Status: 07/28/2022 12:30 p.m
An anti-discrimination campaign in Spain is causing a stir. Under the motto “The summer also belongs to us”, the government is fighting against excessive physical cult and promoting self-confidence with overweight women.
The Spanish government has launched an action against discrimination against women who want to enjoy the beach and sea in the summer without the “perfect body”. The campaign immediately attracted attention and received more than 2,000 comments on Twitter on the first day.
In a picture posted by Spain’s Ministry of Equality, with the caption “Summer is ours too,” three overweight young women can be seen having fun on the beach in a bikini, happily and exuberantly. You can also see a grey-haired woman standing shirtless by the sea after a mastectomy, the removal of a breast.
Fight against self-doubt
With the campaign, the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez aims to sensitize society in times of online body cult and photo filters and to combat not only discrimination, but also culture- and society-related self-doubt among women and girls.
“All bodies are valid and we have the right to enjoy life as we are, without guilt or shame. Summer is for everyone,” Minister for Equality Irene Montero wrote on Twitter.
“We must accept hate”
There was a lot of encouragement online for the campaign, but there was also criticism. Some thought that all women in Spain were allowed to go to the beach. “There are some gentlemen who are now saying that we fat women were already allowed to go to the beach without permission from the Ministry of Equal Rights. Of course we can, but we have to accept hatred because we show bodies that don’t meet the norms.” , Equality Secretary Ángela Rodríguez Pam tweeted.
Multiple progressive actions
The left-wing Spanish government has repeatedly attracted attention abroad with its progressive actions in favor of women, who sometimes also have pioneering character in Europe. For example, women should be released from work by law in the event of severe menstrual complaints.
There was also, among other things, a tightening of sexual offenses and a campaign against sexist advertising for children’s toys. In addition, women government ministers have refused to take group photos at political or economic events in which they are the only woman.