Angels sob medida: a mulher gorda no padrão Victoria’s Secret

Abstract

This work analyzes the absence and standardization of fat female bodies in fashionadvertising, focusing on the brand Victoria’s Secret. It is based on the understanding thatfashion functions as a system of meanings that organizes perceptions about the body,especially in relation to gender norms and aesthetic standards. The study draws on conceptssuch as fatphobia, beauty, representativity, and gender, based on authors like Agnes Arruda,Naomi Wolf, and Denise Bernuzzi Sant’Anna, whose contributions help to understand thesocial construction of thinness and the marginalization of bodies that do not fit this model.The research adopts a qualitative approach, grounded in three methodological procedures:bibliographic review, document analysis of images from the brand’s fashion shows in 2018and 2024, and a case study. The analysis indicates that, despite the changes promoted by thecompany in its rebranding process, the inclusion of non-thin bodies occurs in a limited andvisually controlled manner. Fat bodies are inserted according to adjustment criteria,maintaining an appearance close to the body shape previously promoted. Thus, it is observedthat fashion advertising reproduces visibility structures that restrict the plurality of bodyshapes and condition the notion of diversity to pre-established molds. It is concluded that,even in the face of transformations in institutional discourse, the meanings attributed tofemale bodies remain tied to a specific ideal, and representativity still operates withinexclusionary parameters.