Gillette posted a photo of a plus-size model and Twitter couldn't handle it
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A heated debate broke out on Twitter -- a breeding ground for divisiveness -- after the razor company, Gillette Venus, posted a photo of a plus-size, bikini-clad model at the beach.
With the caption "Go out there and slay the day," the photo may seem like any other on its feed, most of them portraying women in minimal clothing showing off their freshly shaven skin. This particular photo, however, caused a tsunami of commenters to offer judgments on the model's health.
The conflict comes from some users accusing Gillette of glamorizing obesity and others praising the company for promoting body positivity for all shapes and sizes.
The photo's subject, Anna O'Brien, told "Good Morning America," in an interview airing Thursday, "The purpose of taking that photo was just to capture a really joyful time in my life. I just wanted to remember how happy i felt. And that's all it was. It was just a really happy time in my life."
O'Brien, who is a blogger and social media influencer, had posted the photo to her social media from a trip to Cuba and was contacted by Gillette asking if they could repost it. But the comments on Twitter were instantly divided.
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"It was hurtful when my obese mother died at 40 and couldn’t see me graduate high school," one Twitter user wrote. "I find this ad extremely offensive."
"This woman will die of heart disease before @potus completes his second term. I hope she's just as happy and carefree for her last 6 years if life. Everybody should live themselves, but lets not call it healthy," another person responded to the picture on Twitter.
Many others came to the model's defense, fighting back at those who rushed to judgment.
"Are you this person's doctor? Do you know if they are unhealthy? How? Where is her medical history in the tweet?" someone wrote.
Funny thing is, I bet half the people sending out these comments are overweight themselves.
Based upon the comments, I have a feeling this controversy isn't going away anytime soon-- I have a feeling she's nowhere near even getting ready to sing!
Oh noooooo.. Why didn't I see that one coming?
I don't think people should display fat. If you have it, you have it, ok. Sometimes there are medical reasons people are extremely overweight. But don't advertise it.
We humans just must have someone to slam it seems. This isn't a "celebration" its fucking reality.
Some people are obese. Fact. They have as much right to be photographed, used in advertisements as anyone else. I suppose if people are offended by it, they can chose to boycott that product.
I don't think this is necessarily the health concern everyone worries about. It depends on her real health not her size or appearance. Not all skinny people are healthy, not all obese people are unhealthy.
I don't think she should be ashamed to get out and live her life but let's not pretend she is a healthy person. Bring her to a fifth floor walkup and if she's not huffing and puffing I'll eat my hat. Even if she feels alright as far as longevity of life goes she'd have better odds smoking a pack a day at 125 lbs than remaining at her current weight smoke free.
We cannot say whether she's healthy or not without reviewing her medical tests. Do you know what her tests reveal about her health? But that isn't the point of my comment. We've got people saying she shouldn't be allowed to represent Gillette in a two piece because of her weight.
Given the rate of obesity in this country, it's got to be clear that shaming doesn't and hasn't worked. It's time to recognize that obese people exist, function in life and need products and services. From a business perspective embracing additional demographics is an economic win.
My question is why shouldn't large models be given an opportunity to help sell products and services? Why must we criticize them?
Yes, women of all shapes and sizes like to shave their legs and armpits.
I say good for Gillette for recognizing that and trying to capitalize on it
Agree, but I think it's far too easy to slam some people. This lady seems to being doing a fantastic job of giving zero rat's asses what her detractors think. We need more of that.
I agree completely, with two semi-pedantic caveats.
First, nobody actually has a right to be used in an advertisement, so while she has exactly as much right as anybody else, that right is "zero".
Secondly, obesity is actually a medical condition. Obese people are, by definition, some degree of unhealthy.
That said, I'm not personally a fan of fat models, but neither she nor any other fat people should give a single tinker's damn what my opinion on the subject is. So good for her.
Yes, of course. agreed. The right belongs to the company. They have the right to choose what demographics they market to and how.
It's kind of amazing to me that anyone cares, but then again, it is Twitter. There's always somebody there ready to get bent out of shape over pretty much anything.
Have you seen the comments of some on here? It's like they want overweight people to hide in the shadows.
But thanks for your comment
I would think that the young lady is a bit larger ( sadly ) than a plus, but as Taco states it is a non-issue for myself. I suppose if she's happy with herself the it is no ones business.
I think she looks just fine. Get out and have some fun girl. If others don't like it they can go to another beach.
What are they selling again ?
If she is happy with herself then I am happy for her. I know that I am overweight (not considered obese), but I am happier than when I was at my "optimum" weight. Do not believe the weight is a factor, but who knows.
Why is there no such anger when anorexic models are used in advertisements?
I'll just bet that none of the people judging her are at their medically ideal weight either.
Most likely not.
Somebody should call Doctor Nowzaradan....