This is a stark and opposite reaction to Jeremy’s recent campaign which has been received with open arms; the newest Klein model and his images dubbed “national landmark”-worthy. In my research, I can find not one article – and very few comments – of anyone speaking about the focus being more on the “models’ body” that the clothing, yet Jeremy is showing more skin than FKA twigs in his campaign.
To me, this clearly highlights the blatant double standards that are forced on women, time and again. As a plus sized model, I have received major backlash for posting my own body in the past. I am aware we live in majorly fatphobic society, so I brace myself for the comments I will undoubtedly receive due to having a big body and a large following. It is to be expected. It’s why I wasn’t surprised when singer Beth Ditto received immense backlash (which we won’t be repeating here) for her Calvin Klein campaign in 2019. Why? She is plus sized and proud, and that is difficult for the media – and society – to swallow.
In contrast, there are also Calvin Klein campaigns featuring women’s bodies that have gone uncensored. Kendall Jenner, for example, has modelled for Calvin Klein on numerous occasions, yet has never received any backlash. I would guess this is because she is a slim, white, able-bodied woman, which is praised throughout the media and society.
The thing these women all have in common though is that they’re celebrating their bodies and the female form, on their own terms, and because they choose to – objectivity does not come into question when speaking of women’s bodies and our anatomy. The male gaze, and the way in which society is set up, would have us believe that any sexually autonomous and body- confident woman must be objectifying herself. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
On the other hand, FKA twigs is a slim, Brown woman, who by all accounts has a societally “acceptable” body, just like Kendall Jenner. Yet her body was still policed and dubbed ‘offensive’. To me, it feels as though, now more than ever, Black and Brown women’s bodies are being observed, studied and ridiculed for simply existing. It does not seem to matter what our bodies look like; in one way or another, they will be commented on.
To have two Calvin Klein campaigns released in less than a year apart, and to witness the difference in the way in which they have been received, speaks volumes; and is very reflective of the society we now live in.