“Glamour” has always been one of my favorite magazines–I think the sense of humor and realistic voice is really apparent in every beauty, fashion, health, or news story. (And their Web site is the bomb–best blogs!!) I have been a subscriber for years and years and am constantly impressed. And they’ve done it again!
When I was reading the September issue, with Jessica Simpson on the cover, I came across this image.
I was surprised and kind of excited. Look at her! She’s gorgeous, and so real. And there was no “Oh look at the plus-sized model!” attitude about it. It was just a gorgeous girl, in the magazine, with no explanation.
Apparently, I am not the only one who noticed her. The magazine was immediately inundated with hundreds of letters from readers who were inspired and impressed by Glamour’s choice to feature a woman in the buff who doesn’t look super toned, tall, leggy, bony, or bronzed. She’s just…normal! I love it. She’s a girl, like all the girls we know and think are beautiful, and can’t understand why society doesn’t seem to agree.
“The girl on pg 194″ as she is now known is 20-year-old Lizzi Miller, a 180-pound “plus size” (according to the industry) model who has become a symbol of body confidence. Glamour EIC Cindi Leive and Lizzie sat down with Matt Lauer on “The Today Show” this morning to talk about what this image means about the depiction of women in the media. I loved when Matt said, “It is about the tummy…in a position that we don’t normally see tummies in in magazines!”
Lizzie said the picture at first made her pause, but then she said, “But it’s real.” LOVE THAT. Because I feel like super-skinny celebs say that all the time, and it’s just like “OK, Hilary Duff. STFU.” This though, more women can relate to. She’s healthy (she plays softball and dances to stay in shape) but isn’t a stick figure. And she’s OK with it.
She was also in the April issue, and I remember liking that photo a lot too. Her body is just in full bloom and it looks great.
It’s huge to see a leading magazine like Glamour publishing a photo like this; I hope the EIC sticks with her promise to give women more authenticity in the magazine–it’s obviously what we’re looking for! And maybe if she bumps into the EIC of “Self” in the Conde cafeteria she can tell her to not let another Kelly Clarkson/Photoshop debacle happen–readers clearly like their women real.
So…there’s your love-your-body inspiration for the day! I’m adding Lizzie to my vision board as a reminder that health and sex appeal are not one-size-fits-all. I hope that some day I too have the confidence she does and that it lands me a sit-down with Matt Lauer.
PS. You can go here to read more about this and congratulate Glamour on a job well done! They need to know how badly we want to see more of this!!
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Tomorrow is the 14th anniversary of my stepdaughter Kimmy’s death from a combination of alcoholism and bulimia. I worry about young women growing up under the pressure to be stick thin. I have firsthand evidence that those messages can be lethal. Thanks to Rachel for dealing honestly, openly and sensibly with the issue of women’s weight – what’s healthy, what’s attractive and what’s toxic. If you want o read more of Kim’s story, click here – http://sustainablefarmer.com/kimmy/
If you guys have a chance, PLEASE click on the link above and read Kimmy’s story. And thank you Bonnie for sharing it. Eating disorders are so much harsher than you can grasp from seeing a Lifetime movie about them. They are grisly and devastating and our culture is absolutely partially to blame, as much as the powers that be choose to deny it.
Wow. Bonnie, thank you for sharing that powerful story. I hope more people will hear this story and take something away from it like I have.
Hey, Rachel. One day while avoiding work I started reading your blog, and I wanted to tell you how great I think it is! It’s funny and you give really good, practical advice.
And I love this model! When I saw her picture I was just like, “Hey, her stomach looks like my stomach when I sit down… and I think we both look pretty good…” Keep up the great work!
I love this. It is an accurate portrayal of the majority of the population, and we like seeing that it’s ok to not look perfect, but be happy with it! She is still gorgeous and that’s very refreshing to see.
I just hope Glamour understands this is what readers want to see, and that they’ll continue to give us more of that, and not go back to putting a stick thin model on the cover for the next 6 issues like they tend to do right after showing someone ‘curvy’.