In a new advertisement entitled Here I Am, retailer JC Penney urges morbidly obese women to love themselves — and of course, shop at JC Penney.
In the video, a group of overweight women explain that their size doesn’t hinder them in any way and they can do anything — literally anything — that a physically fit woman can do. Mainly, though, the advertisement is about how large women are beautiful and there’s no reason for them to alter their lifestyle in any way.
It’s an eye-rolling, nonsensical, and irresponsible advertisement that sadly doesn’t come as much of a surprise in today’s dangerously accepting society. We’re being forced to act like people who weigh over 300 pounds aren’t incredibly unhealthy all in the name of political correctness. By telling people that all sizes are beautiful and that there’s nothing wrong with being unnaturally overweight, JC Penney is promoting a lifestyle that will lead those who live it to an early grave. Nowhere in the video is eating healthy or dieting mentioned. Because that would be deemed “body-shaming.”
From a business perspective, JC Penney’s ad makes a lot of sense. The body positivity movement is at an all-time high, and acceptance of obesity has become the norm. But how long can this last? As Breitbart‘s Milo Yiannopoulos reports, “In the long run though, this sort of business strategy doesn’t work. JC Penney is joining the ranks of consumer products companies following a bizarrely quixotic business model — help your customers feel good about themselves until they drop dead from obesity-related illnesses. The problem? When they die, they stop buying your XXXL clothing.”
There’s nothing wrong with promoting healthiness in our increasingly unhealthy society. It’s not disrespectful to tell people that it’s probably not a great idea to devour an entire fried chicken or sit on the couch all day. A little shame goes a long way, and could potentially help save someone’s life. If you want to be healthy, you need to eat clean food and put forth some effort to exercise. This isn’t groundbreaking information. It should be obvious by this point.
This is America. We’re a (generally) free country. People should be able to do as they please. But we shouldn’t have to pretend that they’re not killing themselves in the process.
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