If you’re anything like me, you may have watched Lo Bosworth in the early 2000’s on Laguna Beach and then The Hills. She was Lauren Conrad’s bestie. A few years ago she had a YouTube channel which I became interested in because she was in culinary school and provided food demonstrations that were somewhat useful and entertaining. (She later deleted them all which I never understood.)
I follow her on Instagram and she recently uploaded a video discussing her new brand LoveWellness which she describes as being a “modern, female-first, personal care brand.” When discussing why she started the brand she states, “I kept going to the drug store and I was so disappointed by what was offered for women. I felt like it was archaic, and everything was full of chemicals, and didn’t work, and anti-feminist in the messaging and in the advertising, and is something that I wanted to change.”
Awesome, right?
I went to the website to check out the products because I love supporting female entrepreneurs and brands that are looking to change the way we advertise to women. The website is selling everything from probiotics to vaginal health kits.
Here is the thing: we have to be wary of the “wellness” industry in general. It seems progressive but it is similar to what the diet industry was 15 years ago. Sure it is selling you something new and different but the marketing techniques are the same: if you’re a woman you should want to be thin, happy and youthful. A brand that labels themselves “feminist” and then names their digestive enzyme “Bye Bye Bloat” and claims that it will help you “slim down” is misleading. “Good Girl Probiotic” is also missing the feminist mark. And the most interesting one of all, “The Lean Queen” that has been renamed to “Metabolove” to be more “body positive.” I guess someone in their marketing department recognized that demonstrably promoting thinness isn’t necessarily in line with their self-proclaimed feminist ideology!? But lets be honest, the selling point of “Metabolove” is the same: weight loss. The website claims it is the “metabolism maintenance your body craves” and “perfect for getting back on track for life’s big moments.” The implication being either A.) you need to be “on track” (and by “on track” they mean in specific shape or form) for life’s big moments like the engagement, the 30th birthday, the vacation; or B.) that having the slice of cake on your friend’s birthday or a glass of champagne at a wedding is “off track” and in some way in need of being remedied…hopefully by their product.
I can read between the lines with these advertisements (slathered with a “natural,” “organic,” “holistic,” hue to make it seem as though the brand actually cares about your health) but this type of marketing affects young, vulnerable girls who are taught to believe their worth and value is inherent in how they appear. Sadly, some of these young girls will become adult women who are still manipulated by the same thing. Brands that market products to women with a false promise of thinness, happiness, and youth (instead of just being honest about what their products do and trusting that we’re smart enough to understand) are perpetuating a false belief that those are things women need to achieve…and that their product can help them achieve it.
I don’t believe that wanting to look your best or try new beauty products is anti-feminist (and I certainly don’t claim to be an expert when it comes to feminist theory). What I think is unfortunate is selling a product based on a falsehood of thinness and claiming that your advertising is different. Women have been sold thinness for eons; this is not revolutionary marketing.
Lets take the “Bye Bye Bloat” digestive enzyme as an example. The bottle says the product is “digestive enzymes and organic ingredients to help you slim down and de-bloat.” The website also says it’s a “miracle formula” that’s “perfect for conquering big meals.” I’m uncomfortable already.
Firstly, if you are someone who is bloated to the point where you are in pain and experiencing extreme discomfort after meals, you should be consulting a physician, not Lo Bosworth. But that’s not the type of bloating the product seems to be talking about here. As the marketing on the product and website suggests, this is the type of bloating a woman might experience after a “big meal.” The implication is that you shouldn’t be having “big meals.” However, if you do—because you were “bad” and have no self-control—(not really, you’re just human and have biological needs and “big” is an ambiguous term anyway...) and your stomach is distended, you can take their product to help de-bloat. It’s, as they’ve said, a “miracle.”
Even though the slight, natural distention someone might feel after meals can be completely normal, many people come to have a complicated relationship with this sensation and believe that it needs to be remedied. It’s important to acknowledge that the sensation we have after meals is likely going to be different than how we feel before meals. But if we are relaxed and comfortable (and without any other underlying medical issues that may impact digestion) our bodies are going to do a great job of remedying that slight, natural distention on its own.
Digestive enzymes are naturally occurring in our bodies (primarily our pancreas, mouth, stomach, and small intestine) and they are secreted to help break food down so we can absorb the nutrients. Sometimes the body does not make enough digestive enzymes which can slow digestion and cause uncomfortable symptoms. For example, if you’re not producing enough lactase you may have a difficult time breaking down lactose. In this case taking a nonprescription digestive enzyme (a lactase supplement like Lactrase) could be beneficial. Chronic conditions such as cystic fibrosis or chronic pancreatitis can lead to low levels of digestive enzymes as well (in which case prescriptive doses of digestive enzymes are often prescribed).
However, there is limited evidence suggesting that digestive enzymes alone will promote significant weight loss, yet that is exactly how the product is being marketed. To help you “slim down.”
Why?
That’s precisely the question we should be asking ourselves. Why are brands continuing to sell women a false promise of thinness? Why are we, as consumers, so invested in the idea of thinness? And how are we continuing to contribute to the false narrative that thinness is a female expectation?
Obviously there are specific situations when taking a digestive enzyme or probiotic can be useful (but honestly, even their probiotic doesn’t enthuse me; the label doesn’t list the strains of bacteria that are used so you can’t be sure of the effectiveness. Check out https://kelseykinney.com/best-probiotic-strains/ for more thorough information on probiotic strains).
There are many brands that use thinness and beauty as a way to market to female consumers. I think my biggest cause of concern with this brand in particular is the messaging that it was changing the way we, as women, are being marketed to. Come on! This brand is using the same techniques that have always been used to market to women. Just because you’re selling vaginal health kits doesn’t mean your advertising is feminist.
Although it seems like minutiae, we have to acknowledge blatant contradictions in messaging like this. We have to become more aware of how we are potentially being manipulated by the guise of false promises. If we do so, we can hopefully prevent younger girls and women from falling victim to the same, unproductive narrative: that as woman, we should be small, in form and in opinion.
“A culture fixated on female thinness is not an obsession about female beauty, but an obsession about female obedience. Dieting is the most potent political sedative in women’s history; a quietly mad population is a tractable one.” Naomi Wolfe