A Heavy Bottom FTW?

This Nike ad portrays that it is alright to have a curvaceous body or bottom heavy body as long as the skin is tight. In other words, being thick or voluptuous only becomes a problem when a woman has excessive flabby skin. This advertisement is not defying boundaries or creating empowerment for the curvaceous woman because it is still creating an ideology that they must abide to. Instead of creating a commonality between the consumer and the model, it just further points out the stereotype that women of color are the only ones with a butt. According to “Categorizing the Other: Stereotypes and Stereotyping”, the idea that “stereotypes flatten, homogenize, and generalize individuals within a group, emphasizing sameness and ignoring individual agency and variety” is reinforced (16). Nike tries to illustrate that the woman has agency because the woman is compared to a border collie, which is part of a breed of herding dogs. In addition, she is the one who is in control of her fit body thanks to “ten thousand lunges” and that those who mind her bottom heavy body are “invited to kiss it”. This advertisement proves that the in group are petite Caucasian women while the out group are those women of color. Thus, it still proves that the out group is subordinate. Why is it that Nike believes women of color need such empowerment? Had the woman been Caucasian the writing on the side would have been different because a different stereotype would be “addressed”.