- Åhléns uses dummies in different shapes including plus sizes
- The image was originally used in 2010 but has been re-blogged
- H&M was mistakenly credited for using the model
- Charities have slammed skinny mannequins as bad for self-esteem
By Ruth Styles
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A Swedish department store has sparked a fresh body image debate after pictures of its 'normal sized' mannequins appeared on social networking sites.
Åhléns, the Swedish equivalent of John Lewis, introduced the new-look mannequins to all of its 76 stores back in 2010 - to widespread acclaim from customers - but a picture originally posted by blogger Rebecka Silvekroon garnered fresh interest this week after appearing on a Facebook page claiming to be shot in a H&M store.
The majority of mannequins used in clothing shops, including H&M, have similar proportions to catwalk models and are usually a size 8-10, hence the huge interest in the 'real' sized models.
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Bigger: Ã…hlens say their use of larger mannequins reflects the differing sizes found among their clientele
H&M denied that the mannequins belonged to them, and the real source of the image was quickly established. but the reaction online has been immense.
So popular have the maxi mannequins proved so far, the picture has gained 'over one million likes and shares', according to Åhléns, and has generated comment from as far afield as the USA.
'Åhléns is using mannequins in different sizes because our customers, mainly women, look different,' explained Åhléns spokesman, Monica Hultgren.
'We're all proud of them because of the positive reaction [from customers] and because it's good to encourage a positive body image.'
The fashion industry has come under pressure in recent years, thanks to its use of very skinny shop dummies that don't necessarily reflect the average woman.
Most mannequins are around 5ft 10" tall and a size 10. By contrast, the average British woman is a size 16 and just 5ft 4" tall. In Sweden, the average height for a woman is 5ft 7" and most take a size 12.
Because of the disparity between the average height and size and that of a mannequin, shop dummies have become a battleground in recent years with health and women's rights charities lining up on one side and the fashion industry on the other.
See the difference? A standard shop mannequin (left) and one of Ã…hlens' bigger ones (right)
Slim: Most mannequins reflect the catwalk and are around 5ft 10" and a size 8 or 10
'B-eat has long campaigned for the fashion industry to reflect the diversity of shapes and sizes of mankind and we welcome any initiative that embraces this,' says Mary George, a spokesman for eating disorders charity, B-eat.
'What we need is a mixture of different heights and widths of mannequins in our shops to reflect the reality of peoples' different shapes, sizes and build.
Although the mannequins in the majority of Britain’s retailers’ windows are a size 10 they are generally taller than the average woman and with the addition of heels create an unrealistically long and lean image.Â
'These images are unachievable in the main and can provide unhelpful pressure causing women to compare their own bodies unfavourably.'
'Well done to the department store [Åhléns]', said feminist author and founder of Endangered Bodies, Susie Orbach.
'There's too much fo cus on one image. We all come in different sizes, shapes, colours and heights, and thank goodness for that!'
Sophie Bennet, spokesman for women's rights charity, Object, added: 'Women and girls are constantly under pressure to worry about what they look like.
'Advertising, the media, music videos, video games all perpetuate the myth that, for women, to be beautiful is to be young, white or light-skinned, able-bodied and thin, pressurising women to define success by how they look rather than what they have achieved.
'This has a negative impact on women’s self esteem, promoting the idea that women are valued only on the basis of their appearance.
'The introduction of more diverse mannequins would be a positive step forward in challenging sexist representations of women and the sex object culture which promotes them.'
Perhaps more pertinent, for the retailers at least, is a report in the Journal of Consumer Research, which looked into the different ways in which women respond to pictures of models.
The research found that all women, barring the very underweight, reacted negatively to images of very thin women or mannequins, and their self-esteem suffers as a result.
'Our research confirms that normal females' self-esteem can shift upwards or downwards depending on the model they are exposed to,' explain authors, Dirk Smeesters, Thomas Mussweiler and Naomi Mandel.
Changing times: Mannequins used to reflect women like Twiggy. Today, the 6ft tall Erin O'Connor is popular
'Normal females (with BMIs between 18.5 and 25) have higher levels of self-esteem when exposed to moderately thin models (because they feel similar to these models) and extremely heavy models (because they feel dissimilar to these models).
'However, they have lower levels of self-esteem when exposed to moderately heavy models (because they feel similar) and extremely thin models (because they feel dissimilar).'
The research, coupled with B-eat's findings, clearly show that ultra thin mannequins and models can have a negative effect on self-esteem.
The big question now is whether or not the UK's shops will follow Åhléns' example.
Although Debenhams has trialled size 16 mannequins - which, according to the store, were very well received - and H&M has said it isn't against the idea, hinting at the possibility of using them in future, it remains to be seen whether any others will follow.
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