Myer is accused of applying a “double standard” in her new catalog, which features perfectly groomed, fit young men as well as women of all shapes, sizes and ages.
Angry shoppers called the Australian store’s marketing department and complained that only half of them seemed to understand the “message” of the body positivity movement.
Customers noted that men, like women, come in all “shapes and sizes” and feel pressured to conform to the images they see in the media.
Myer has been criticized for “continuing to revive impossible beauty standards” after publishing her latest lingerie catalog.
“There’s something positive about Myer, but it seems like half the marketing department didn’t get the reminder,” said a man who shared a photo from the catalog on Reddit.
The retailer told FEMAIL that the catalog is part of a three-week campaign featuring men of all shapes and sizes, showcasing the “diversity of Australian society.”
However, outraged customers didn’t have a say before many of them claimed the company had “climaxed with a toxic body image.”
“It bothers me more that they only did half of it, that they didn’t do anything,” one woman said.
“It just shows that they don’t believe in it and are just making small changes to show that they’re taking sides from the community.”
And the men who responded to the post agreed that it was “almost impossible” to look like the men in the ads.
Front page women ‘represent Australians’ and look different
“Besides, it’s the work of these guys that looks like this. So they can show the necessary effort. The rest of us have other jobs that don’t always fit those types of bodies,” one man said.
An angry mother explained on the front page of the catalog that she was happy to see “normal women” but was disgusted by the “inequality”.
“I don’t want my teenage son to feel pressured by unrealistic body standards. Not all men grow up like a raised action figure – sure, some do, but showing that body type as the only body they desire is toxic,” she said.
In addition, well-toned, hairless, super-tanned men showing off “like the norm” can also negatively impact women.
But the men all looked young, hairless, tanned and very muscular, which was an insult to the store’s customers.
“I also don’t want my girls to grow up with a distorted view of male beauty or thinking that one body type is a measure of normality,” she said.
And she’s not the only one resentful of her kids.
“My son was nine years old when he first asked me how to diet,” one father said.
“I had to tell the young teen that he wasn’t physically mature enough to look like that to the gym,” another said.
Most people seemed baffled by the “double standard” of the game.
Myer explained that the front page is just one part of the three-week campaign that featured men with “different body types,” including the image above.
“We want confident women, but men should always be muscular and hairless,” one man complained in the post.
“Hairless but never bald,” added another.
But others have opposed the body positivity movement, complaining that it’s dangerous to include “overweight” models.
“I don’t want my son to grow up thinking it’s okay to have a beer belly,” one woman said.
“The problem with all this is that we flaunt obese people as the norm when it’s bad for your health.”
Another said neither side of the campaign showed a “reasonable balance”.
“There is certainly a middle ground in the case of men where the models were healthy but had very long legs or starved to death two days before shooting,” one man wrote.
A spokesperson for Myer said the catalog is only part of the store’s three-week campaign.
“Myer takes diversity seriously and has a proud history of embracing and displaying the diversity of Australian society in our ads – this includes all body types, ages, heights and backgrounds,” a spokesperson said.
“We have a wide range of styles for men’s and women’s fashion in our last campaign, and you’ll see the variety of styles used when this campaign launches,” he added.
The company also shared two photos that will be released at some point during the three-week campaign, which will show men without super skinny bodies.
Source: Daily Mail
