67 percent of the female population in the United States wears clothing deemed “plus-size.” But you wouldn’t know it if after seeing what the average woman looks like in most fashion advertising. Plus-size visibility is a critical step to creating greater body acceptance throughout American culture. That’s why Facebook’s recent banning of an advertisement featuring a plus-size model needs to be brought to the public’s attention.
Last Thursday, Cherchez la Femme, announced that Facebook had rejected an ad for their upcoming event “Feminism and Fat.” CLF is an Australian group that holds monthly events covering “current affairs and popular culture from a feminist perspective.” The ad in question features plus-size model Tess Holliday wearing a sexy outfit.
Facebook rejected the ad because it “depicts a body or body parts in an undesirable manner.” They went on to say “Ads may not depict a state of health or body weight as being perfect or extremely undesirable.” So, in this case, a little body acceptance, was a bridge too far for the folks at Facebook. One of the producers at CLF then went back to Facebook, believing their decision to be in error. But Facebook upheld their stance and recommended using an image of a woman “running or riding a bike.” So, she responded with this image of a woman riding a bike.
CLF documented their difficulties with Facebook via posts on their page. After CLF’s followers shared its posts hundreds of times, Facebook responded with an apology. “Our team processes millions of advertising images each week, and in some instances we incorrectly prohibit ads,” the social media giant said. “This image does not violate our ad policies. We apologize for the error and have let the advertiser know we are approving their ad.”
