Browsing the racks of Topshop in search of a clothing item usually makes for a relaxing afternoon. But when one girl was doing that at a Topshop store in the United Kingdom, she came across something she wasn't expecting to see: a crop of extremely thin mannequins, as she describes it. Her mother Zoë Mason shared a photo of the mannequins on Facebook, along with a few thoughts.
"My Biggest Girl went into town with her friend after school yesterday. They went around the shops to try to find a birthday present for another friend of theirs," Zoë wrote. "I was quite taken aback when they first things that tumbled out of my girl's mouth were words full of crossness." She then wrote out an interpretation of the speech her daughter passionately gave her as she looked at the photo:
By presenting their clothes on mannequins that are unrealistically thin, Topshop is reinforcing the unrealistic body and beauty standards, Zoë says. "My daughter and I are asking for diversity and for mannequins to not be in submissive poses," Zoë wrote in an email to Today. "We can all make a difference if we work together, I reckon." Mason also told Today that she does not intend to shame anyone for being thin, pointing out that she is thin herself. "It is about making our young people feel like they are represented and are normal," she said. Topshop did not immediately respond to Teen Vogue's request for comment.
This is not the first time Topshop came under fire for displaying super-thin mannequins. In 2015, a woman spotted an overly thin mannequin in a U.K. location of the store, and she posted a long complaint on Topshop's Facebook page. The post was shared over 5,000 times, and Topshop eventually issued an apology, explaining that the thin legs make it easier to get the clothes on and off. The brand also said it would not order any more copies of the mannequin.
Related: This Topshop Shirt Is Going Viral for the Most Embarrassing Reason
Check this out:
