The Feminist Movement is generally characterized as a fight to end sexism and receive gender equality. In recent years, body positivity has become a prominent practice among feminists. In my short time on this earth, I have seen more representation of different body types across various media platforms. The song Victoria’s Secret by Jax exemplifies what it means to be liberated from oppressive societal standards surrounding women’s bodies. In the opening lines of the song, Jax characterizes the desirable body that society constructs by singing the following lines:
“God, I wish somebody would’ve told me
When I was younger that all bodies aren’t the same
Photoshop itty bitty models on magazine covers
Told me I was overweight”
In these lyrics, Jax showcases society’s shaming of bodies that deviate from thinness. She also highlights the use of photoshop and other editing tools to achieve the body types that are “acceptable” in society. The use of these technologies to “doctor” photos further emphasizes how the images put forth in society are unattainable and set dangerous expectations for women. In addition to lessons surrounding body image, in the chorus of the song, Jax solidifies the hypocrisy and male-dominating discourse surrounding the female body by singing:
“I know Victoria’s secret
Girl, you wouldn’t believe
She’s an old man who lives in Ohio
Making money off of girls like me”
Cashin’ in on body issues
Sellin’ skin and bones with big boobs
I know Victoria’s secret
She was made up by a dude”
These lyrics reveal that a man is the creator of the notorious “Victoria’s Secret” brand. With this in mind, Jax is setting the tone that women should not conform to societal standards put onto women when they weren’t even made with women (or by women) in mind in the first place. This song continuously reminds me of the consumerism associated with achieving a certain image and allows me to question further the powers that enable and sustain constructs to continue circulating in society.
I LOVE this song! I believe she actually wrote it addressed towards a girl she babysits who was struggling with body image after shopping at Victoria’s Secret. I think it’s interesting that Victoria’s Secret was created by a man. It just highlights how many elements of society are directed towards the male gaze and to appease them. I saw something on Jax’s Instagram along the lines of Victoria’s Secret responding to her song which might be interesting to look into!
I have never heard of this song before, but great analysis! Victoria’s Secret has a long history of hiring supermodels who are thin. Only recently, they added more representation of different body types. I remember that when I was younger, I used to feel insecure walking into Victoria’s Secret store because all the images of the women displayed on the wall were skinnier than me. I could never relate to the way their bodies looked. In addition, as the years passed, I learned a little about what happened behind the scenes in model industries. I learned about how toxic it is and how multiple women have been diagnosed with eating disorders. Many try to keep up with society’s ideal standards of a woman’s appearance. Thus, I think you selected a good song that connects to this problem, and I am glad Jax called out this company in her lyrics.
I’ve never listened to this song before and I am so glad you introduced it to me! Not only Victoria supermodels fake, but they are also curated by men. It is sadly true that many “womens” brands are actually owned by men, and given this, it’s no wonder that unachievable depictions of bodies are so prevalent in marketing today. Because of these popular beauty corporations are mostly male dominated the expectations we set for womens beauty are equally male curated. This really emphasizes the importance of descriptive representation.
I haven’t heard of this song either, but for those interested in learning more about the problematic interworkings of Victoria’s Secret, Hulu’s documentary “Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons” provides disturbing insight. CEO Les Wexner, who also owned Abercrombie & Fitch, would do anything to sell products. He is a prime example of harmful advertising practices changing a cultural landscape. He talked about how “sex sells,” and individuals at the company would monitor the models’ weights and appearances. There were also many reported instances of sexual harassment. Overall, I’m glad that songs like this exist to highlight on a large scale that philosophies promoted by toxic brands are not indicative of one’s worth.
I love this song! I really wish that it released when I was younger, because I needed to hear it then. I used to fascinated and mesmerised by the glamour of Victoria’s Secret and their gorgoes models. I would love watching their runways and fashion shows. I was too young to understand how poorly the models were treated, and that most of the magazine photographs were edited using photoshop. I really struggled with my body image back then, and would give anything to be skinny. I’m glad that songs like this exist now, so that young girls don’t get drawn into false realities!
This song is so incredibly powerful. I am very thankful and happy that songs like that become more and more popular – it was trending on TikTok for a while, people used it to share their stories about societal norms that caused their insecurities; but most importantly, they put emphasis that all body types are normal and beautiful. The song helps people understand that most if not all societal constructs were introduced by men in order to capitalize from people’s insecurities. It really resonates with me because my body type was always different from my friends – all of the people around me were petite and I was shamed for looking different than them. “I wish somebody would have told me when I was younger that all bodies aren’t the same” – the more people hear that statement, the more people can understand it, share it with others, and that’s how change is created.
I LOVE THIS SONG!!! It is one of the few songs that truly has a positive message about women’s bodies. I like how they also bring in white male dominance and how white men have been then ones to determine society’s beauty standards for so long. It is such an important reminder that we as women are constantly trying to attain something that is pretty much impossible, no matter how hard we try. And if the standards were made by women, this would be easily recognized.