The mannequin looks tiny in comparison to size 8 Georgia Bibby - who appeared in the photo to highlight the issue
The girl on the left is a size 8/10. #Topshop #poorbodyimage #irresponsible #fashion #highstreet pic.twitter.com/mYbCZMYeSI
— Becky Leigh Hopper (@BeckyLHopper) October 27, 2014 The girl who prompted a debate over portrayal of the female body after tweeting a photo of a thin Topshop mannequin has said the company needs to display more diverse body shapes.
Becky Leigh Hopper took a photo of her friend Georgia Bibby, who is a size 8, standing next to a mannequin in Topshop, at the St Stevens Centre in Hull.
Miss Hopper claims that the legs on the mannequin, just over half the size of her friend Georgia's, offer a misrepresentation of the female body.
The 23-year-old tweeted the picture, which has so far had over 5000 retweets, and she has been flooded with supportive comments.
@BeckyLHopper @georgiabibby can't believe how far this has gone, you've both done awesome :) congratulations girls! X #thunderthighsexist
— Megan Sibley (@megsib13) October 30, 2014 Becky told us: "We are trying to say let's embrace everybody's shape, we don't want to get rid of the mannequins, we want a more diverse portrayal of the female body.
"Every single mannequin upstairs and downstairs was the same size as this one."
Topshop have been approached for a comment on the issue, but have so far haven't responded to our emails or answered our calls.
"We'd like an acknowledgement, statement, or at least a tweet."
What size was the mannequin?
Becky tells us that the mannequin's thighs are 14 inches at the widest part, while her friend Georgia's thighs are 22 inches.
That makes the model less than two-thirds the size of Georgia, who is a size 8.
What do you think?
At Topshop in Canary Wharf in London, mannequins of similar size to those in Becky's photo are being used, we asked shoppers what they thought.
"No, it's not a fair representation. They're really, really skinny, the legs are too skinny, and no-one's that tall," said 28-year-old Marie O'Regan.
"[They use them] because the clothes all look better on them, or that at least Topshop think they do," said 27-year-old Claire Fulton.
But healthcare worker Laura, from London, said that the mannequins aren't skinny.
"They're slim, not skinny. And that reflects the size of models used in Topshop posters. We should focus on health and healthy eating rather than focusing on size."
Becky says she has faced a backlash from a 'small minority' of people for so-called 'skinny shaming', but the student clarified her position:
"The fact this is the only representation of the female body [in Topshop] can cause such problems for young girls."
The Topshop mannequin debate comes at the same time as Victoria's Secret have caused controversy for their use of the phrase "The Perfect Body" in an advertising campaign.
The lingerie brand is advertising a new range of bras in the UK called "Body", in a poster campaign featuring Victoria's Secret models Angels Behati Prinsloo, Lily Aldridge and Jasmine Tookes.
But many have reacted angrily at the idea of a 'perfect body', after the posters appeared in the UK this week.
Becky told us: "If the models in the Victoria's Secret campaign are genuinely healthy, and are not very thin unhealthy girls, that's reasonable, but we need a larger variety."
What gives Victoria's Secret the right to say what a "perfect" body is?? Stop body shaming!! pic.twitter.com/m57SJ96mn1
— hb (@hannahmbooth) October 12, 2014 
