Lizzie Miller in Glamour Magazine: I Just Wish This Photo Wasn’t So Special
A women’s magazine shows a non-airbrushed photo of a young, beautiful, size-12 woman, whose rounded belly looks just like an average woman’s belly, and the entire world holds its breath.
Women flood the magazine with tearful, grateful letters and emails, newspapers and blogs cover the story, and everyone is genuinely amazed: a women’s magazine printed a non-airbrushed photo of a non-skeletal woman and the world didn’t come to an end!
I’m glad they printed the photo. I’m glad women were able to see someone who looks like them presented as beautiful. I’m just as tired as anyone else of the crazy photoshopping going on in women’s magazines.
I’m also glad that women’s reaction to Ms. Miller’s photo, their huge relief and teary gratefulness upon seeing someone who looks like them, demonstrates once and for all that images in magazines do affect us and our expectations of ourselves and how we are “supposed” to look. Whoever claims that women should “know better,” and should ignore media portrayal of women, is either naive or stupid. We can’t ignore these images. They have power over us. They are poisoning us.
I can’t help but wonder, though. How did we allow ourselves to get to a place where a photo like this is so unusual, so extraordinary? How did we allow women’s magazines (by buying them and thus supporting them) to continue to feature page after page filled with skinny, young, perfect-looking models who are made even more “perfect” than they already are by ruthless photoshopping? And the thing that bugs me most: how did we allow the media to decide that an “attractive” woman must be stick thin, but have large breasts?
How did we allow all that to happen?
If we stopped buying fashion magazines, and women’s magazines, if we started sending angry letters the moment they started showing those ridiculous images, perhaps things wouldn’t have gone so out of control in the first place.
Obviously, this photo is just a start. A tiny step in the right direction. But this is all about money, and the huge publicity Glamour received from this photo pretty much guarantees that we are going to see more images like this one in the near future.
It’s about time.
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Maya responds:
Posted: September 3rd, 2009 at 9:07 pm →
Thank you Vered. For bringing this to my attention.
I wondered about the title though, but it all makes sense now.
I hope and dream that my I will raise my girls with enough confidence that they will fight these kinds of things.
I would also hope that with the internet and the power it gives an individual, women will start grass roots movements into changing the way women are portrayed in society. I hope to do it someday myself.
RC - RC Rambling responds:
Posted: September 3rd, 2009 at 9:07 pm →
I had not heard about this photo (have been avoiding all women-type magazines)! I’m impressed and she is beautiful!
Yes, it is sad that it has come to this being a unique situation. I know there is an obesity epidemic in this country (and I’m guilty of being a part of that), but when I look back at the more shapely stars of the early movie days, I’m struck by how our image of beauty has changed. And then I wonder if our fascination with being stick-thin fuels our obesity issues, since frankly, the underweight models just make me feel more guilty, feeding into my esteem issues, which in turn, drive me to food for solace. (If you know you will never be that thin – why bother trying at all, right?)
This woman just looks healthy, and she is a great reminder that health can be achieved at almost any size. She also looks like a size I can achieve, too, which boosts my esteem when I think about how I need to continue to eat healthier and exercise.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: September 3rd, 2009 at 9:10 pm →
@ Maya: I guess this is one of the things I’m trying to do with this blog!
@ RC: EXACTLY. This image empowers you, while the others drain you. You said it so well. And she IS beautiful.
Nurit responds:
Posted: September 3rd, 2009 at 9:21 pm →
I think I never ever bought a “women’s” magazine. They are often stupid, shallow, and encourage women to waste ther energy on unimportant things. Nude photos, showing a skeletal or a full body, is unnecessary either, as far as I’m concenred. Why people don’t focus instead on things that actually matter and use their time and money for better purposes them supporting these useless magazines???
