The MAC Strength Ad
I admit when I first came across the new MAC Strength ad with a female bodybuilder, I was a bit startled.
Is this real?
Yes it is, unlike, the fake “My butt is big” Nike ad that circulated the internet a few years ago.
Who is this beautiful woman in the ad?
Her name is Jelena Abbou. She is a Serbian-American bodybuilder and fitness model.
Most importantly…
Is the new MAC Strength ad beautiful or another version of an almost impossible ideal for most women?
First of all I LOVE this picture. I’m a huge fan of muscles on women. It’s strong, beautiful, unique, and in your face.
I love the message that muscles are beautiful. It has always bothered me that men who have six pack abs get labeled ripped and women get labeled “mannish”. (It wasn’t toooo long ago 😉 that I had a ripped six pack of my own.) It’s another one of those unfair double standards attempting to put female beauty in a box.
However…this is still another ideal. Albeit, a healthier ideal than bone thin, it’s still an ideal that most women aren’t going to be able to achieve without an extremely strict fitness regime and diet.
Jolene Abbou is lean like really LEAN. After all, she is a fitness model and that’s a part of the job.
My point is just as it’s important to remember most women in magazines are photoshopped, it’s important to remember that a body like this is a mixture of genetics, crazy strict discipline, and time. I guarantee she didn’t build this body overnight.
(Of course, “crazy strict” is relative. One person’s strict is another person’s walk in the park.)
Regardless of the questions this ad raises for me, I’m thrilled to see mainstream advertising embracing different side of beauty. It’s a breath of fresh air compared to what we are used to seeing.
From the MAC site–
“Flex your femininity with a colour collection that’s fearless, elegant and strong. Strike a powerful pose, stand out, redefine the notion of beauty – and do it with strength too irresistible to ignore.”
Yes “redefine the notion of beauty” and start by resisting the temptation to compare yourself to anyone and embrace your unique beauty as you are.
How do you feel about the new MAC Strength ad? Do you think it’s beautiful, another ideal, or both?
Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn
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LOVE the ad! She looks powerful, strong, and best of all….healthy, like she eats food!
OHHH–i love that ad. but I completely agree with you in that it is just another extreme that could easily get hopes up. but still super stoked they did an ad like this!
I LOVE the ad. I agree that is another ideal. But imagine if young girls followed this as their ideal vs. the skinny model that they see on TV. If they followed this as their ideal then they would be their self esteem and self discipline along the way and hopefully really start to love themselves for who they are!
What a great perspective!!! I do really like the direction of “strong is the new skinny”. It may be an ideal but at least it is one that is built on strength (literally) which usually crosses over mentally (figuratively).
I think it’s both, like you said. But any advertisment with a photo of a woman is just some kind of an ideal, isn’t is? Even if we are talking about the Victorian voluptuous woman, that’s an ideal (and an unachieveable one for many of us, ahem, less-endowed ladies). The stick skinny is an ideal. The huge muscles are an ideal. They are all something to “strive for”, aka an ideal. Pick the one you think is healthy (for you, your body, and your mental health) and it isn’t so much an ideal anymore as a goal. Really, though, what is the different btween those two?
It’s a good question…where do we draw the line between ideals and goals? Or as you said is there any difference? I don’t think our culture will ever stop idealizing different body types. As you mention all we have to do is look at art and see we as a people have always done that. Hmmmm…. Love your thoughtful input as usual!
I like this picture also, but again it is another ‘standard’, that is not really attainable for many women. At the same time, I think this picture is more positive than a picture of a thin model with heroin chic eyes.
You could not pay me enough to be young again! Women are bombarded on how they should look, act, feel and be. I think as you get older (hopefully) you see the agenda behind the media.
I watched a documentary about models, airbrushing, lighting, clothes adjustments, and Photoshop. It was an eye opener. Women are starving to death trying to be what they see. Lets not forget the depression, or hopelessness that comes from never meeting today’s ‘standards’.
“You could not pay me enough to be young again! Women are bombarded on how they should look, act, feel and be. I think as you get older (hopefully) you see the agenda behind the media.” AMEN!!!
I love her! I remember her back when she was the “Fahrenheit” girl years ago – FAhrenheit is a fat burner whose ad she was in. That’s actually how I knew who she was. I researched who the model was because she had my dream body. But after reading the discipline and strictness it took to look like that, I just said forget it! (Plus, as you said, genetics is large part and I probably wouldn’t look like that even if I did her exact routine!)
But I agree with you in that its nice to see muscles in the spotlight, yet it’s a hard goal to meet (by my reasoning anyway since its hard work). Sadly it’s actually easier (NOT better) for the girls to quit eating and get skinny than it is to look chiseled and fit. It definitely takes time to get that look and some may feel like a failure if they can’t get there in a month.
But overall, I’m glad they want healthier looks, I just wish they’d use less “ideal/perfect”people and use regular fit women with easier achievable results. I hope this made sense!
You totally make sense and make a good point as well that it’s “easier” to get skinny than to get “chiseled and fit”. In her case I’m sure it took years to build that muscle. It’s tricky balance of cycles to build muscle and stay lean. One she clearly has mastered well.
Love it!
Well, I always prefer to see a strong, muscular woman especially somewhere more mainstream than the fitness areas where you usually see them. Quite a few years ago I was a regular on a women’s fitness forum where Jelena also posted regularly and I have always liked her in the fitness world. She looks more like a bodybuilder than a fitness model in the ad.
I still like the ad’s statement, but when talking about it representing another body ideal, I am always concerned about women realizing that models or bodybuilders also severely dehydrate to get that ripped of a look and there is a lot of maneuvering done to get to look that way and, to a degree, it is temporary. At the very least, this ad fuels a good conversation!
You make a really good point (one that I should have addressed) about dehydration and body manipulation. You are so right there is a lot more than just exercise and diet that goes into having a body like that! Thank you for bringing that up!!!!