Jax was babysitting. That’s how it started. She was hanging out with a kid who was feeling insecure about her body because of a swimsuit ad, and honestly, we’ve all been there. But instead of just giving a pep talk, Jax went into the studio and wrote a song that basically nuked an entire retail empire’s branding strategy in under three minutes. When the Victoria's Secret song lyrics first started circulating on TikTok in 2022, they didn't just go viral—they became a cultural interrogation.
It’s weirdly catchy. It’s also incredibly blunt. If you listen to the words, it’s not just a "love yourself" anthem; it’s a specific call-out of Les Wexner and the corporate architecture of beauty standards from the 90s and 2000s.
The Story Behind the Victoria's Secret Song Lyrics
The song isn't actually about a secret romance or a runway show. It’s about a man in Ohio. Jax specifically references this in the chorus, and she isn't making it up. Leslie Wexner, the billionaire behind L Brands, is the guy who built the Victoria’s Secret empire into a global juggernaut. For decades, the brand sold a very specific, hyper-narrow version of "perfection" that most people simply couldn't achieve.
Jax writes, "I know Victoria's secret / And girl, you wouldn't believe it / She's an old man who lives in Ohio." This line is the heart of the song. It strips away the lace and the angel wings to reveal the business reality: the brand's image of "femininity" was largely curated by a male executive. It’s a powerful realization for anyone who grew up feeling like they didn't fit the mold.
The lyrics mention "making money off of girls like me," which points to the commodification of insecurity. It’s a business model as old as time—tell someone they have a problem, then sell them the solution. Except in this case, the "problem" was just having a normal human body.
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Why the "Old Man in Ohio" Line Matters
Context is everything here. Wexner's headquarters were in Columbus, Ohio. By identifying him so specifically, Jax moved the conversation from a general critique of "society" to a specific critique of corporate accountability. It’s personal. It’s targeted. It’s why the song felt so much more "punk" than your average pop track.
The song arrived right as the public was learning more about the darker side of the brand's history, including the 2020 New York Times investigation into the "culture of misogyny, bullying, and harassment" at the company. Jax didn't need to cite the article; she just captured the vibe in a melody that kids could dance to.
Breaking Down the Most Relatable Lines
The verse that usually gets people is the one about "looking like a skeleton" or feeling like you have to starve yourself to fit into a certain size. It’s raw. Jax sings about "skinny dipping" and "eating a Big Mac," which sounds simple, but in the context of early 2000s diet culture, it’s practically a manifesto.
"I was told that I was fat / Which I know I'm not / But I'm still insecure."
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That’s the most honest line in the whole track. You can logically know you’re fine, but years of looking at airbrushed ads in the mall can mess with your head. The Victoria's Secret song lyrics acknowledge this cognitive dissonance. It’s okay to be mad at the marketing and still feel the sting of the insecurity it created.
The Corporate Reaction: How Victoria’s Secret Responded
You’d think a massive company would ignore a TikTok song. They didn't. They couldn't. The song was everywhere. Within weeks of the song blowing up, the CEO of Victoria’s Secret (then Amy Hauk) actually posted a message on Instagram thanking Jax for raising the issues. They even tried to pivot their branding toward "The VS Collective," moving away from the "Angels" and toward more diverse representation.
It was a weird moment of art forcing a corporate hand. However, critics argued it was too little, too late. The "old man in Ohio" had already sold most of his stake in the company by the time the song peaked on the charts. But the cultural damage—the realization that the "secret" was just a marketing gimmick—was permanent.
The Impact of "Victoria's Secret" on Body Positivity
Is the song just a trend? Maybe. But for a generation of listeners, it provided a vocabulary for their frustration. We’re seeing a massive shift in how brands talk to us. We want authenticity now. We want to see stretch marks. We want to see different shapes. Jax’s lyrics acted as a catalyst for this conversation to move from niche internet forums to the mainstream Billboard charts.
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What People Often Get Wrong About the Song
Some people think Jax is attacking the models. She’s not. If you listen closely, the lyrics are sympathetic to the "girls like me" and "girls like you." The target is the architecture of the brand, not the women who worked for it. The song is about the projection of an image, not a personal vendetta against individuals.
Another misconception is that it’s a song for kids. While it went viral on TikTok, the demographics that connected with it most were actually Millennials and Gen X—the people who actually spent their teenage years walking past those giant black-and-white photos in the mall and feeling "less than."
The Legacy of the Lyrics
The song peaked in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, which is a massive feat for a song with such specific, almost niche corporate commentary. It proved that you could write a protest song about a bra company and have it resonate with millions. It’s also worth noting that the song’s success coincided with a broader "re-evaluation" of the early 2000s, a time when we’re all looking back and realizing how toxic some of that media really was.
Actionable Steps: Taking Back the Narrative
Listening to a song is one thing; changing your relationship with your body is another. If the Victoria's Secret song lyrics hit home for you, here are a few ways to deprogram that "Ohio" mindset:
- Audit your social media. If you're following accounts that make you feel like you need to change your shape to be valid, hit the unfollow button. It sounds simple, but the "constant scroll" of "perfection" is what the song is fighting against.
- Research the brands you buy from. If a brand's history or leadership doesn't align with your values, look for alternatives. There are dozens of inclusive, woman-owned lingerie brands now that didn't exist when Wexner was at the helm.
- Recognize the "Secret." Every time you feel that pang of "I don't look like that ad," remind yourself that the ad was created by a marketing team in a boardroom to make you feel exactly that way. It’s a tactic, not a truth.
- Support independent artists like Jax. She showed that one person with a piano and a TikTok account can challenge a billion-dollar legacy. That kind of creative disruption is exactly what the entertainment industry needs more of.
The song isn't just a melody; it's a reminder that the standards we've been trying to meet were often invented by people who don't even know us. Once you realize the secret, it loses its power over you.