Bridget Malcolm opens up about body shaming in the fashion industry

Victoria’s Secret model Bridget Malcolm has revealed the shocking body shaming that goes on behind closed doors in the industry.  

The 26-year-old Aussie model share  deeply personal blog post on her personal website about a modelling shoot where the women on set judged her body.

‘Whilst shooting, I had one lady refuse to look me in the eye, choosing instead to address my stomach with a sneer,’ Bridget wrote about the incident.

Aussie model Bridget Malcolm, 26, (pictured) shared a blog post about an incident where she was body shamed while on set as a model

‘I addressed her, smiled, and she didn’t even look away from my stomach, let alone respond to me beyond mono syllables,’ she said.

‘Another lady asked me to please make my ribs show more whilst shooting, suck in my gut, and tied a sarong around my hips, to “hide them”.’

These confessions come after a previous blog post, where Bridget spoke about her journey to accept her body.

Bridget wrote in a previous blog post about her journey to body acceptance, 'In August this year I made myself a promise. It was time to make peace with my body'

Bridget wrote in a previous blog post about her journey to body acceptance, ‘In August this year I made myself a promise. It was time to make peace with my body’

‘In August this year I made myself a promise. It was time to make peace with my body,’ the model wrote.

‘I threw away my scales, my measuring tape and my body checking. I threw away all my clothes from when I was at my smallest.’ 

Bridget criticised the fashion industry for it’s impossibly high standards, where a size 4 woman was made to feel ‘fat’.

Bridget expressed anger at the fashion industry for unrealistic expectations of women, where even a size 4 model is made to feel ashamed of her body. She said, 'What messed up parallel universe is this?'

Bridget expressed anger at the fashion industry for unrealistic expectations of women, where even a size 4 model is made to feel ashamed of her body. She said, ‘What messed up parallel universe is this?’

‘It makes me enraged when a woman is made to feel fat at a size 4. What messed up parallel universe is this?’

She shared about how her time as a teenage model affected her health. 

‘My body did not belong to me from the ages of 14-25,’ she said.

Bridget has been modelling for over a decade. She opened up about her experiences as a teenage model including her health struggles

Bridget has been modelling for over a decade. She opened up about her experiences as a teenage model including her health struggles

‘When I finally started trying to reclaim it, I was so saddened by how much time and energy I had wasted trying to hit an ever moving target.’

Bridget even wrote about how her period went away during this time and only returned when she changed her lifestyle – a reality faced by many young models in the industry.  

‘When I finally got my period back regularly, I was amazed at all the emotion that came with it (a lot of it relief, a little of it insanity),’ she said.

'At the end of the day, people should be able to look in the artistic world of fashion and see women with bodies similar to theirs,' she said

‘At the end of the day, people should be able to look in the artistic world of fashion and see women with bodies similar to theirs,’ she said

In a wider sense, Bridget wrote about how the fashion industry should change to realistically reflect the range of body types in the world.

‘At the end of the day, people should be able to look in the artistic world of fashion and see women with bodies similar to theirs,’ she added.

‘They should not be looking at hungry, tired teenagers who haven’t hit puberty yet. They should see strength and power and individuality.’ 

Bridget  vows to never shame another woman on her appearance, after being deeply affected by judgment of her body and ridiculous expectations in the fashion industry

Bridget vows to never shame another woman on her appearance, after being deeply affected by judgment of her body and ridiculous expectations in the fashion industry

The model said she will never body shame other women after her own experiences.

‘After my experiences of body shaming whilst modeling (and this is one of many) I will never, EVER shame another woman on how she looks. 

‘Or man for that matter. But women have enough s*** to put up with – we should be celebrating each other wherever we happen to be at.’

Bridget advises women to stick together and encourage one another, saying 'we should be celebrating each other wherever we happen to be at'

Bridget advises women to stick together and encourage one another, saying ‘we should be celebrating each other wherever we happen to be at’

Bridget also shared words of advice with other young women: ‘Today, make the effort to let go of your body hang ups.

‘It will take time, but let yourself find what is right for you. No more trying to fit some one else’s f*****d up mold. Destroy it and take up your own space in the world.’



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