Jameela Jamil and Samira Wiley join sexual assault survivor and Paralympic in empowering underwear campaign
Iskra Lawrence and Busy Philipps also star in the campaign
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jameela Jamil, Samira Wiley, Iskra Lawrence and Busy Philipps have joined forces with activists and athletes for a refreshingly diverse and empowering campaign.
The eclectic group of women have been announced as the newest ambassadors for US lingerie brand Aerie as part of an unretouched campaign that champions body positivity and inclusivity.
Paralympic snowboarder Brenna Huckaby features in the lineup alongside artist Cleo Wade, gold medal gymnast and sexual assault survivor Aly Raisman and YouTuber Molly Burke, who is blind.
Speaking about her inclusion, Philipps explained that she’s fully committed to tackling unrealistic beauty standards and has been teaching her daughters, Birdie, 10, and Cricket, 5, about body image.
“I think a lot about the words I use to talk about my own body in my home, in front of my girls, and how I speak about other women,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.
“I've curbed commenting on other women's appearances since I became a mother 10 years ago. It was something I did before that made sense to me to stop doing.
"We have to reset the norm, and if we can move away from women's appearances and bodies as being descriptors for their person, that can be helpful for the young women in my daughter's generation.”
The actor’s comments echo those of Jamil, who described the Aerie campaign as a watershed moment in lingerie marketing, which has traditionally been dominated by a singular, and often slim, body type.
“Seeing people from all walks of life and all ages modelling underwear and modelling clothes was just such a breath of fresh air,” the Good Place actor told Elle.
But the campaign has prompted criticism, with some people arguing that despite what Aerie’s messaging implies, the label fails to cater to women of all sizes.
“Not inclusive of fat people. 'Curves' that only go to a 38 bra size and clothing where XXL is supposed to cover 18-22 (three sizes? Really??!) are not inclusive,” wrote one person on Twitter.
“When the *average* woman is size 16, this is a problem. Hope you continue to advocate for change.”
Another added: “Please provide extended sizes if you’re going to advertise plus-size. I am literally one cup bigger than the largest size available.”
Jamil was quick to respond to the complaints, and said in a tweet that she had been assured by Aerie executives that they are working on extending their size range.
“But please don’t lose sight of the fact that it’s also so cool to have blind, disabled, black, Asian, gay and sexual assault survivors repped too,” she added.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments