Provocative Victoria's Secret Lingerie Targeting Teens Draws Ire of Pastor, Parents
A provocative new line of Victoria's Secret lingerie targeting teenage girls called "Bright Young Things" has drawn the ire of a Texas pastor and concerned parents who feel the line is inappropriate.
A 16-second video advertising the line on YouTube shows rail thin young models frolicking on a beach wearing what the ad suggests are "spring break must-haves."
The line which was launched as a sub-brand of Victoria's Secret called "Pink" earlier this month, features underwear with the words "call me" printed on the front or "wild" on the back. Victoria's Secret is produced by a company called Limited Brands.
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After reading an article posted on The Black Sphere criticizing the company for targeting young girls with the sexually suggestive underwear, Houston pastor the Rev. Evan Dolive penned a letter to Victoria's Secret in support of the criticisms.
"As a dad, this makes me sick," wrote Dolive. "I believe that this sends the wrong message to not only my daughter but to all young girls. I don't want my daughter to ever think that her self-worth and acceptance by others is based on the choice of her undergarments. I don't want my daughter to ever think that to be popular or even attractive she has to have emblazon words on her bottom," he continued.
The letter which was posted to his website last Friday has since gone viral and as of Thursday had been viewed more than three and a half million times.
On Monday, Victoria's Secret posted a response to the reaction on its Facebook page.
"In response to questions we recently received, Victoria's Secret PINK is a brand for college-aged women. Despite recent rumors, we have no plans to introduce a collection for younger women. "Bright Young Things" was a slogan used in conjunction with the college spring break tradition," said the post.
This statement, however, contradicts a statement made in January by Limited Brands' chief financial officer, Stuart Burgdoerfer, at a conference in January.
"When somebody's 15 or 16 years old, what do they want to be?" he asked. "They want to be older, and they want to be cool like the girl in college, and that's part of the magic of what we do at Pink," he responded.
Victoria's Secret's Facebook page has since been flooded with a barrage of posts rebuking the company for the campaign while other groups like the Mommy Lobby are organizing peaceful protests at Victoria's Secret stores.
"You need to put things like "Life," "Love," "Peace," "Strength," "Be Strong," "Brave," "Girls Rock!".......things like this on panties if you absolutely have to put words on the bum," wrote Candice Lindley in one post. "Better yet, "butterfly" with tiny butterflies all over, or "Bumblebee," with tiny bumblebees all over. If you would like me to come work for your company, I can set you all straight and fix your crap. Good mothers don't want their daughters wearing crap and neither should you people," she added.
Another critic, Jennifer J Waldorf, wrote: "I'm boycotting your company until you stop selling rape culture to middle schoolers. why couldn't you have picked up the hint and made a consent-themed line like the FORCE hoax? Everyone loved that. You went the other way, now everyone hates you. I'll figure out how to unsubscribe from your mailing list so you won't waste paper sending me more catalogues."
Not everyone agreed with the dissent. "After watching all this mess on TV about the company marketing to kids.....I feel like that is a[n] untruth!! I have two teenagers and two lil kids and in my house I determine what age I buy Victoria's Secret for my kids!! Both my teen daughters and myself only wear Victoria's Secret......beauty and quality is fine by me!! Keep up the good work!! I'm a loyal shopper for life!!" wrote Chetera Young.
