The Spanish government has launched an action against discrimination against women who want to enjoy the beach and sea in 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 Madrid's Ministry of Gender Equality, three overweight young women are seen having fun on the beach in bikinis, with the caption "Summer is ours too". You can also see a grey-haired woman who, after a mastectomy, the removal of a breast, is standing "topless" by the sea and smiling.
With the campaign, the left-wing 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 (women)!” wrote the Minister for Equal Rights, Irene Montero.
There was a lot of encouragement online, but not a little criticism either. 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 for showing bodies that don't conform to the norm," wrote Equality Secretary Ángela Rodríguez Pam.
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. Madrid, for example, wants to release women from work by law if they have severe rule complaints.
There was also a tightening of sexual criminal law and a campaign against sexist advertising for children's toys. At political or economic events, female government ministers sometimes refuse to take group photos in which they are the only woman.
