When the topic of the mannequins at the Åhlens department store in Malmö, Sweden, came up last night at the dinner table, I realized I hadn't given it much thought. Yes, of course I had seen the photo on Facebook but it somehow seemed very normal to the Swede I still am. I'm not even sure I would think twice about the mannequins walking past them, in a Swedish store that is.
The image, posted on the Women's Rights News Facebook page a week ago, has gone viral with over 62,500 likes and more than 19,000 shares. Even the Swedish media has felt obliged to pay some attention. Not so much to the mannequins themselves, but to the worldwide interest and reaction.
When asked about the mannequins by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, a representative from Åhlens in Malmö simply answered that they use different types of mannequins in different sizes because their customers are all different. An obvious and normal way to set an example, one that most women probably can relate to, and still, why do we women not demand this from everyone, everywhere? We are all unique, individual beauties.
Kudos to my fellow Swedes for causing a controversy and a discussion around the perception of the female body.
Original image posted to imgur.com
