Protesters strip down to their underwear to take a stand against ‘unrealistic’ body images (PHOTO)

A group of protesters stripped down to their bras and
underwear on Saturday outside a Victoria's Secret store in San
Francisco, California, to protest media representations of
'perfect' bodies.
The members of About-Face, an organization promoting
positive body images, wanted to send the message that
women don't need to look like super-toned and ultra-thin
Victoria's Secret models in order to be attractive.
Protesters proudly took to Facebook and Twitter to share
photos of themselves, half-clothed and carrying motivational
signs that said: 'I pledge to love my body'.
Taking a stand: Members of About-Face, an organization
promoting self esteem and positive body image, protested
outside Victoria's Secret in San Francisco on Saturday
Beauty comes in all sizes: The group, which included one half-
dressed male (right), aimed to demonstrate that you don't
have to look like a size zero Victoria's Secret model in order to
be attractive and happy
The demonstration, which was organized mostly
via Facebook, was called Operation Real Bodies Real Love:
About-Face Action of Body Acceptance and Self-Love.
Jennifer Berger, executive director of the organization,
told ABC7 that their message was: 'Not everybody needs to be
like that in order to be attractive, in order to be awesome in
general.'
The group gathered to take a stand against the size-zero ideal.
'We really wanted to speak out against that whole piece of it,'
she said.
Protestors included at least one male participant, who stood
outside the store wearing just his boxers and carried a list of
'tips for body love', like 'Tell yourself how great you are in the
mirror'.
'Not everybody needs to be like a Victoria's Secret model in
order to be attractive'
The group asked passers-by to sign a 'body pledge', which
encouraged them to accept their bodies as they are.
They also enlisted people to add to and sign a petition against
clothing brands like Victoria's Secret, who promote the
unrealistic media portrayal of the 'perfect' body,
The San Francisco-based organization, which was founded in
1995, also promoted the event via its website. 'We want to
represent the public and fight for more accurate
representations of bodies in the media,' said a release.
The unattainable 'perfect' body: According to About-Face,
Victoria's Secret is guilty of promoting an unrealistic
representation of the ideal body, and negatively affecting
women's self esteem
Speaking out: 'Not everybody needs to be like that in order to
be attractive, in order to be awesome in general,' said Jennifer
Berger, executive director of the organization
The non-profit hopes that with various demonstrations it can
push brands like Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie and Fitch
to include more diverse body types in their ads and clothing
designs.
'About-Face equips women and girls with tools to understand
and resist harmful media messages that affect self-esteem and
body image,' says the website.
The site also explains why the group finds it necessary to
debunk negative media messages about body image and
weight.
Reasons include the fact that 'teenage girls who read articles
about dieting are five times more likely to take extreme weight-
loss measures five years later than girls who do not read such
articles.'