Victoria’s Secret Is that She’s Transphobic

It’s time to stop shopping at Victoria’s Secret.

Victoria’s Secret, a company heralded by many, creators of one of the most highly anticipated shows of the year, has vocalized a transphobic sentiment.

Ed Razek, chief marketing officer for the company, in a statement earlier this week said the show shouldn’t include “transsexuals” or plus size women because it was supposed to be a “fantasy.”

The most worrying thing about this intolerant statement are the masses of people across social media platforms extending their support of what he said, claiming that this is Victoria’s Secrets “brand” and that we shouldn’t question that.

We are currently living in a world where Donald Trump is trying to revoke civil rights protections for transgender people (claiming gender is defined at birth) and strip them of their gender identity, threatening to subject people to DNA tests to match a persons gender with the sex they were assigned at birth.

In the past 12 months, over 369 transgender community members have been unlawfully murdered.

The idea that transgender women are not women in the eyes of Victoria’s Secret, and those in support of them, is an idea that perpetuates the dehumanization of these members of society, leading to violent attacks, exclusion, and murder.

There is nothing separating the mindset of Ed Razek and those who attack members of the trans community physically. The only difference is in how they act upon their transphobia. While Victoria’s Secret isn’t running a campaign against the transgender community, or physically attacking them, the dialogue they are part of incites the type of hatred that leads to these attacks.

The wide support of his comments mimics the commentary that surrounded POC being taken seriously and cast as models in the fashion industry. People were quick to say that they shouldn’t “have to include” a person of color, and that models were cast based on talent and aesthetic.

By not casting models from different areas of society, you are creating a void in visibility, and you are being complicit with the inequality POC, members of the LGBT+ community and other marginalized groups face.

However, the lack of surprise I feel about this statement is echoed by many, when looking back at Victoria’s Secrets' 2010 show. In 2010, there was a segment of the show called “wild thing,” in which six black models walked the runway wearing tribal body paint, animal prints and surrounded by men wearing wrap skirts, who were also donned with black paint meant to mimic that of traditional tribal markings.

In 2012, Victoria’s secret put Karlie Kloss on the runway in a feathered headdress, suede fringed lingerie and animal print as a tribute to Thanksgiving, thus glorifying the genocide of the native Americans by European settlers.

This is not the first time Victoria’s Secret has been offensively out of touch, and it most definitely will not be the last.

Are we not all sick of their “love yourself, but only if you’re a slim, white female” rhetoric? The women from other minority groups that walk in their shows have been used time and time again to fulfill racist stereotypes. So, perhaps it’s time to stop supporting brands like this, that uphold old fashioned and repulsive standards, and move on to brands who don’t hate plus size, or trans women.