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MANILA, Philippines – US lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret faces the ire of parents outraged at its new “Bright Young Things” collection allegedly aimed at teenage girls.
The collection was launched under the Spring Break line of Pink, Victoria’s Secret’s label for younger customers. It features lace and polka-dotted lingerie with the phrases “Wild,” “Call Me,” and “Feeling Lucky?”
According to Vogue.com, Victoria’s Secret chief financial officer Stuart Burgdoefer had suggested the line was for teenagers: “When somebody’s 15 or 16 years old, what do they want to be? They want to be older, and they want to be cool like the girl in college, and that’s part of the magic of what we do at Pink.”
Those against the allegedly racy range have launched a Facebook campaign asking Victoria’s Secret to withdraw “Bright Young Things” from their stores.
Words of a father
A loud voice among the throng is Reverend Evan Dolive whose blog post on the issue has been viewed more than 2.7 million times since it had been posted on March 22 (March 23 MNL).
Dolive, father of a 3-year-old girl, entitled his blog post, “A Letter to Victoria’s Secret From a Father.”
In his post, he describes what he knows of the “Bright Young Things” collection and calls it “sick.”
He wrote, “I believe that [the “Bright Young Things” collection] sends the wrong message to not only my daughter but to all young girls.
“I don’t want my daughter to ever think that her self-worth and acceptance by others is based on the choice of her undergarments. I don’t want my daughter to ever think that to be popular or even attractive she has to have emblazoned words on her bottom.”
Dolive fumed that the collection belittles women.
“I believe that this new line ‘Bright Young Things’ thwarts the efforts of empowering young women in this country. “Bright Young Things” gives off the message that women are sex objects. This new line promotes it at a dangerously young age.”
He ended by asking Victoria’s Secret to rethink the line saying “by doing so you will put young girl’s self-esteem, self-worth and pride above profits.”
Victoria’s Secret responds
On Tuesday, March 26 (March 27 in Manila), Victoria’s Secret responded to the controversy.
A spokesperson of the company said, “In response to questions we recently received, Victoria’s Secret Pink is a brand for college-aged women. Despite recent rumors, we have no plans to introduce a collection for younger women. Bright Young Things was a slogan used in conjunction with the college spring break tradition.”
In the same day, Dolive commented on the statement in another blog post saying Victoria’s Secret didn’t even come close to resolving the issue.
“This does not, however, address the issue of using women in advertisements that overly sexualize them. VS has not addressed the issue that they are setting an unattainable standard for sexuality and beauty – THAT is why I wrote my letter.” – With reports from Pia Ranada/Rappler.com
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