American Eagle Outfitter's lingerie and lounge-wear line, Aerie, has caught my attention as of recently. The already body positive line launched their #AerieReal Campaign this past year, announcing that the company refuses to airbrush and/or Photoshop or manipulate their photos of their models in any way, shape, or form. This was a huge announcement for a company that often competes with companies such as Victoria Secret that has already rail thin models being edited before posting to the media.
On top of the natural state of these photos, Aerie's models are naturally beautiful in their own way. The models vary in size, shapes, ethnicity, height, etc. This is something that isn't often seen in the media, especially in the lingerie industry. Another company seen trying this is Dove, however, they aren't retailing swimwear, lingerie, and lounge-wear (items that women tend to feel uneasy about wearing on their body if they do not have a healthy relationship with their body image).
Another breakthrough of Aerie was their partnership with the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), spreading awareness of the reality and fatality rate associated with eating disorders. Research confirms that anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder (Arcelus, Mitchell, Wales, & Nielsen, 2011).
But the real story here is Aerie's model, Iskra Lawrence. If this UK model is not already your everyday woman crush, she will be soon.
Iskra was turned down by various modeling agencies because of her hip and thigh measurements being "too large." Still wanting to become a model, she tried for plus size agencies just to run into another "problem" (that's really not a problem at all)—her waist was too small.
Sounds like the perfect body? You're right, it is. But the modeling agencies could not find a home for her, that is, until American Eagle Outfitter's Aerie took this JAG Model beauty under their wing and allowed her to not only encourage women of all ages to love their natural body but to have a loud enough voice within the NEDA.
Instagram caption: iamiskra✨🌟👏🏼 so proud of everyone who came out this morning to support @nedastaff to help save lives from eating disorders (30million ppl in the US are suffering from this mental illness). 🙏🏼 I want to raise awareness so that everyone struggling knows there is help and hope and they are not alone. We all deserve to love ourselves be happy and healthy because you are enough 🙌💕 ILYSM thank you @aerie for everything you do, it makes such a huge difference to so many of us✨ #iskralawrence #everyBODYisbeautiful #NEDAwalk"
Iskra Lawrence is a powerful advocate for the National Eating Disorder Association and is traveling with the NEDA to their annual walk locations to speak and support the research of eating disorders. Iskra is not only speaking at these events, but is saving lives on her own. But how can one newly announced model save lives? By being herself.
As a survivor of an eating disorder, I can speak for the mental illness itself and say that recovery is not a destination, it's a change in lifestyle. Those suffering from any type of eating disorder who are lucky enough to have the support and resources to get treatment are not in the clear by any means; the disorder sneaks up whenever it pleases, sometimes even years after being deemed "recovered." I'm not sure Iskra knows the effect she has on these survivors, especially women, and their recovery path.
Not only is she more often than not supporting the NEDA (i.e., pictured above wearing the Aerie Limited Edition NEDA T-shirt,), but she is living a healthy lifestyle that is allowing those (with or without the unfortunate curse of an eating disorder) that you are beautiful in your natural state, and you should never be ashamed to hide your body. (Disclaimer: eating disorders are not only body oriented and about losing weight, however, body shaming and/or body dysphoria is something that comes along with the disorder.)
Of course, with power comes great responsibility, and Iskra has been a victim of fat shaming herself. But her response? Even louder than the pathetic name-caller telling her she needed to lay off the "crisps" (read: chips). She took to a photoshoot, laying in an avalanche of chips. Literally.
When I had first seen this response (also accompanied by a slow motion video of her eating chips in her underwear), I had been furious that someone would try to break such a kind-hearted soul. But her response was enough to remind me of her optimism and give me the courage to give a silent middle finger those who don't find my body attractive in their eyes.
I have friends who also suffer from body image issues and/or eating disorders when they are at their lowest point, about to break by performing behaviors or admitting their relapse to me. Recently, a very close friend suffering from an eating disorder had texted me in the midst of a breakdown. I had spoken to her to calm her down and introduced Iskra to her by sharing her story. She immediately followed the Aerie model on all her accounts and fell in love with her confidence. Iskra is slowly changing the recovery process, whether she is aware of her impact or not.
I envision a recovery-friendly Instagram feed filled with the beautiful, natural body and positive-minded models, such as Lawrence, to replace the "Thinspo" that is unfortunate filling not only our feeds but our minds. Thinsporation ("Thinspo": Think a less healthy version of a fitness account that encourages working out and eating clean) makes men and women feel as if they do not fit the standard of beautiful, and these photos are supposed to inspire them to lose weight.
Iskra Lawrence is a catalyst in body positivity and eating disorder recovery just by being and photographing her beautiful, happy, healthy self.
