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Social Analysis Paper
Jamie Hlas and Bailey Miller
November 9, 2012
Women’s Studies 201
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Women have been known throughout time to be dainty, small structured, and quiet. They
should be elegant and graceful with a small waist, legs and arms. What if this idea suddenly
became extinct and women were not seen as beautiful with these qualities? What if advertising
changed society’s viewpoint so that women were able to be big and curvy? Nike athletic wear
launched a campaign trying to help do just that. Although Nike is changing the mentality of
women and telling them that being curvy and muscular is a good thing, this look is not easily
obtainable. This is holding women to a double standard; they either have to be a size zero or they
have to be a marathon runner with thunder thighs. Regardless, we appreciate Nike’s efforts for
different kinds of beauty, but they are still presenting women’s bodies as objects.
In 2005, Nike launched a campaign known as “My Butt is Big” which is a series of five
advertisements that promote athletic women and their bodies. It is used to show the beauty of
toned bodies and to give more value to curvy athletic women. The writing on each advertisement
is a response from these women saying how they are proud that “my butt is big,” “my shoulders
are broad” or “I have thunder thighs.” They also show pictures of these body parts with limited
clothing on to accentuate their confidence in themselves and their body part they are most proud
of. This campaign of advertisements was very popular mostly among the internet but did appear
in some stores. Although these images did come out in 2005, they are currently still seen on
Pinterest in order give weight loss motivation. This advertisement has given off multiple
meanings. The first is obvious- women who are athletic and bigger than the average dainty girl
should celebrate themselves. The second meaning is more of an underlying issue. These women
in the pictures are all athletic with perfectly toned legs, arms, or whatever body part they are
selling. Usually with bigger women, even athletic women, there is some sort of cellulite or
stretch marks on the skin of some kind. These images show no imperfections of skin damage or
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markings. They are toned and glowing. These women are big because they are muscular, not big
because they are fat. What about all those women who are bigger with more fat and do not look
like this? We are back to square one.
Feminists have embraced these images because it is promoting women to not always be
dainty and thin as society seems to think is beautiful. This portrays women as strong beings and
that they are capable of doing things on their own rather than always needing a man. These
images also show some colored women which is also a step up for society because it is using a
variety of races to include “all” women. On the flip side, these images are flawless and probably
not entirely real with the use of Photoshop. Even though these women are portraying a different
type of beautiful- this kind of beautiful, as well as thinness is hard to obtain, and their bodies are
still presented as objects in these images.
It is important to note that these images and the campaign have drawn up lots of attention
from critics. One article from USATODAY, a more positive article, describes how Nike finally
has helped America realize the large number of bigger, athletic girls and women. It puts them at
ease so they do not have to conform to the stereotypical girlish figure. The article closes in this
statement saying, “I think it might be time to worry about the poor, demure pixy.” This is a
statement of confidence and total mind change from society’s views.
Overall, although Nike is changing the mentality of women and telling them that being
curvy and muscular is a good thing, this look is not easily obtainable. The main point of this
analysis was to show how even though Nike is trying to change the way women perceive
themselves, they are still portraying that a woman’s value comes from their body. In an attempt
to try to make women feel better about themselves, Nike is really just enforcing the fact that
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women are always going to be judged by their bodies and the goal of perfection will never be
attained even though it is endlessly strived for.
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References
Brennan, C. (2005, August 18). USATODAY.com - In Nike ad campaign, big isn't just better,
it's celebrated. USA TODAY: Latest World and US News- USATODAY.com. Retrieved
November 8, 2012, from
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/2005-08-18-brennan_x.htm
More Nike Women Ads, Thighs, Shoulders (2010, February 8). NikeBlog.com | The Best Thing
to Happen to Shoes Since Socks | Air Jordans, Sneaker Updates, and Sports News.
Retrieved November 8, 2012, from http://www.nikeblog.com/2010/08/02/more-nikewomen-ads-thighs-shoulders/
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