SPANISH GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGES BODY POSITIVITY ON BEACHES
The Spanish government has launched a campaign to encourage women of all shapes and sizes to enjoy their time on the beach this summer.
On Wednesday, the Spanish minister of equality tweeted “Summer is for us too. Enjoy it however, wherever and with whoever you want. Today we raise a toast to a summer for every woman, without stereotypes and without aesthetic violence against our bodies.”
The poster for the campaign shows five women with five completely different bodies. It includes a black woman wearing a yellow bikini sitting on the beach, along with a fuller-figured white woman with a large tattoo on her arm.
The poster also includes a topless woman who has had a mastectomy.
The campaign caused a stir with mixed reactions from the public and politicians.
Left-wing politician Cayo Lara said it is “the peak of absurdity”, saying the poster was “trying to create an issue where one doesn’t exist” while Ione Belarra, minister for social rights said “Our bodies are to be cared for, respected and enjoyed.”
CNN reports that politician Angela Rodriguez Pam said that men who believe women don’t need the ministry’s approval to go to the beach have missed the point of the campaign.
“Men saying that fat women could already go to the beach without permission from the ministry of equality. Of course we go but dealing with hate for showing off a body that doesn’t fit the norm. What we are reclaiming is that all kinds of bodies are fine.”
Image credit: BBC