It's a store that every girl out there has love for, a store that makes millions of dollars a day using unrealistic body images and starving models as their selling point. I'm sure most girls can attest that they have tried on or purchased an article of clothing from the store, whether it be a bra, underwear, or other articles of clothing, because there were photos posted of thin, "sexy" women wearing the clothing right next to the rack and somehow, our minds were convinced that if we bought this piece of clothing, we too would be thin and fit the definition of "sexy" that society has created. I'm not here to tell you that you are wrong for falling into this trap because our brains have been programmed by the society around us to want to look like these models, but I am here to tell you that the image Victoria's Secret creates of the "sexy woman", in addition to women as a whole, is wrong on almost every level. The company as a whole targets women who do not fit their image of the perfect female. They make women different than their models feel larger than they should. They hurt the self-esteem of young and old women around the world alike and they have no shame in doing so.

To understand why Victoria's Secret uses the advertising that they do is a whole different argument. Yes, society has drawn an unrealistic image of the perfect female and maybe there are many other reasons for that in addition to Victoria's Secret, but they are not by any means rejecting the idea. Victoria's Secret portrays models that have unrealistic body images, models that follow very strict and unhealthy diets to look the way that they do, and models that pose sexy all over the world to brainwash the minds of young girls into believing that in order to be seen as "sexy," they must dress and act exactly like these models.

I would not have a problem with the image that Victoria's Secret was giving to women around the world if they provided decently sized clothing for every woman around the world, but I can not bring myself to agree with a store that does not provide comfortable and quality made clothing for every common body type out there. If you don't mind the idea of one of your family members or friends feeling like something less than beautiful because of the images a store is creating, then by all means, continue to support the store that is doing this to them, but if you find it in yourself to understand that the store portrays negative body images and hurts the self-esteem of many women around the world, encourage shopping at other stores that have clothing for everyone. I am not asking you to stop buying the clothes that fit you right if that is what Victoria's Secret has for you, but I am asking you to promote the use of other lingerie stores that have switched to the use of plus size models, or has expanded their selection to fit multiple women with multiple body types.

I guess to understand where I'm coming from you must understand my view on the store from the beginning. As a young girl, I would always beg my mother to take me into Victoria's Secret to buy me a new "sexy" bra or a pair of leggings stamped all over with the word "Pink." I wanted these things not because they fit me well or were flattering to my figure, but because I wanted to fit in with the other girls at school who had the same outfits. And, to no surprise at all, my mother always told me no. I never really understood at that age why I wasn't allowed to shop there, but in my more recent years, I have a better understanding of what the store stands for as a whole.

Now, I am by no means a skinny girl, but I also do not consider myself large. I know that many other women all over the world would identify similarly to my body type. With this in mind, I will now tell you that not a single article of clothing from Victoria's Secret fits me the way it should. I can no longer purchase underwear there because the so-called "Large" underwear are identical to the size of small/medium underwear at the Gap and Aerie. I have not been able to fit into a bra from Victoria's Secret in seven years because they do not make bras for larger breasted woman. If you look in any drawer in the store that contains bras larger than a 36 around, there are regularly three to four bras in all the same plain boring color, and that decreases with the increase in cup size as well. In addition, it has been shown that over half of the bras created by Victoria's Secret have some form of additional padding, making it nearly impossible for large breasted women to fit into their bras comfortably. Their leggings, although very cute and reportedly comfortable, have not fit me a single day of my entire life. The large leggings will stretch to fit my body type, but with a single look in the mirror it is very obvious that the legging material has been stretched to a see-through, nylon-like fabric. The tank tops sold at Victoria's Secret cover maybe half of the amount of skin they should on my breasts.

For a long time, I let these discoveries bother me. I hated going to the mall with my friends and having to admit that I did not fit into the "sexy" clothing that the rest of the world was buying. I would walk into the store feeling judged and larger than I should have felt. But with time, I have come to realize that this image Victoria's Secret is portraying is not the image I would want to portray of myself. I am proud of my size and I am a proud owner of large underwear from other stores such as Gap and Aerie as I said above. I am proud to say that large leggings from Gap fit me well and that I have never had to worry about the pants becoming see-through as they stretched during exercise. And I am proud and confident in the body that God blessed me with.

If you are like me, and struggle to fit into the clothes that society deems "sexy" to the world, I hope you find yourself understanding this article. I hope this article brings you peace of mind that it is not just you who struggles to find good quality clothing at Victoria's Secret, and I hope that if you are one of the woman blessed with a thin body to begin with, who has a body like those models, that you understand better why this store is hurting many others around you, by bringing down their self-esteem and making them feel much larger than they are. Just because I am not the stick-figure that this company wants me to be, does not mean that I am not beautiful. And it does not mean that you are not beautiful either. There are plenty of options out there that will flatter your body type.

I always like to remind myself that God made you special. He made you different than everyone else for a reason and just because you do not fit into society's norm of the "perfect" and "sexy" woman, does not mean that in God's eyes you are not beautiful. You have a purpose and a reason for being the way that you are so embrace it. Love your body and love yourself because Victoria's Secret does not define your body and they do not define you.