Grayscale photo of woman wrapping measuring tape around her stomach.

Akhila Thomas

Content warning: This article contains discussion of fatphobia and weight loss.

Whether women should change their body shape, using shape wear or surgery, has become a feminist issue. 

Kim Kardashian’s shapewear line, Skims, hit headlines when Angelina Wiley shared on TikTok that her bodysuit from Skims had served as armour and consequently saved her life.

After she was shot four times, the suit’s tightness prevented her from bleeding out. In the video, Wiley thanked Kardashian, who cofounded the direct-to-consumer shapewear brand in 2019, for indirectly saving her life.

https://www.tiktok.com/@honeygxd/video/7234610033911172398?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

The news brought more business to the Skims brand and fuelled online rumours of a publicity stunt. But it also started an important conversation about shapewear and its marketing.

Is changing your body shape something women should still be doing in 2023?

A brief history of shapewear

Several lingerie and innerwear brands that stand out for their commitment to body inclusivity, such as Savage x Fenty by Rihanna, also feature shapewear as part of their product lists, sending a contradictory message. Lizzo also released the first gender-neutral shapewear line earlier this year, in a move that was equally progressive and regressive.

But what exactly is shapewear and why is it so controversial? 

Shapewear is tight-fitting underwear, usually marketed for women, which aims to control and shape the figure. It’s also known as body sculpting, shaping, or control underwear, all of which are categorised as foundation garments. Modern shapewear is conventionally made of elasticated fabric and is used to impermanently modify the shape of the body, such as by making the waist look smaller.

Recently, shapewear has undergone a major rebranding. Instead of promoting “compression support that smooths and slims,” Skims now advertises their bodysuits as “ultra-supportive” and “curve-enhancing”. It isn’t about forcing the body to look thin anymore.

The question of whether shapewear helps women to feel confident about themselves, or just encourages conformity to a single ideal body type, is now more complex. 

Can shapewear ever be body positive?

I spoke to Annabelle Baugh, the founder of Cosmetic Surgery Advancements. She says shapewear boosts her confidence and helps her to embrace her figure, by providing support and accentuating her curves.

Baugh has personal experience with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a mental health condition that causes intense anxiety and shame around perceived flaws in appearance. BDD is estimated to affect approximately 2.0 per cent of the general population, although it’s more common in women.

“Having the choice to decide whether I want to wear it or not is empowering,” Baugh says. She believes feeling authentic and strong in your own skin is crucial when it comes to women’s health.

“I don’t think Lizzo’s fatness makes her owning a shapewear line any more acceptable”

However, Baugh also mentions the potential negative effects: “While shapewear can improve posture and support abdominal muscles… it also comes with risks if it is too tight.”

If shapewear is too tight, it doesn’t allow the skin to breathe properly. This can result in rashes, yeast infections, problems with digestion, acid reflux, and pain. These complications nod to the history of beauty trends that prioritise women’s appearance over their health, such as the historic use of hazardous chemicals in cosmetics. 

Is shapewear fatphobic?

In 2022, the global shapewear market was valued at 1808 million USD and was predicted to be worth as much as 2760.2 million by 2029. Up to 94 per cent of the shapewear market is comprised of women.

Kate Hopewell Smith, a photographer who works in close contact with women, believes that shapewear promotes conforming to an ‘ideal’ body type. “I am often in close contact with brides and bridesmaids during weddings and I see… women wearing shapewear underneath their dresses. None of them really need it,” says Hopewell Smith.

Do women use bodysuits and underwear to make their bodies into fashionable ‘hourglass’ shapes, rather than embracing their individual body types?

Some argue shapewear is inherently fatphobic. Traditionally, it has been marketed as a method of slimming down women’s bodies and many women still look for the “tummy control” shapewear provides. Many women still think but don’t say that they want to be thin.

Can plastic surgery ever be empowering?

Hopewell Smith also does boudoir shoots and has recently seen “a massive increase in surgery to fit into certain idealised body types.”

Reports show that aesthetic surgery has been on the rise since the pandemic, with a 33.3 per cent increase from 2018 to 2021. Liposuction, which removes unwanted fat from the body, is the most common cosmetic surgical procedure.

Hopewell Smith suggests women actually play a part in setting unrealistic standards for female bodies: “Almost 80 per cent of women who I have worked with have got boob jobs done.”

“It is complete madness that people are almost conditioned to take offence to a back roll”

Shapewear which promises to ‘sculpt’ or ‘slim’ figures feeds into this ideology, promoting the belief that there is one ‘perfect body’ women should strive for. Cosmetic surgery can be a permanent effort to achieve this ideal body.

Yet it is not one without risks; activists like Annabelle Baugh and Michelle Visage advocate for more transparency regarding plastic surgery, as many women aren’t aware of the health risks.

Body positivity as a marketing ruse

“Shapewear bolsters already prevalent and unrealistic beauty standards. It suggests that certain parts of our body are not acceptable as they are,” says Angel Austin, creator and organiser of the Sacred Space for Fat Bodies Experience. 

Austin says the concept of empowerment is being used as a ruse to market shapewear. She compares the “wear what you want” mentality used to justify the use of shapewear to a fat liberation activist getting weight loss surgery, just because they can. Yes, women may choose to wear shapewear and get surgery — but that doesn’t make them feminists. Austin says both are turning a blind eye to fatphobia and the pressure for women to have the ‘right’ body. 

“I don’t think Lizzo’s fatness makes her owning a shapewear line any more acceptable,” she says.

“Plus size women are just existing in their bodies. It is complete madness that people are almost conditioned to take offence to a back roll or the outline of a bigger stomach being on show,” says model and digital creator Stephanie Taylor.

“I do agree that shapewear can be a tool that could give women a little boost to their confidence. But I disagree with it being pushed on plus-size women, making it an essential to go under an outfit,” she adds.

Is changing your body shape anti-feminist?

The politics underlying the promotion and marketing of shapewear are increasingly being questioned. The sale of such a product promotes the existence of an unattainable, one-size-fits-all conception of female beauty. By buying and using the product, women are perpetuating the same idea.

Ultimately, the decision to wear shapewear comes down to the freedom of women to wear whatever they like. But, with conflicting narratives of body positivity versus bodily autonomy, the decision to alter one’s body is a layered one.

There is no ‘right’ answer, just like how there is no ‘right’ body.

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Featured image courtesy of Fuu J on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

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