Primark has sparked controversy after a customer tweeted a picture of a mannequin with protruding ribs and concave stomach in its window display in Braehead, Glasgow.

The high street store was quick to respond and promised not to use the offending mannequin again, but not before the image had been retweeted thousands of times.



@Melfyx We're currently changing our window displays. The mannequins you describe will not be used in this way again. — Primark (@Primark) July 24, 2014

Primark aren't the first to use mannequins to spark discussions about the unhealthy depictions of body shapes in the high street.

La Perla was strongly criticised earlier this year for using unhealthy-looking mannequins in its New York branch. The store was quick to remove the mannequins, and tweeted that they were updating them, but to what they didn't say.



The use of store mannequins is a consistent source of controversy.

The average British woman is 5ft 3in (161.6cm), 11 stone (70.2kg) and a size 16, yet there is still very little representation of her in consumer culture.

But it's not just mannequins with unusually thin proportions that spark criticism. Debenham's size 16 mannequins, trialled in their flagship store in London's Oxford Street last year, hoped to make a positive impact in redressing the situation.



Size 16 mannequins for window display in UK store @Debenhams to reflect a natural body size , bravo ! pic.twitter.com/SzgYVKz6Hn — Dimpy Kapur (@DimpyKapur) November 7, 2013

However, some people criticised them for their "flat-stomachs and toned thighs"; they were "as impossible a shape to achieve as their waif-ish acetate companions" complained fashion journalist and author Harriet Walker.



Have you seen – inspiring or unhealthy – representations of body types in high street stores? Share your images and tell us where you spotted them and when via GuardianWitness.

