'Every woman's body is beach ready', says Spanish government's inclusivity campaign

The Spanish government has launched a positive summer campaign encouraging women worried about their appearance to head to the beach no matter what their shape or size.

The colourful campaign’s promotional photo shows five diverse women of different body types smiling and enjoying themselves on a beach in the sun.

"Summer is ours too," runs the slogan above the image.

“All bodies are beach bodies,” Ione Belarra, the minister for social rights in Spain’s Socialist-led Podemos party, said.

“All bodies are valid and we have the right to enjoy life as we are, without guilt or shame. Summer is for everyone!”

The campaign aims to move away from traditional summer images that often show women with bodies which conform to rigid beauty standards and are unattainable - or undesirable - to many.

Antonia Morillas, head of the Spanish women’s institute and the organisation behind the initiative, said physical expectations affected women's self-esteem and denied them their rights.

In supporting the movement, she tweeted praise of the campaign's attempt to knock down gender stereotypes.

While the campaign has been widely praised for its attempts at inclusivity, some people have said it should be broadened to also include men without so-called standard bodies.

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