Like most of the world, I was excited to see the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show on ABC the other night. I love the production aspect of the show, the musical talent, the adorned angel wings, the flowy silky material cascading off the model’s bodies but this show struck me as a little stale, behind the times and not empowering women.

The opening song was by Lelea James, a gorgeous singer that belted out the song “This is Me.” A song about being yourself and not letting people break you down. Great choice by Victoria’s Secret executives but that’s where the women empowerment stopped.

Model after model was an unrealistic size 2 (what’s new?), and max age twenty-two OK maybe there was a model that could be pushing twenty-five but you get the picture. I was waiting for the diversity to pop out behind the stage with wings pointed to the high heavens but it didn’t happen.

I thought well maybe Lelea will rip off that red dress she’s wearing and have this magnificent ensemble on????? Wait, they had to have booked Maye Musk because she’s killing it at seventy but sadly NO. Where were the over forty models heck over seventy models WHERE WERE THEY? NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

I sat there and thought does Victoria’s Secret a lingerie company that makes everything from sleepwear to bustiers believe that women over forty are not their customers? Or would the argument be that the world doesn’t want to see older women in lingerie walking down a runway? Ahhhhhh Houston I think we have a problem. How can we as women relate to a show about femininity, come as you are, break the barriers when the entire show is one dimensional?

I woke up the next morning thinking maybe I missed the plus size girls or did they rock it with some gray-haired models? I texted my girlfriend to double check before I posted anything on Instagram. Then this happened.

So I am not the only one that thought there was something wrong with the show? So proud of these girls for speaking up and doing their thing right in the middle of Times Square. Bravo!

Excerpt from the New York Post article:

The Siberia native and former “America’s Next Top Model” contestant came up with the idea of staging a guerrilla-style fashion show as a response to the less-than-inclusive Victoria’s Secret lingerie event.

Kazakova told The Post, “I was talking with my friends like, ‘Oh my gosh, it makes me feel horrible.’ A lot of people feel unattractive after watching it.”

Again, we need companies that we buy from supporting women of all ages, hair colors and sizes. Lingerie is not just for models that have a hip measurement of thirty-two but for all women to feel that they too can be sexy, demure, confident insert whatever adjective makes you happy.

I am so tired of this one-sided view of beauty. Nothing will ever change unless women speak up and ask for change. Yes, that’s right Ladies, you have to ask for it to see anything change. You want a raise ASK FOR IT, you want to change the way your PTA meetings are held ASK FOR IT, you don’t like the way your landlord speaks to you SAY SOMETHING. I don’t sit back and say well, I guess that’s just the way it is going to be right now. I get involved and stand up for myself. Ignite your power, make the decision and do it.

This aging issue is so big and has been happening for so long that it will take women on a mission to move the limited thinking on age. Just like the bold women in Times Square that made a statement so can you. I want to make myself very clear here this blog post is about the aging issue and how society views women that are aging.  This is not about a “Me Too” movement or a march nor is it about wanting to be younger, thinner or jealous of these models. I had my glory days being an international model and walking the runway for many designers worldwide. I am showing up representing women that are aging, letting their hair go gray and keeping their voice alive. There is nothing wrong with a forty-year-old or an eighty-year-old on a Victoria Secret runway. I would love to know who is making the final cut on these models? Is it all women? Men and women? Or just men?

I know one thing for sure if a modeling agent sent Winnie Harlow the first model to walk Victoria’s Secret runway with Vitiligo (a skin disease where you lose the pigment in your skin) to the casting five years ago she would have never been considered. I can say this from my experience being a model and traveling the globe. If you so much as had a pimple on your face forget it they would say NEXT much less an issue where the pigment of your skin is lost creating large white areas on dark skin. The modeling industry has always been extremely harsh and there is no room for imperfection. It might not seem this way now since we see companies using plus-size models to transgender models, but the industry was not so forgiving just years prior.

Congratulations to women like Winnie and the plus-size women in Times Square that are boldly showing up in the world despite the strict “must be perfect” box.