Jeffrey Levine responds:
Posted: September 3rd, 2009 at 9:31 pm →
First let me say that I completely agree with what you’re saying – including the poinsonous nature of the media, and then questioning our (the public’s) role in supporting it. We buy the magazines, right? My question comes from a guy’s perspective. I, for one, dont look anything like Brad Pitt, or George Clooney or any of those guys on the cover or the spread’s of Men’s Health. Neither do any of my friends. And you dont see overweight, “real” looking guys in these magazines either. Hairy backs? Beer bellies? Man boobs? Not a one. So my question is, are we dealing with a larger problem about how the media shapes our opinions of ourselves? While the issue with women might be more accute at this time in our history, are men also being held to an unrealistic standard and find the need to compensate in some way? (steroid use anyone?) Thank you, Vered, as usual, for your insightful approach. P.S. I think she’s beautiful as well.
Callie Hanson responds:
Posted: September 3rd, 2009 at 10:43 pm →
Awesome!!! Love the picture. Love the story
Barbara Swafford responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 12:10 am →
Hi Vered,
Knowing you, I know the publication of this photo made you happy. Having read your previous posts about stick thin photoshopped women, seeing this photo almost calls for a celebration. Hopefully this photo becomes so popular the editors of fashion magazines will begin to listen to their readers and start showing more of what real women look like.
And, can you imagine what that could do for all the young girls who struggle with their body image? It could be life changing.
P.S. I really enjoyed Jeffrey’s comment. Hearing what a guy thinks of fashion magazines sheds new light on this whole issue – men aren’t being portrayed accurately, either. So sad!
Vered. Knowing how strongly you feel about this, I’m thinking you would be a great person to pick up the torch and go forward to be a voice for all women and men who are sick and tired of having fashion magazines dictate what’s “ideal”. You game?
Carla responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 12:15 am →
I stopped buying woman’s magazines a little over a year ago for those very reasons. @Nurit – Though I do agree that they can be shallow, whether or not it encourages women to “waste their time on unimportant things” is up to the woman – magazine or no magazine.
Though the photo is a step in the right direction, I think the industry and we as consumers have a long ways to go.
Robin responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 12:33 am →
An interesting story, Vered. It’s great that those women are reacting like this – and I agree with you that magazine photos do affect us, even though we may think they don’t (unless we don’t ever see them at all – I’ve stopped picking them up, even in waiting rooms).
Lance responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 1:36 am →
So…real is considered such an oddity that it spurs mass attention? Strange, isn’t it. As real is what we see when we look in the mirror in the morning, or when we walk down the street, or when we head off to the grocery store. And fake pulls us in…by it’s lure for that conceived notion that fake beats real. And to Jeffrey’s point – I think this is a much bigger issue for women than men because women as their bodies – much more idolized than men as their bodies. Sure, men’s magazines will too have airbrushed models. It seems much less prevalent – I just think of going to the grocery store and standing in line to checkout. What magazines are there? mostly women’s mags. With air brushed photos plastered on almost all the covers. Hmmm…. I’ll take real anyday….
Daphne @ Joyful Days responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 3:26 am →
I liked seeing the photo and hearing about the responses, especially since I don’t live in the US and am not up to date with events there. Way to go! Thanks Vered for this post.
Emily responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 4:00 am →
This is great that a non-skeletal model is being used in a magazine, but while people cheer on ‘real women’ what about men. If they get a bit of a belly or double chin, people will say that he has ‘let himself go’ but it’s okay for women. im just wondering what people think of my comment but im not having a go at ‘normal’ models (aka size 10+) because size 0 models are not right in magazines and catwalks. i am a model myself and completley agree that bigger is better so to speak:)
Els Withers responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 4:49 am →
Okay, I’m starting to figure out the rules here. If a size-4 model poses for a Vegas poster in her underwear she’s being exploited and objectified. If Milla Jovovitch takes pride in her post-childbirth figure, it’s a slap in the face to motherhood everywhere. If size-12 Lizzie Miller poses the for the camera in a G-string, it’s a beautiful celebration of womanhood. It all makes sense now. I can only imagine the reaction if Queen Latifah decided to pose nude (and hell, yeah, I’d buy that magazine).
Sure, I want size-12 and size-16 women to feel beautiful. But doesn’t a size-4 have the same right?
MomGrind responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 4:52 am →
@ Nurit: You’re raising excellent questions!
