“El verano también es nuestro” or “Even the summer is ours”. This is the slogan chosen by the Spanish Ministry for Equality for this summer 2022 in favor of women. The photo stands out and strikes: five women, one different from the other, relaxed, smiling and in swimsuits on a beach, regardless of their physical appearance.
This summer campaign, in fact, has a very clear objective and is aimed at women who, worried or uncomfortable about their physical appearance, do not always feel free to be themselves and show themselves as they are. A way to remove the stereotypes of perfection that is known, but often forgotten, does not exist. So the Spanish government officials have decided to rely on social media to share an initiative focused on body positivity. «Summer is ours too. Enjoy it how, where and with whoever you want. Today we toast to a summer for everyone, without stereotypes and without aesthetic violence against our body “, they wrote in a tweet.
The aim of the campaign is to encourage women to hug their bodies and go to the beach. Among the five women immortalized in the photo there is also one topless with a scar from mastectomy, surgical removal of a breast. A deliberate choice because “All bodies are beach bodies”, wrote Ione Belarra, general secretary of Podemos, deputy since January 2016 and current minister for social rights and the 2030 Agenda of the government of Spain.
For the director of the Women’s Institute Antonia Morillas “physical expectations not only influenced women’s self-esteem, but denied them their rights.” “All bodies are valid and we have the right to enjoy life as we are, without guilt or shame. Summer is for everyone! ” she reiterated her.
Many Twitter users approved of the idea and shared their thoughts using the hashtag #ElVeranoEsNuestro. Some have written «All bodies are valid, beautiful and beautiful. To enjoy the summer without complexes, fears and feelings of guilt ». In another tweet there are those who pointed out that: “Beauty is not a dimension, every calorie is not a war, your body is not a battlefield, your value is not measurable in pounds”. And again: «The comments made on women’s bodies can cause a lot of damage. If you have nothing nice to say, shut up. All bodies are good for enjoying life, ”wrote another account.
But not everyone liked this campaign and it also sparked a heated debate. A user asked the minister in a tweet: «Why do you always have to create division? On the beach, for life, there are all kinds of people, with all kinds of bodies, and there have never been any problems. Why do you want to create it? ” Another post said: “Even fat men should appear on the poster … it’s an opinion !!”. Among the various comments also those who would have spent public money in another way: “The cost of this advertising campaign would be better spent on education or health.”
To those who wondered if this initiative should be expanded, including men, leftist leader Cayo Lara replied that the campaign was at the height of absurdity, trying to “create a problem where it does not exist.” Finally, Ángela Rodríguez Pam, minister for youth equality, posted a message on Twitter replying to men who believed that women did not need permission from the ministry to go to the beach, stating that “What we say is that all bodies are fine ».