Underwear brand Triumph are launching a new line of shapewear, but its not only aimed at reshaping bodies, but reshaping how women see themselves and define their bodies.
Rejecting the old labels comparing women’s bodies to inanimate objects- such as an apple, pear or column, comparisons many women find offensive and negatively-focused, Triumph instead compares the different forms of a woman to different body shapes of muses favoured by classical artists.
Once called a column, a “straight-up-and-down” woman is now revered as a Da-Vinci, and the traditional “pear” is now considered a “Rembrandt”. The website also features style tips for each body shape to accentuate the positive aspects.
By comparing women’s bodies to great, classical artists, the new labels communicate the idea that a woman’s body is a work of art, no matter the shape. However, just because all the shapes are given positive names doesn’t mean that each are equally as appealing. The Raphael body shape, one that only 7% of women identify themselves as, is overwhelmingly considered the most appealing by men, while the fuller-figured Rubens is considered the least appealing, despite being the most common body shape with 26% of women considering themselves one.
It is no doubt a positive step forward in the mess of female body image in the media but will it change women’s perceptions of themselves, and abolish the old terms once and for all…probably not. There is a reason those old labels have stuck around for so long, they are simple to remember and easily identifiable, whereas the seven artist types require remembering not only seven different artists (we keep getting Rembrant, Rubens and Raphael mixed up), but a knowledge of their works of art and the body types that feature prominently in each of those artworks.
Nonetheless, it is great to finally see real representations of what women’s bodies look like. Many advertisers are guilty of showing “more curvaceous” or “plus size” women, but only if they have flat stomachs and Tiny waists (an ad for La Senza’s “cup-size choir” comes to mind- where the E, F and G cups are all lying down to flatten stomachs and diminish breasts).
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