@ Jeffrey Levine: It’s interesting to hear from a guy. I agree that the average male form isn’t exactly celebrated by the media, but I think the pressure on women to look good is more intense – women, even today, are measured primarily by how they look and only then by other achievements. In another post, facts about women and body image,
I mention that 91% of all cosmetic procedures are done to women – this says a lot about the different amounts of pressure women are under.
@ Callie: Glad you enjoyed it.
@ Barbara Swafford: I like to think I already am doing this on this blog… one feminist blog post at a time.
@ Carla: I agree – there’s still a long way to go.
@ Robin: I’ve been trying to do the same, but then I stand at the checkout line at the supermarket and guess what I see.
@ Lance: I agree that this is a much bigger issue for women than men.
@ Daphne: Glad you enjoyed it.
@ Emily: Men are under pressure too, but I don’t think it’s as intense as the pressure women are under to look good, stay young looking etc. 91% of all cosmetic procedures are done to women – this says a lot. Facts about women and body image
@ Els Withers: I agree with RC’s response below.
Chase March responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 4:58 am →
Women are beautiful in all shapes and sizes. I know that my last girlfriend wouldn’t fit the typical cover girl image but to me she will continue to be the most beautiful person I’ve ever known. Beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder.
Thanks for sharing this image and your wise words.
maxolasersquad responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 5:23 am →
Human’s have been idolizing the human body with perceived “perfection” ever since the Greeks, and probably even before that. If it hasn’t come to a halt over the last ~3,000 years, it’s probably not going to suddenly come to a stop now.
Betsy Wuebker responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 5:47 am →
Hi Vered – Magazine publishers, celebrities and editorial staff, like other elements of the fashionista world, live in their own echo chamber. I think they do a great job of lip service to all of the sentiments about exploitation and depicting non-airbrushed reality. And then, they just do what they want to. Every once in a while they’ll throw the dog a bone, like they’ve done here with this photo.
Having worked in the fashion industry as a buyer in the late 70’s, I can tell you, all this is nothing new. There was Demi Moore’s pregnant cover on Vanity Fair. There was the first plus sized model who was lauded as a brave conquistadora, and all the buzz was that Lane Bryant customers could stop shaming themselves. Yet, there was Calvin Klein’s series of ads, and even worse shock series that you have referred to. There were the numerous editorial spreads that were coined “addict-chic” or “heroin chic.” The models are younger and younger, and tarted up more and more.
Somebody is buying this stuff and buying into this stuff. I don’t mean subscribers as much as I refer to the circle-jerk that advertisers, certain designers, celebrities and editors have going with every season. The phenomenon has bled from fashion to current events. These people are so used to deference, they now pontificate on everything, sometimes to great hilarity, and generally with very little logic or expertise. But ultimately, they’re tone deaf. Pick up a W or a Vogue and it’s the predictable same-old, same-old editorial calendar.
Barbara’s suggestion is a good one. Organizing subscriber boycotts, etc. can be very noisy tactics, but really have little effect. Advertisers will still make print buys part of their strategy, and images will always push the envelope to gain attention. But ultimately, the great victory will reside in beating them at their own game. I think, Vered, you’d make a great magazine editor. But wait, your reach can be much greater online than in print, without all the pitfalls, too. Keep at it! (I’m probably your oldest fan, LOL)
RC - RC Rambling responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 5:53 am →
I just popped back, because I was curious to see the comments this post would generate. If I might, I just want to respond to two of the comments.
@ Nurit I think we all, as humans, have one or two hobbies that could be labeled as “useless.” Reading a fashion magazine provides downtime for some. Even though I don’t tend to read them unless I’m stuck in a waiting room or the like, it is nice to just pick up something that will entertain me for a moment, and then not feel a loss to set it down once I’m called in for an appointment. Sometimes it allows my mind to contemplate other issues in life, since light reading doesn’t take much energy or thought.
