displayed on billboards and in magazines. By using a variety of different sized models Persson's company represents the future of advertising which does not discriminate and makes the brand feel more accessible and accepting. By using models  with a diversity of body types, H&M can widen their market for women by making any customers larger than a size 4 comfortable with entering the store and wearing their clothes.

This change in body Persson also claimed that their company does not want to, "give the impression that girls have to look a particular way." This is a bold statement seeing as media, such as advertising, has lasting effects on youth who begin to feel the pressure to look one and only waysmall size represented in media. This beauty standard can be widened if other companies can see that all kinds of bodies are beautiful and can help to sell clothes. As of now a small percentage of women is being represented in the media, leaving other women feeling left out of the beauty standard and are therefore not worthy of wearing certain brands of clothing. I enjoy seeing models like Jennie Runk, a gorgeous size 10 woman shown below, on their website as I know more women who resemble her rather than very thin and tall women H&M and other companies have used to model their clothing.

I don't understand what is holding all companies back from this change but I realize it will not be rapid. I admire Persson's beliefs and recognition of the effects media has on youth and others as his words are the first step in bringing this issue to light. Hopefully, his words can spread to other companies to spark a revolution in who is or is not "beautiful" by building onto the amount of bodies represented in the media. What do these companies have to lose? In using a diverse number of women companies can come across as more tangible and therefore better liked through advertising. By hiring models larger than extra small sizes, H&M can become the revolutionary company that was not afraid to acknowledge a beauty standard crisis.