Spain’s Ministry of Equality has launched an awareness campaign to invite women to enjoy the summer at the beach without fear of suffering “aesthetic violence” because their bodies don’t reflect traditional ideals of beauty. The image that launched the campaign shows five smiling women who are happy with their bodies: overweight, aged, with stretch marks and after a mastectomy, ie the removal of the breast. The illustration is accompanied by the slogan: “Summer is ours too”.
🌊 El verano también es nuestro 💜
👙 Disfrútalo como, donde y con quien tú quieras🌞
🍹 Hoy brindamos por un verano para todas, sin estereotipos y sin violencia estética contra nuestros cuerpos.
🎨 @ArteMapacheArt para el @InstMujeres pic.twitter.com/7rwpXOEMhv
– Ministerio de Igualdad (@IgualdadGob) July 27, 2022
The campaign was carried out thanks to a collaboration between the ministry led by Irene Montero, by the left-wing Podemos party and the Instituto de las Mujeres, an organization dependent on the ministry and dedicated to gender equality and women’s rights. It was illustrated by the transfeminist studio Arte Mapache, which is concerned with the representation of people who have bodies that differ from traditional ideals of beauty. “All bodies are beach bodies,” said Antonia Morillas, the president of the Instituto de las Mujeres.
The initiative received various recognitions, but also some criticism: For example, someone observed that overweight women could go to the beach earlier without permission from the Equal Opportunities Ministry. Ángela Rodríguez Pam, Secretary of State for Equality and Against Gender-Based Violence, he clarified that many women expect to be “hated” for showing a body that differs from traditional canons: “What we claim is that all bodies are fine.”