It seems as though body positivity is everywhere you look. It has taken over social media and penetrated long-established marketing strategies. But before body positivity began saturating our Twitter and Instagram feeds, Aerie, a lifestyle brand offering intimates and activewear owned by American Eagle Outfitters, pioneered the “body positivity” market with its #AerieREAL me campaign. In 2014, the company stopped retouching their models through its “Aerie Real” campaign, pledging to highlight “real women” through its hashtag #AerieREAL movement. Female shoppers could upload photos of them and all their wonderful “flaws” to the Aerie website. In 2016, Aerie announced their first #AerieREAL Role Model, Iskra Lawrence. Aerie’s Global Brand
President, Jennifer Foyle, explains that #AerieREAL Role Models “were chosen for their influential voices, unique stories, and commitment to nurturing an inclusive, empowering community for Aerie women everywhere.” On January 23, 2020, Aerie welcomed female actors, writers, scientists, activists, and CEOs to their star-studded #AerieREAL Role Model lineup. Among the “role models” included To All the Boys I Loved Before star Lana Condor, gold-medal gymnast Aly Raisman, and Booksmart star Beanie Feinstein. Additionally, the company launched its #AerieREAL Change Initiative that will award 20 real-life change makers who make a difference in their communities with $20,000 to help them on their journey to make the world a better place.
Today, the #AerieREAL campaign has grown into an empire titled #AerieREAL Life, providing resources about relationships, body confidence, styles and trends, health and movement, and global news and events. #AerieREAL quickly became an international success, producing massive profits for the company. After launching #AerieREAL, retailer sales grew 20 percent in the 2015 fiscal year, and sales rose 32 percent in the first quart of the 2016 fiscal year. In 2017, the company’s same-store sales growth saw a 25 percent increase. In 2018, same-store sale growth rose an additional 38 percent in the first quarter, valuing the company at $500 million (previously $200 million in 2017). As of December 3, 2020, American Eagle Outfitters’ net worth is $2.97 billion, and Aerie alone is on track to top more than $1 billion in revenue this year.
The brand’s appeal is that women can see bodies that look like theirs in spaces that are often only occupied by “beautiful” underwear models. Brands like Victoria’s Secret have perpetuated narrow and limited criteria to be considered beautiful and sexy in intimates. You must be thin, tall, and blemish and bump-free. Aerie shows bodies that do not fit their criteria and, more importantly, they are celebrating them, allowing female shoppers to begin to see their bodies as celebratory rather than shameful. While the #AerieREAL campaign has done so much undeniable good for women and body image, I want to see this campaign continue to develop and grow. I worry that the brand is still privileging stereotypical, professional models in some ways.
While Aerie titles their celebrity ambassadors as #AerieREAL Role Models, it references its catalog models as “every day” or “real” women. If these women are modeling for a business, aren’t they, by definition, models? Why do we feel the need to deny these women the social and economic advantages that the title “model” receives? Models are often considered beautiful people, and with that comes fame and fortune. As previously mentioned, Aerie is making $1 billion annually, so by refusing to bestow the title of “model” on these women, I wonder if Aerie is robbing these women of potential profits. If these women are considered “everyday women” instead of professional models, does that mean that they can be left financially unprotected and open to exploitation? If we were to call these women models as opposed to “real women,” we would challenge and begin to redistribute the privilege that society gives to women who have a particular image.
Reaffirming these women as different than models is dangerous and prolongs the privilege that thin, tall, seemingly perfect women receive. Our reluctance to call these women models is constructing artificial, mutually-exclusive categories. The categories of “model” and “plus-size model” are well-established, but now #AerieREAL is adding “role model” and “everyday woman” to the mix. While a greater representation of women is a wonderful thing, these categories are static, binding, and hierarchical. Since we have privileged certain types of models over others, the consequences of this categorical rigidity are dangerous. We refuse to allow these women to be intersectional, or to embody multiple titles and identities. Given that Aerie spearheaded body positivity campaigning, I understand that it was complicated to critique this empowering movement. However, we must acknowledge that there are still issues that need to be addressed in hopes to develop an even more inclusive and empowering movement!