Ed's been putting a lot of thought lately into how the lady magazines portray women's bodies. Have you noticed how more and more of the high-end fashion titles like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, now have coverlines that read "beautiful at any size" or "the best clothes for every body type?" Used to be that only the health mags or mags that focus on the "every girl" like Glamour had such declarations of self-love on their covers. Ed thinks this a great step forward, especially considering that young girls often grow up with these glossies. BUT when the coverlines are going in such a positive direction, why is there such little change actually inside the magazine?
For the most part, those gorgeous girls in the fall fashion features are still just that—girls. Young girls and still at least four sizes smaller than the average American woman. And don't even get Ed started on the amount of retouching that goes into covers to slim down whatever curves that month's Hollywood starlet actually does have.
Perhaps a "streamlined" cover girl does sell issues, and maybe thin models do sell clothes. (Who doesn't like to look at beautiful people?!) But do you think it's the public's own fault for buying into the skinny ideal or do you think it's up to the industry to start featuring real size women in its fashion features? What do you think, Edsters? Venting welcome!
—Ed
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11 comments:
The thin cover girl is the illusion the reader "buys". The "love your curves" cover lines are the self-help/pop psychology/feel good palliatives needed to reassure the not-thin readers they they are OK even if they don't look like the models.
The "I lost 100 lbs" articles are the hope suggesting maybe the readers can somehow look at least a little like the models. The diet tips are the tools. And the "how to be happy just the way you are" articles are there for the readers who've dieted and lost and then gained it all back. Again.
Then, inexplicably, that reader goes back to the thin cover model fantasy again...and again...and again...
And, I've been that reader on and off for years. In some ways, media is a reflection of our illogical ideas about body image; and then too, we are too much influenced by the images the media keeps churning out.
A perfect (vicious) cycle.
I think it's really up to the industry to change the standard.
I'm not going to give up reading my favorite magazines because I'm interested in the content, and I don't think the rest of the public is willing to give up those magazines, either.
I think they would draw in a different type of reader if they would at least vary the sizes and types of models they used.
I have a few friends who don't bother picking up magazines like Vogue because they don't feel it represents them... like the high end fashion is ONLY for the super slim.
i've always found it odd that a "normal" or even "thin" person can't be a model. you have to be either 5'10" and 100 pounds, or if you are tall and slightly overweight, you can be a plus-size model! but anywhere in between, forget it.
I've been a skinny individual ever since child-hood. I'm naturally thin and I've always felt like an "outcast" in the obscene, obese society of America.
I feel like high-fashion is my only refuge and I do not wish to see "normal/average" women in the high-fashion industry ever! I don't mean to be rude, but it's the truth!
I think the accepted notion of the ideal beauty is always what is the opposite of the mainstream society - as history, itself, proves.
People want what/whom is rare... similar to luxury! Nobody would want a diamond if diamonds were everywhere and easily accessible, then the luxury, the rarity and the lust for the diamond would be diminished - the same way the super thin model is to the high-fashion industry!
Like the above poster, I have also been super-thin all my life, not by choice or action, but simply from genes. (I actually wish I weren't so skinny, but that's sort of another topic). I'm not opposed to seeing a wide range of body types featured in most mags, in fact, I think it would be good. But I am sick and tired of skinny girls being practically demonized as if it's THEIR fault everyone is fat and feels bad about themselves for it. The whole Real Women Have Curves idea is annoying to me because instead of trying to solve the "problem" with an inclusive message, that idea simply repeats the same negative message ... that unless you are one body type or another (curvy or skinny), then you aren't worthy. That's what I get sick of, the double-standard. Why must you be one or the other for the photos/stories/coverlines to speak to you?
I don't think it's totally wrong to feature smaller women/girls in fashion-based editorials. It's not like petite women do not exist in the world. There should probably be an even balance featuring smaller women as well as "real size women" (whatever that ambiguous connotation means) so that both types may receive equal exposure, thus speaking to a wider audience ... and if this is impossible, then let us continue to immerse ourselves with imagery of svelte women in designer clothing!
I'm doing my honors thesis on the impact that magazines have as a whole on eating disorders--not just the advertising.
Yes, we see gorgeous thin girls in ads, but what about those "I lost 100 lbs" articles? Do they make girls feel empowered, thinking that they can achieve things like that too?
Or do they make girls feel more insecure, thinking, "How come I can't do that? How come I don't have the willpower?
Thank you for putting up this topic. It would really help my research a lot to know what the people behind the magazines think.
And to answer your question, I don't think it's the editors' faults entirely. As editors, we have a target audience and demographic. And we cater to their wants and needs.
Truthfully, I think that "normal" women DO like to look at thin pictures. Who knows for what; inspiration, maybe. If Vogue were to ever do only a plus-size issue, I can tell you right now, there would be an outrage. It could be perceived as good, or bad. Maybe one of the glossies SHOULD just go ahead with it. At least we could then see from the responses, what society really thinks.
Also, I'd just like to say, I agree with some of the above posters. People have to stop blaming America's obesity problem on thin girls. It's as if we've set these standards, and when people can't reach them, they're like, "Well, I can't help but be this way. Your way doesn't exist."
If magazines start putting in curvy women, and then what? The thin would not be represented anymore, right?
I'm surprised to hear that high fashion magazines are advertising these sorts of articles on their covers. I would imagine them targeting a savvier reader who understands that fashion magazines are all about depicting extremes. Their images have more to do with portraying a fantasy or escapist image than the everyday. It's unfortunate that high fashion magazines have not found a way to transcend the taint of body image in their editorial shoots; perhaps they expect their readers to look beyond it.
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