This Beach Body campaign, put out by Protein World, has been outraging women all over the country by suggesting that women need to lose weight to go to the beach. 

 

Now it's not a new idea that you have to prepare yourself for the beach, for years women  have been worshipping the idea of a 'summer body' and have gone on extreme diets pre holiday.

 

Now, I don't agree with this concept at all, but it's up to each woman to make their own decision about how they eat and live in summer or winter. However, it is not ok for companies to play on women's insecurities by saying that if you do not look like the tiny woman in the yellow bikini, then you aren't ready to go to the beach. 

 

Essentially, a beach body is a body... on the beach. It's not a body that has spent excessive hours in the gym, or consumed 300 calories a day, or drank sludgey goo twice a day. 

 

I saw someone on my Facebook newsfeed (needless to say they were deleted swiftly) say that there is no issue here and that women are taking their insecurities out on innocent advertisers. 

 

It's actually quite the opposite, and to be honest I feel sorry for those who genuinely believe that statement, because they have well and truly been brain washed by the system.

 

These insecurities are born from advertising campaigns like this, that rely and prey on a woman's need to feel accepted in order to sell crap products that nobody would buy without manipulation (and even then I'm not sure anyone wants it). 

 

These adverts are not promoting a healthy lifestyle or addressing a certain audience that would usually buy the products- these adverts are telling every woman, and man, that you need to change your lifestyle to go to certain places. 

 

I don't intend to change anything about my lifestyle before stepping on a beach, the only thing i will change is my outfit- into a swimming costume.

 

Luckily hundreds of women are joining in with peaceful, swimwear clad, protests and are even defacing these horrific adverts with more positive messages. But for those that think the disapproval of this ad campaign is 'fit-shaming'- no ones complaining about the appearance of the woman, merely the manipulative and malicious message presented by a heartless and frankly, idiotic, company.