@ Els Withers I don’t think that anyone is saying we shouldn’t celebrate bodies of any shape and size. I think the problem is with us ONLY celebrating the very small bodies (which is why this is such a novelty) – and how quickly one can get back to a small body after childbirth.
sandie responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 6:12 am →
Without offending anyone (maybe I will). I will see this image on a magazine, I will not buy it, I mean that woman is not inspiring, that belly is hanging down and she has huge thighs. She will only inspire women to accept themselves as big and not do anything to improve their bodies. I’I'll rather see airbrushed people, after all, I am used to seeing that and I know they are not perfect, but my eyes wants to see so.
Sally McGraw responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 6:41 am →
Just called attention to this photo and its associated hullabaloo over at my blog earlier this week, and was fascinated by the varied and passionate responses. My take? While it’s unfortunate and DEEPLY frustrating that magazines have been showing nothing but alarmingly thin women for years, it’s better to praise them now for what they’re doing right than shame them for what they’ve done wrong in the past. We’ve been livid about the state of modeling for eons, and what has it gotten us? More of the same. But in this case, the outpouring of support and enthusiasm over a single, gorgeous image is impossible to ignore and will clearly have an impact on future issues … of Glamour, at least. I don’t want to sound unbearably pollyanna-ish about it, but I think we’ll have more success changing this industry by embracing its positive steps than by shaming its negative ones.
People keep saying that this photo “isn’t enough.” Of course it isn’t enough. It’s just a start.
Don Mills Diva responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 6:56 am →
She looks freaking gorgeous to me.
Havign said that, I think the appeal of fashion magazines is in their aspirational element – they wouldn’t have the same appeal if everyone in them was a size 12 ansd looked like a normal woman. Maybe it’s sad but it’s true. I read them because I’m always trying to figure out ways to wear the newest trends and I consider the high fashion layouts as art, not as something meant to be worn or duplicated.
I do find it sad though that people think a size zero body with huge boobs is normal and actually occurs in nature – I think that’s more a Hollywood thing though…I don’t know…I wish I had the answers.
Dot responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 7:14 am →
I loved hearing from the men as well as reading the women’s comments. In my lifetime, the focus on women’s appearance has been very strong, going back well before I was born (in the 1940’s), while the addition of abnormal standards for men’s appearance is relatively recent. Until we can get men to stop being attracted to stick-thin women with big boobs, I think advertisers will continue to attract men using such women, and so-called “women’s” magazines will continue to tell us we must achieve that look if we want a man.
Els Withers responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 8:35 am →
@Dot: Hey, don’t try to pin this one on men. Trust me, I have never been particularly attracted to stick-thin women with big boobs. Advertisers in Glamour are not targeting men. And you can’t assume that Maxim reflects typical male preference any more than Glamour represents the typical female psyche. There are, however, plenty of both genders too easily susceptible to brainwashing.
Besides female body image, there are too many stupid messages in the media to keep count of. Torture keeps America safe, your car defines what kind of person you are, etc. I would love to see a new renaissance in the media celebrating all kinds of beauty (slender women are pretty enough, but it gets boring seeing the same thing all the time)–but I’m not optimistic. But, no matter what the media shows, whether you allow yourself to be brainwashed or not is up to you.
jelveh responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 8:46 am →
what can I say that has not been said before on this post…all I know is I am thankful that someone has decided to do this…having been over a size 12 most of my life & mostly a size 16 these days, I relate…now lets hope that there are more of these photos in more mags.
This is more of an issue here in the US I think, We lived in England the whole of last year & I noticecd that from the female anchors who looked very normal, with wrinkles & normal body shapes to magazine covers the English are nicer to women. One day we took the bus from Oxford where we lived to London and as we were getting closer to the city, there were these huge larger than live billboards of one of my favorite singers Beth Ditto, naked. she is rather lovely & ample like me, so I was loving the photos…the billborads were about the cover of a new magazine called LOVE here is the link http://www.themodernage.org/2009/02/13/beth-ditto-goes-nude-for-love-magazine/ as you can see from some of the comments to the photo, not all loved it. I do not think it ever made it to the US.
