When we open the pages of most magazines, we're often greeted by airbrushed photos of women whose job it is to be skinny. If we're looking for validation of our own bodies or positive body images, we're in the wrong place. Like most media outlets, magazines are still dominated by underweight, unattainable ideals of beauty. But recently, one magazine featured a photo that people can't stop talking about. I saw mention of it on several healthy living blogs last week, and then SparkPeople member Mardee (flutterbymim) contacted me about the photo: "I love it. It's about a photograph in Glamour of a "real" woman, and how she's comfortable in the skin she's in." Readers kept writing to Glamour editor Cindi Leive about the woman, on page 194 of the magazine's September issue. Her response in a blog: (Click on the blog link to see the picture for yourself.) "The woman on p. 194" is actually 20-year-old model Lizzi Miller, and this is her second appearance in Glamour, shot by fashion photographer Walter Chin. A size 12-14 and avid softball player/belly dancer ("I like exercising when it's fun"), Lizzi moved to New York City from San Jose three years ago to become a model (a "plus-size" one by modeling industry standards, though hello, at size 12 she's actually "normal size"...but I digress). "When I was young I really struggled with my body and how it looked because I didn't understand why my friends were so effortlessly skinny," Lizzi told me. "As I got older I realized that everyone's body is different and not everyone is skinny naturally--me included! I learned to love my body for how it is, every curve of it. I used to be so self-conscious in a bikini because my stomach wasn't perfectly defined. But everyone has different body shapes! And it's not all about the physical! If you walk on the beach in your bikini with confidence and you feel sexy, people will see you that way too." I'm really excited to see a woman who looks "real" in a magazine. However, this is ONE photo in ONE magazine article that's about feeling comfortable in one's skin. This is a great step, but I kind of think that in the broader sense, this seems like token diversity. One "real" woman, to balance out the dozens of scrawny ones. Bravo, Glamour! This is a great motivator for women, and we appreciate seeing someone as lovely and honest as Lizzi in a magazine. But we'd like to see "real" women in fashion spreads, too. You're leading the way, but there's a long road ahead of all of us. What do you think about this photo? Is it a giant step forward for magazines? Is this an example of "separate but equal," like the weight-based reality shows we wrote about awhile back? |
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