American Eagle’s Body Positivity Starts in Pittsburgh
It is a known fact that the fashion industry has a very strong impact on how people view themselves. Fashion trends such as the thigh gap, corsets, and ridiculous diets have become increasingly popular in order to achieve the false representation of beauty that is glorified by many fashion companies out there. Therefore, when asked about self -image, most people think very negatively about themselves. American Eagle has chosen to take a stand against this epidemic. Instead of encouraging people to conform to one look, they are choosing to promote a healthy body image and self- love. And, they are doing so right here in Pittsburgh.
This company has single handedly changed the fashion world. Starting in 2014 they decided to launch their “Aerie Real” campaign where they said goodbye to Photoshop and hello to the natural beauties that are advertising their products. They have chosen to put beauty marks, tattoos, dimples, wrinkles, bumps, lumps, and whatever else you can think of on display for the world to see. They choose to embrace these marks that everyone possesses and then glorify them, letting their customers know that no matter what they look like they are beautiful. All over the globe girls are taking pictures with the hashtag #aeriereal to support each other and promote a positive body image. Not only is American Eagle changing the advertising and promotion world but they are changing the way girls see beauty, they are helping them see beauty in themselves. And, they are associating American Eagle’s products with beauty, resulting in an impressive boost in sales. American Eagle also supported the National Eating Disorders Association with their Strong, Beautiful, Me campaign. During NEDA awareness week they sold a limited addition t-shirt with the words “Beautiful, Strong, ME” written beautifully across the front. All proceeds were donated to the National Eating Disorders Association in order to promote the fight against eating disorders.
American Eagle isn’t only focused on their female clientele, they have released multiple humorous commercials promoting male body positivity. Although they did admit that the commercials were parodies they wanted to make it clear that they knew they would reach their male customers through humor before any other approach. They also wanted clarify that although the commercials were out of humor there is nothing funny about their pledge to embrace their male models of all shapes and sizes as well and are doing their best to promote a positive body image to both genders . Most companies claim that their products will help their customers achieve beauty. But American Eagle is working hard to let their customers know that their products look good on them because the customer is beautiful not the product. American Eagle is doing so much more than promoting their products and boosting their sales, they are changing the way people are viewing themselves. And, what an honor it is to have them in Pittsburgh!
