In a recent Gok Wan interview (read on to the end), it was questioned whether Gok Wan having his own range of control underwear contradicted what he stood for. The argument was that Gok is all about looking good naked and embracing your natural body – being proud of curves. So they queried how Gok Wan launching his own range of corsets and tummy tuck knickers fits in with this and suggested that it was not a very pro-feminist approach.
I can see where they are coming from with this question. The corset has indeed been an oppressive item of clothing for women to wear throughout much of history (read my article Curves and Corsetry on it here). And indeed, in an ideal world, women should not need control underwear to make them feel good about themselves.
In an ideal world women would also not need make-up, false nails, high-heeled shoes, fashionable clothes, expensive hair-cuts… (the list goes on) to feel good about themselves either.
In an ideal world Gok’s services would not be required at all. There would be no market for a man whose career is based around making women feel good about themselves because women would already feel good about themselves.
But that’s just the thing; this is not exactly an ideal world.
It’s a world where women are put under unbelievable pressure every day to conform to an unattainable beauty and body ideal. And where so many women are made to feel miserable when they do not measure up.
Unfortunately, we are a long way from a society where women are no longer expected to ‘measure up’. And in the meantime women suffer with dangerous diets and go under the knife to have parts of their body made bigger or smaller in order to feel better about themselves.
In a world like this, where happiness for a lot of women remains inextricably linked to their body confidence, Gok is offering all women an easy way to feel good, with lingerie that is beautifully comfortable to wear and makes them feel confident too. Every woman should love and feel proud of her body. Every woman has the right to feel sexy! And this underwear is here to help, to give every woman those fab feelings they deserve to experience.
If anybody is on women’s side in this crazy airbrushing, body-obsessed world, Gok Wan is. If he had the time to help every woman feel proud of her own body the way it is I’m sure he would.
Sadly he can’t. But the Gok Wan underwear is the next best thing.
