A response to Tanya Gold: fat mannequins rock.
By Jade Sterling
In a world where most fashion mannequins are so thin they likely wouldn’t have periods, Nike’s latest additions to its London store are a breath of fresh air. Yes, this is Nike, reinventing itself and its marketing messages in recent years as sports for all and empowering women. But Nike is still a sportswear retailer, a major player in a cut-throat, exclusionary industry full of body-squeezing Lycra, tiny booty shorts and chest-flattening sports bras. Introducing a plus-size mannequin to its London flagship store is a celebration of female individuality—a gargantuan ‘f*ck you’ to the traditional beauty standards.
This mannequin is posing, stretching her back and arms ready for whatever workout she’s about to boss, skin-tight leggings fitting perfectly, sports bra supporting in defiance of the very thin straps, and *gasp*! Midriff on show?!
She looks enthusiastic about her upcoming run, empowered by sportswear that fits and is comfortable, safe in the knowledge she can exercise her body in clothes that work for her.
But of course, some people didn’t like this.
Tanya Gold has been dragged through the mud for the essay she wrote for The Telegraph on the subject of ‘obese mannequins’ on the high street—and we’re going to join in.
Gold described the mannequins as ‘immense, gargantuan, and vast’—a no-holds barred attack on the bodies of innumerable women around the world, women who by no means fit the fatphobic stereotype of the lazy, unhealthy, overweight person.
Fit athletes.
According to Gold, the mannequin is ‘in every measure, obese and she is not readying herself for a run in her shiny Nike gear. She cannot run.’
Newsflash, Tanya: there is no athletic aesthetic. Blatant ignorance of the fact that people who work out have extensively different body types is just lazy journalism, really. Ultramarathon runners come in all shapes and sizes, and anyone exercising at all is taking important action for their health.
Also a fit athlete.
That’s the point: exercise is for everyone in whatever capacity they can, and everyone should have clothes they can comfortably exercise in. On that note, Nike also introduced para-sport mannequins to further represent and empower people in sport. It’s a shame one journalist’s obnoxious essay should distract from the positivity of a major brand recognizing activity is for all. Not only does the para-sport mannequin normalise disability, it celebrates diversity.
And that’s what Nike intended with their plus-size mannequin. No one is glorifying obesity.
Another fit athlete.
Besides, Tanya, how are people supposed to lose weight if they don’t have any clothes to wear while doing so?
People like Tanya argue that fat women need to lose weight but take issue with any representation or visibility. That’s not a concern over health—that’s hatred.
It can be said that Gold raises one important point: that fat acceptance can encourage people to deny the health risks associated with obesity. Well done, Gold, but let’s not forget that weight cannot be the sole way to evaluate health and health is about more than just the physical. Fat-shaming a mannequin simply contributes to weight-related stigma, discouraging people from taking steps to lose weight and adding to the fatphobic narrative they likely have within their own heads.
Also a fit athlete.
Body positivity is not easy; it takes effort to unlearn all the stigma and hatred forced down our throats if we deviate at all from the unrealistically skewed traditional idea of female beauty. Representation matters and loving the body you’re in as you nourish it with good food and exercise is only made easier by inclusive and representative mannequins in the very store you need to visit to support that.
Running athletes.
The Sports England #ThisGirlCan campaign featured women of different ages, shapes, and sizes participating in community sports, without any airbrushing, makeup or posing. These women were visibly sweating, red-faced and wobbling in all the areas that wobble on all women jumping, running, and playing. This campaign, tackling body image positively, inspired nearly 150,000 women to take up exercise regularly. Inclusion and representation works.
More fit athletes.
A survey by Golfsupport.com found 83 percent of people believe more brands should follow Nike’s example, and 41 percent said plus-sized mannequins made them feel inspired. Crucially, 80 percent said they do not believe plus-size models glorify obesity.
Tanya Gold, do you need a hug? When it’s women berating other women, that’s usually patriarchy rearing its head: as Kelechi Okofor said on Twitter, ‘the biggest perpetuators of oppressions are those most harmed by it.’
Nike, you rock. Keep it up. Fitness does not equal thinness, and it’s exciting to see this realisation reach the high street. ■
Flourish
Back to the start
With the myriad forms of information available to consumers nowadays, it can be difficult to parse through the noise and find ‘the truth in nutrition’. Snake-oil touts love this: It is easy to sell people what they want to hear.