Funny SAD story about size and clothes, the numbers/image game, my mom-in law is a size 4 on a good day, the fact that I am not and never will be, stresses her out to no end and has for many many years. Last year I got her this very yummy very expensive designer top from a posh store in London. Even though it fits her, she refuses to wear it, because the size on the label says 8, 8 is the smallet size (in numbers) you can buy in England, but not the acutal size 8 as we know it, the top is a size 2-4 in US numbers, but in her mind, she can not wear a size 8, she is not a size 8, therefore the top must be too big for her, which is not.
This top pretty much ruined Christmas last year. She was so offended by it…she is 63, goes to jazzersize 5 times a week, back in the day she started the first chapter of NOW at West Point and in Colorado, she still fights for women’s rights, but she does not get how she herself is brainwashed with the numbers/image game…
Jelveh
Peace
MomGrind responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 9:10 am →
@ Chase March: “Women are beautiful in all shapes and sizes.” Amen.
@ maxolasersquad: We should still try.
@ Betsy Wuebker: The fashion world is a very twisted world, isn’t it. Scary. I plan to keep contributing through this blog. It may make just a tiny difference to just one woman at a time, but that’s enough for me.
@ RC: I love your response to Els. Thank you.
@ sandie: “that woman is not inspiring” – apparently, to countless women, she is.
@ Sally McGraw: I agree – it’s just a start.
@ Don Mills Diva: Fashion magazines are selling a fantasy, but I think the fantasy is becoming more and more detached from reality, and I find it to be a dangerous trend.
@ Dot: I think the pressure is becoming more and more intense as the years go by, and the standards are becoming less and less attainable, unless plastic surgery is involved.
@ jelveh: Wow, the story of your mother in law and the British-size-8 top is amazing!
Bonnie | FaithBarista responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 9:31 am →
It is so weird that in America, I feel short and flat, looking at the magazines. But, in Asia, I feel fat and too dark looking at those magazines. Wherever I go, women area always feeling they fall short physically, while for men, it’s a non-issue. I do love Lizzie’s picture, though.. her happy eyes and smile.
Marelisa responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 9:38 am →
I think she looks beautiful. I also think that the ones perpetuating the myth that women have to look a certain way are mostly other women. Here in Panama when you go out other women look you up and down and study every last inch of your body and everything you’re wearing. Men don’t do that.
NikLP responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 9:46 am →
What a beautiful picture, and a beautiful woman. I’m so happy to see this. The incongruities between reality and what the fashion industry “tells us to like” are so obvious and pathetic it makes me mad. Take a moment to compare a glamour model with a fashion model – why should they be so different? Women are so misrepresented, it’s no wonder there’s confusion about sexism.
@NikLP (male)
Emily responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 10:18 am →
Wow
do you know what? my stomach is very similar to hers having had 3 children. I have always been upset and embarressed because it doesn’t live up to the ‘ideal’. I have never worn a bikini since childbirth, but seeing how beautiful she looks, i think, what the heck, i might just do it!!! Thanks x
Jannie Funster responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 10:42 am →
Her belly looks like mine! She is gorgeous.
I stopped buying womens’ magazines years ago.
How did we ever get to the point of letting advertizers stuff this down our throats? I think it’s a man thing. I remember some shallow guys in my earlier years all crazy for perfect beauty, expecting that’s what women should be. That skewed attitude gets perpetuated by men who control the movie industry, men who in my opinion need a dose of reality – like maybe doing something nice for someone for a change rather than dissing anything less than “perfection” in the female form.
Katherine SOLO dot MOM responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 10:50 am →
Yes I had seen this pic a few weeks ago and was impressed with the media attention for her “normalcy” and beauty all at the same time.
I hope more girls realize – they are beautiful … and each of us are different, yet beautiful… instead of trying to achieve that barbie-doll fantasy.
Els Withers responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 11:14 am →
@Jannie: I repeat, it is not a “man thing”. Did you actually read the story that went with the picture? And I doubt that everyone in the movie business is a heartless bastard (clueless, maybe). I believe they eliminated the “crush a puppy” part of the job interview years ago.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 2:19 pm →
@ Bonnie: “Wherever I go, women are always feeling they fall short physically.” Exactly.
