I thought this was something worth reading and wanted to pass it along. And I'll be honest, I love the fact that she (the editor) says she doesn't want to make the skinny girls eat a cheeseburger either - it's just about acceptance. We are all different and we all like different looks - and it's time women have a chance to just be happy with what we are!
Kisses
As the editor of this magazine, I've been proud of plenty of portraits we've published--from fashion designers to First Ladies and beyond. But I'm especially proud of a shoot you'll see in our November issue--not because of the work that went into it, but because of the important work it kicks off. Oh, and did I mention the whole fun, fabulous thing was your idea?
Here's the photo: (Actually it is above!) seven beautiful women, all three to five sizes larger than the models you generally see in magazines. We'll get to the reasons for that in a minute, but for now, let's just spend a minute soaking up their gorgeousness!
Lovely, right? Now here's the backstory: About two months ago, Glamour started receiving letter after letter about the exuberant smile--and naturally curvy tummy--of a model who'd appeared in a small photo on page 194 of our September issue. ("This picture is absolutely amazing," wrote one. "Finally, a picture of a woman with a rounded, squishy, real belly!") I wrote here about the reader reaction, and about "the woman on page 194" herself, 21-year-old model/singer/softball player Lizzie Miller, who went on to be interviewed everywhere from Oprah Radio to Access Hollywood. But the most important conversation took place right here on glamour.com, where over 1,000 of you posted your own joyous reactions to a figure with curves. "Lizzi, you are radiant," wrote one. "Shine on, sister." (Men loved the picture too: "I speak on behalf of all men: she is stunningly beautiful," went one typical comment. "Please, make more of her.")
Reading the comments, it was hard not to notice that many ended with the same two words: "More, please!" Matt Lauer put it pretty bluntly to me on the Today Show: "Cindi, you know we've had these types of segments before where a photo like this...sparks a lot of positive comments and you know what, the editors of the magazines come in and go, "It's great, it's great!" and then we go back to skin and bones. Is this gonna change things?"
It's a fair question--but the answer is, at least at Glamour, yes. Don't get me wrong: I'm proud of this magazine's longtime dedication to photographing women of all sizes. But can we do more? Of course--and that starts here. As you'll read in our November issue, Glamour is committing to featuring a greater range of body types in our pages, including in fashion and beauty stories (traditionally the toughest areas for even the top "plus-size" models to crack).
I know that seems like it should be the easiest thing in the world to do. And you'd be perfectly entitled to wonder why "plus-size" models are so uncommon in magazines and other parts of the media to begin with. I'll try to answer a few of the questions you've asked most:
What's up with women like Lizzie Miller being called "plus-size," anyway? As Genevieve Field writes in our November issue, most "plus-size" models actually aren't plus-size humans. It's one of the perversities of the modeling industry that women are moved into "plus" divisions once they're anything larger than a six. (They actually have to wear cutlets and padding to model plus-size clothing.) Strange but true.
And why don't you see more "plus" models in fashion stories? Well, lots of reasons, but partly because the clothes are so flippin' small. The "samples" we borrow for shoots are generally cut to fit a size zero-to-four frame. (If we just went out and bought bigger sizes from the store, those styles would be off the racks and unbuyable by the time you saw them in Glamour.) Why do designers cut so tiny? Beats me, but Glamour plans to cheer on those who work with us in glamorizing women of all sizes from now on. It's not always easy for them: When designer Mark Fast recently put three size 10-ish models on his London runway last week (all looking highly hot), two of his top creative people reportedly quit in protest. Whatever! Mark's apparently going on to do a line for Topshop. Happy ending.
Is showing larger-size women...unhealthy? It's a serious question: Amid the cheering for Lizzie Miller on glamour.com was a distinct strain of criticism from readers who worried the photo promoted obesity. First things first: Lizzie's not obese. (At 180 and 5'11, she's maybe a couple of pounds overweight.) But more than that, I don't buy that showing women in a variety of sizes will discourage heavier ones from maintaining a healthy weight. Glamour assistant editor Margarita Bertsos--who wrote about her own 75-pound weight loss for Glamour--said it best: "This photo in no way sends a message to me that I should quit taking care of my body... It has the complete opposite effect on me, reminding me to love myself, treat myself well (and that INCLUDES a healthy diet and exercise), and showing me that I can and should smile in my nakedness and belly rolls, because I'm worthy of that kind of that unabashed self-love right this second. We all are!" Amen.
To be clear, I'm not on the "real women have curves" bandwagon here, arguing that only bodies like Lizzie's are "real"--and that slender women are all unreal waifs who should just eat a cheeseburger and get over themselves. Turning the tables so we can bash one type instead of another isn't the answer. Celebrating the fact that we're all born different is. Think about it: In real life, women of all shapes and sizes have crazy sex appeal and killer confidence. Why should our own pages look any different?
We'll do our best to live up to this standard in the future: shooting models who diverge in every way from the cookie-cutter norm. Is it a retreat from fantasy? Of course not: If we wanted unadulterated reality, we could just print everyone's driver's-license picture. But I happen to think that a fantasy every reader can have a piece of is the most powerful fantasy of all. Thank you for encouraging us to try to provide it, and for pointing the way forward here. Your words inspire me daily.
Now tell me, what did you think when you first saw the group photo above? And how much reality, and how much fantasy, do you want in a magazine, and from the media?
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