Fresh Start Fitness

A few years ago, I was flipping through a JC Penney catalog from the ‘90s which had men’s and women’s underwear modeled right after each other. I noticed right away that the women in their underwear were always posed with other women, also in their underwear, and the men were posed solo. Here’s a quick google search:

And the men:

The last time I was in a group of girls in their underwear was in the middle school locker room for gym class which was a traumatic time for all of us.

Even though underwear marketing might be attempting to be pro-women, pro-normal bodies, pro-diversity, the fact that women are still photographed in groups leads me to believe they are still targeted toward an audience of men, who might enjoy seeing groups of nearly-nude women together more than I do. Frankly, it just doesn’t have any connection to my real life.

You know what might convince me to purchase underwear? Picture this: an ad that says in real actual words (not innuendos), “These are GREAT underwear to purchase when you’re on your period! They are dark, moisture-wicking in case your tampon leaks, and large enough to hold a massive nighttime pad with wings!” Or, “Buy a few pairs of these to wear home from the hospital after you push a baby out of your vagina!” And make them be first of all efficient, secondly comfortable, and third of all, pretty enough that you might feel like a woman instead of a sleep-deprived, milk-making, bleeding, stretched-out zombie. And how about this for the photograph: a woman holding her newborn baby, wearing a thick, comfy, cozy robe to cover her body and keep her warm but still allow easy access to breastfeed.

Show me a woman wearing her underwear while she gets ready to go to her job as a construction worker. Show me the woman standing in her underwear while she picks out her power pantsuit and stilettos and goes to her kickass CEO job. Show me a woman laying out her outfit the night before her marathon: carefully chosen pants, shirt, bra, and underwear. A woman picking out the most beautiful underwear she can find to wear on her wedding day. Or, a stretched-out mom trying to figure out what underwear she should wear for her first night back in the sack. Because the middle school locker room was traumatic back then, but the first time trying to feel sexy after having a baby is a close second.