Free from ‘toxic chemicals.’ Not free from toxic messages

Last week, 15 girls aged 14-16, and involved with Fusion Mornington Peninsula’s Real Girls program, took on Australian make-up and skincare brand Frank Body over its lip and cheek ‘Send Nudes’ product.

 Fusion Mornington Peninsula

June 7 at 5:50pm

Dear Frank Body,

I am speaking on behalf of a group of 15 girls aged 14 to 16 from a Secondary School located on the Mornington Peninsula. We would like to enquire about your ‘Send Nudes’ lip and cheek tint, and specifically why you would ever see it appropriate to name a product ‘send nudes’.

We all love your products, but sadly, this one is just a reminder of the undesired sexualisation that has become so ‘normalised’ by people and companies like yourself. And no, this name is not just ‘banta’, it’s not a joke, and we believe it is time for you to take initiative in valuing your consumers. You stated in your marketing description that ‘Unlike most men, you know how to listen’. That is quite a brave statement to make for a company who’s product campaign reflects the objectifying and disempowerment of girls. If you care about your customers, about encouraging teenage girls to be more than sexualised objects, then you will act by changing the name of this product. 

Sincerely, a group of year 9 & 10 girls from the Mornington Peninsula.

Some of us decided to support their call to the company which prides itself on being natural, vegan and ‘toxin free’ at the same time as spreading toxic messages harmful to girls who are already struggling in a culture undermining their wellbeing.

The company responded with this pathetic reply to those making complaints:

To justify their socially irresponsibly behaviour as ‘playful’ and ‘cheeky’ is a perfect example of double-speak and marketing spin at its best.

The company wants us to believe it has a positive impact on its audience, claiming “his communications encourage positive self-image”.  While at the same time dismissing the suggestion of any negative impact of mainstreaming and normalising the term ‘send nudes’ – a blatant reference to demands for naked images that teen girls receive every day. Frank Body is using the language of girls oppression to sell them beauty products.

Here’s how the Frank Body introduces its brand on Instagram. This isn’t “playful and cheeky” – it’s predatory and creepy. And much closer to the truth.

Keep up the pressure and don’t let them get away with it!

Contact Frank Body:

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Benefit’s new ad is a failure

A UK based skin care company is encouraging young girls to skip school and prioritise make up at the expense of their education. Benefit Cosmetics have been slammed by consumers for their slogan 'skip class not concealer'. The poster depicts a teenage girl lying in her bed holding an alarm clock and looking sleepy, with what appears to be a pile of books and a teacher standing next to her, cheering her on to ditch her education for makeup application.

Essentially, Benefit Cosmetics appears to be telling young women and girls to value their appearance over their education, suggesting young women are only valued by their beauty. 

Kids play centre Bounce has withdrawn sexualised music videos from their centres after body image activist Taryn Brumfitt wrote a blog post expressing her frustration at children being bombarded with sexist and sexually objectifying imagery while at the centre. 

Taryn Brumfitt, the founder of Body Image Movement and the director of Embrace documentary (which we are screening next month in Adelaide) wrote the following on her blog:

At Collective Shout, we campaign against the objectification of women and the sexualisation of girls. The term 'sexualisation' can at times be misunderstood - so what exactly does sexualisation refer to?

The American Psychological Association’s 2007 Task Force into the Sexualisation of Girls makes a clear distinction between healthy sexuality and sexualisation. Sexualisation occurs when a person’s value comes exclusively from their sexual appeal, when a person is sexually objectified, or when sexuality is inappropriately imposed on a person. 

South Australia Sports Minister Leon Bignell's has taken meaningful action to promote positive body image among girls by replacing podium models with junior cyclists at the Tour Down Under. We welcome this news and hope that others in leadership roles will follow Bignell's example.

As published at ABC:

It is hard enough for women to love the skin we're in when we are bombarded daily with advertisements sending us the message we have to be hot, thin and sexy. Pornified images have become the wallpaper of society and too often the media pushes one single narrow stereotype of how women should look. 

Celebrities face an even greater amount of scrutiny, being followed by the paparazzi at every turn, constantly feeling on show and being devoured for simply doing the grocery shopping.

But in a brilliant take down Jennifer Aniston has hit back - penning her own reply to the media on The Huffington Post. 

Last night I attended a special preview screening of Taryn Brumfitt's new film Embrace. Throughout the film Taryn travels the world to interview an impressive range of women about their attitudes to their bodies including Adelaide researcher Professor Marika Tiggemann; UK talk show host/photographer Amanda de Cadenet; body confidence activist Harnaam Kaur; motivational speaker Turia Pitt and Collective Shout co-founder Melinda Tankard Reist. 

Trondheim, a city in Norway, has taken action to fight negative body image issues by addressing the barrage of advertising featuring semi-naked models and images that have been digitally altered. 

 

Have you heard? Now there is even a company that sells thigh gap jewellery. But wait....there's a catch.

A “global lifestyle brand” (Guess.com, 2016) founded by brothers Paul and Maurice Marciano, GUESS is renowned for its iconic adverts featuring models such as Claudia Schiffer, Anna Nicole Smith, Priyanka Chopra, and, more recently, Tori Praver, Kate Upton, and Gigi Hadid.