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Weight Watchers has completely missed the body positive memo

Jenny Noyes

Just when you start to think the tide is turning against the era of companies brazenly exploiting women's body image for profit, Weight Watchers launches a campaign that turns back the clock a few decades.

While others in the wellbeing and image industries are slowly moving away from marketing efforts that focus on shaming women and exploiting subsequent feelings of inadequacy, the weight loss giant isn't even trying to give lip service to being body positive. Instead, it's gone straight to that most vulnerable place – the bedroom – with a message for women that if they're feeling vulnerable getting naked with the lights on, it's time to go on a diet. 

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WW Black| See Yourself In A New Light

Weight Watchers Black helps you see yourself in a new light - to love how you look and love how you feel. Helping you love sex.

The message was sent out in a PR stunt with a "mood" lightbulb which, according to the accompanying copy, "is designed to give you a little boost in the bedroom (a PG sex toy, if you will)." Because apparently the key to great sex is hiding your body until you can fix it. 

"I couldn't stand the thought of him seeing all of me," says one woman in the ad.
"I couldn't stand the thought of him seeing all of me," says one woman in the ad.  Photo: Weight Watchers

In a video for the campaign, a woman confesses she and her partner never had sex naked "because I couldn't stand the thought of him seeing all of me."

Another says "my insecurities were through the roof," while a third woman says after having children her body didn't look the same and it made her self conscious. According to these women, going on Weight Watchers was the silver bullet that solved all their bedroom problems: "If anything, I want sex more now than I ever have."

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Weight Watchers even commissioned a 'Body Confidence Report' which found 1 in 4 Australian women "have avoided sexual activity on at least one occasion, due to body self-consciousness."

Body shame and self-loathing are serious issues for women (and can be for men, too) - and a report finding large numbers of women are avoiding sex because they feel self-conscious is concerning.

But to tell women that a weight loss program is the answer to these deep, socially-engineered, psychological and cultural issues is unspeakably wrong. It tells women they are right to feel insecure and ashamed. That their bodies must first be fixed before they can expect to feel confident in them. 

The positive news is that women aren't buying it. And they're pissed off at this blatantly condescending and offensive message. 

We have a way to go, but it's hard to argue the body positive movement that has gained traction in recent years isn't making an impact on women: on our body image as individuals; but perhaps more significantly, on the marketing forces that inevitably shape our culture - our values, our aspirations, our anxieties.

It's clear the message has reached Weight Watchers in some form, though the point has obviously been lost. When Oprah Winfrey bought a 10 per cent stake in Weight Watchers last year, the company announced it would be shifting its focus: "We are expanding our purpose from focusing on weight loss alone to more broadly helping people lead a healthier, happier life."

If this is the brand's attempt to help women "lead a healthier, happier life," they're well off the mark. 

Women are no longer satisfied with being bombarded with images of unattainable perfection. We want to see reality: diversity, and imperfection. We want to see ourselves reflected and we want to feel that imperfection is okay - gasp - even beautiful.

We want to love our bodies and treat them with respect. For some of us, that can mean altering our diet and exercise regime to get healthier. 

What it doesn't mean is feeding the monster within that tells us we aren't worthy because we're too big, too round, too flabby, too scarred. That we need to lose weight and fix ourselves because of how we look in the eyes of others, including our lovers. 

Ultimately, it may also mean a company like Weight Watchers - which feeds off insecurity and guaranteed failure - will never be able to spin what it does to convince anyone it has women's best interests at heart. 

*Update: Weight Watchers has subsequently released a statement announcing that it will no longer be promoting the campaign: 

"We will continue to support those who have signed up to WW Black, but because we value every voice, we have made the decision to not actively promote the campaign further. We apologise for any offense caused."

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