Three Models Complain About Spain's Beach Body Campaign: 10 Things To Know

The Spanish beach body campaign controversy has grown after a third woman complained about the use of her image in the advertisement. The three women said that their images were used without permission and in two cases, the illustration altered the women’s bodies.

Juliet Fitzpatrick, a cancer survivor is the third woman to complain that her image was used without permission. In the campaign, her face is superimposed onto the body of another woman who appears to have had a mastectomy.

Spain’s Ministry of Equality launched a campaign encouraging women to leave behind the idea of a “beach body” and go to the beach without fearing judgement. The Women’s Institute said, “The campaign is intended as a response to fatphobia, hatred and the questioning of non-normative bodies”.

However, three women complained that their likeness was used in Spain's beach body campaign without permission and in certain cases, the illustration edited their bodies.

Spanish Beach Body Campaign Controversy

• United Kingdom model Nyome Nicholas-Williams was the first woman to call out the beach body campaign for using her likeness without permission. In the image, Nicholas-Williams was the second woman from the right. She said she was unaware that her image was used in the campaign until a social media follower sent her a news story about it.
• Nicholas-Williams said that while she was pleased by the campaign’s image, it was important to ask for consent before using a person’s image. She added that she would have appreciated it if she was approached about appearing in the campaign and being paid for it.
• The artist, Arte Mapache issued a public apology for using her image without permission and chose to make amends by giving money made for her work and giving it to the people in the poster.
• Sian Green-Lord was the second model to complain about her image being used and was on the far right of the image. She was shocked and angered when she saw that her prosthetic leg was edited out of the campaign.
• Green-Lord said, “It’s one thing using my image without my permission, but it’s another thing editing my body, my body with my prosthetic leg.” She described it as “beyond wrong”.
• Juliet Fitzpatrick was the third woman to complain. She featured in the advertisement and was the second woman from the left. Fitzpatrick underwent two mastectomies and has campaigned about the visibility of women who have had their breasts removed.
• She said to The Guardian, “The face is reminiscent of me, but that’s not my body. I’ve got no breasts, and this one has got one breast. The thought of my face being on the body of a woman with one breast is quite upsetting”.
• The Women’s Institute apologised to Nicholas-Williams, Green-Lord, and Fitzpatrick for the damages caused to them. They said they were unaware that images of real women were used in the campaign.
• The institute contacted the models and is waiting for the illustrator, Mapache and the models to reach an agreement.
• Fitzpatrick has been in contact with Green-Lord and Nicholas-Williams since the Spanish beach body campaign controversy and said she would consider posing for an accurate version of the image.

Suggested Reading: How Spain's Campaign Encourages Women To Not Worry About Their Beach Body