A few weeks ago, Aerie released a new campaign aimed at male body positivity using the hashtag #AerieMan. The internet got very excited about the campaign. People were sharing articles on Facebook, reblogging gifs of the campaign on Tumblr and tweeting about it, praising Aerie for extending the body positivity conversation to men.

Then Aerie had to awkwardly reveal that it was a spoof of their original campaign #AerieReal created for April Fools’ Day. Yikes.

In the news release, Aerie reassured its customers that starting this holiday season, it would “pledge to forego retouching its male models in its underwear and swim images.” The news release doesn’t explain how they managed to execute a parody so poorly that nobody realized it was a spoof.

Aerie, an underwear brand by American Eagle, has been on the forefront of body positive ads for a while now. Its #AerieReal campaign that was launched in 2014 has used photos of models of varying body types and hasn’t retouched any of them. In a world where Photoshop and filters are used to alter photos every day, this campaign is a breath of fresh air and a step forward for women’s body positivity.

When people discuss body image, it is almost always in relation to women and their bodies, which is completely understandable. We live in a society where women are treated like objects in advertising, where their body is treated like a commodity. They have to look a certain way to have worth. People comment on a female celebrity’s weight gain or loss as if it’s their business in the first place. Men are more likely to slip under the radar.

Yet, I think we are doing men a disservice if we don’t discuss the problems they have with body image. I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw a plus size male model, and that is very troubling.

Men with body image issues are not talked about. Since eating disorders are often considered a “women’s disease,” men can be underdiagnosed or undiagnosed more often, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. NEDA’s website also says that men with an eating disorder have a higher mortality rate because of this underdiagnoses.

Aerie’s #AerieMen campaign actually being a hoax is a poorly executed attempt at being funny. When men have so little offered to them about body positivity, to have something taken away is heartbreaking.

Another surprising detail about the campaign is that the models starring in it had no idea of its true intentions. Model and blogger Kelvin Davis, who is known for promoting body positivity and was featured in the campaign, has been receiving criticism for his involvement in this “parody.”

“I had nothing to do with the way it was marketed,” Davis said to Buzzfeed. “My stance and advocation for body positivity has never been a joke. What I represent is 100 percent authentic.”

While the spoof campaign has been very hurtful for people, the discussion that is coming with the backlash is so important. Men’s body issues are something that tend to get swept under the rug, but now we can have an open talk about it. Body positivity and representation shouldn’t be taken lightly for women or men. I hope that in the future we can find a better mix of body types and people in advertising so that more people can see themselves in their media.

_Edited by Katie Rosso | krosso@themaneater.com_