Over at The Huffington Post, Ashley Duque Kienze, a former bulimic, takes issue with the headline shown here:
With the help of my family, my faith and my friends, I gave up the unhealthy behaviors of my eating disorder three years ago. Today, I write a blog about eating disorders and other issues related to women to help others through their struggle with societal images of beauty. I don’t want other women or girls to hate their bodies. I want the media and our society to affirm all expressions of beauty, not just those that are “thin.”
Despite my progress, I’m still healing. At our support group meeting earlier this week, we had talked about the marketing messages so many of us see and hear, telling us that thin is beautiful. Toward the end of the discussion, a friend had turned to me and asked, “Have you seen the new Apple ad? It’s horrible.”
When I saw the ad later that night, I was shocked. While still a young professional in the world of public relations and marketing, I couldn’t believe the insensitivity with which Apple put out this ad campaign. Ads like Apple’s hit a nerve for all of us who struggle with thoughts that we’re not skinny enough.
Well, as some of the comments elude to, there’s a difference between the danger of too-thin bodies and the benefits of thin technology. But the ad is clearly painful for Ashley to see, and as it probably is for other folks recovering from eating disorders. It goes to show you, there’s no universal agreement on what should be off-limits in advertising.
