I was twelve years old when the broadcast first aired-an impressionable time in any pre-teen girl’s life-on the precipice of years of confusing messaging about body image.

For nearly two decades, the VS Fashion Show was a majority stakeholder in my diminishing self-esteem. The stock, $100 in 2015, has dropped to $19 at the time of this publication.

After years of leaving out entire segments of the population, the 2018 Vogue interview where Ed Razek, then-Chief Marketing Officer of L Brands (VS’s parent company), denounced the inclusion of plus-sized and trans women in the show, saying it would “ruin the fantasy,” was the final nail in the coffin. The downfall of Victoria’s Secret wasn’t exactly surprising, as the lingerie brand has been slow to catch up in our increasingly inclusive, post-#MeToo world. The message was clear: the VS woman-sexy and sweet with smooth skin, silky strands and impossibly slender limbs-was the archetype of female beauty, perfectly packaged like a Christmas gift with a bow (sometimes literally) for the male gaze to unwrap. The VS woman was the archetype of female beauty, perfectly packaged like a Christmas gift with a bow (sometimes literally) for the male gaze to unwrap the twenty “hottest” women in the world) were selected as “VS Angels” to strut down a catwalk in lavish lingerie, with cinched waists, perked-up breasts and delirious smiles plastered on their chiseled faces, while famous performers crooned and audiences ogled in the background. Perceived as the “Super Bowl of Fashion” by CBS, the lingerie extravaganza began in 1995 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City and was first televised in 2001. The end of the Victoria’s Secret (VS) runway show provided closure for a source of anxiety I hadn’t realized I still carried. Although “cancel culture” has garnered some backlash, upon hearing the news of this cancellation, I felt relieved. Last week, it was announced that Victoria’s Secret’s 2019 Fashion Show was officially cancelled. I’ve always loved the holidays, but since I was a teenager I have dreaded one December tradition that has spanned over two decades: the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

Victoria secret girls 2016 ramp walk