@ Marelisa: Women can be very cruel and unforgiving towards other women, but not all women do this. I agree that the first step in liberating ourselves from these stereotypes is starting to treat each other with love and respect. I believe it’s possible. While in a patriarchal society women are trained to see each other as “competition,” I believe we can and should retrain ourselves to see other women, and treat them, as allies.
@ NikLP: Lizzie Miller IS a beautiful woman.
@ Emily: This is exactly why showing women of all sizes and shapes is so important.
@ Jannie Funster: She IS gorgeous, isn’t she?
@ Katherine: I hope so too.
mark responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 3:36 pm →
she looks horrible, what is that? a beer belly?
Verlin responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 4:47 pm →
Amen, great story!!
Hayden Tompkina responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 5:22 pm →
I was a little sad, however, that they put her in a pretty unflattering pose. I never see regular fashion photos at that angle. I really wanted to see a regular sized women working her inner diva.
Evelyn Lim responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 5:38 pm →
Thanks for posting the picture and what the fuss is about. I am just wondering if the next step should be featuring an even more ordinary looking woman with her belly.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 9:00 pm →
Thanks, Verlin!
@ Hayden Tompkins: I guess the idea was to show her exactly like this and yet presented as beautiful and attractive.
@ Evelyn Lim: Interesting. I agree that except for her weight, Miller conforms in every other way – she’s young and very pretty.
Stacey / Create a Balance for Moms responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 9:38 pm →
It’s a turning point…but it’s still a naked woman in a magazine. This is my first time hearing about the ad and I have no idea what she is trying to sell…but I don’t understand why she needs to be naked for whatever she is trying to sell. A turning point, maybe, but a bizarre turning point to say the least. Thanks for sharing.
Rowe responds:
Posted: September 4th, 2009 at 11:13 pm →
Now if we could just convince all those Penthouse and Playboy models, porn stars and pole dancers to stop posing for photos and prancing around in their teeny weeny outfits as well, … but will that ever be possible. These images also distort what being a sexy woman represents. Nothing wrong with a little sex appeal, but it comes in all shapes and sizes, and is not confined to the overly processed, plastic pouting-faced, bimbo-dyed blonde mane, oversized silicon-filled breasted woman, to look sexy. And thanks for nothing, Barbie, you did me no favours when as a five year old you first came into my life and forever disappointed me that I would never look as perfect as you, until I realised how plastic, fake, and vacuous you were. I was then able to see you as nothing more than a male constructed fantasy. But why do we continue to give dolls like this to five year old girls?
Cath Lawson responds:
Posted: September 5th, 2009 at 4:58 am →
At last – a pic of what really happens to your stomach when you have kids.
This is great Vered and I’m glad Lizzie had the courage to do this. But I still don’t think she’s a great example of the average woman. I had to check the sizing – because she looks more like a UK 12 (US
than an American 12 – 14. And it was then that I realized she is 5ft 11, so she’s going to look a lot thinner.
I’m 5ft 3.5 and I’ve put weight on in recent years but I’m a US 8. Lizzie Miller is two to three sizes bigger than me but she still looks thinner because she’s tall. Few “normal” women are that tall.
One Happy Dog Speaks » Blog Archive » Loving Your Body responds:
Posted: September 5th, 2009 at 5:08 am →
[...] I was just amazed when I read THIS POST at Mom Grind. Take a look at the picture of the ‘model’. Notice the tummy. Seriously… and the [...]
Dr. J responds:
Posted: September 5th, 2009 at 8:03 am →
I agree with what you wrote, Vered! I am reminded of the thinking that one would be wise not to feel to elated when receiving a compliment, and not too depressed when receiving an insult. Why we have given up so much of our personal power to the whims of others, I’m not sure. There is probably an evolutionary component, but free will was also bestowed.
Janice Cartier responds:
Posted: September 5th, 2009 at 8:50 am →
She looks like an artists’ model. Gorgeous. Regular, real, beautiful lines.
Nice to see this.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: September 5th, 2009 at 8:57 am →
@ Stacey: It wasn’t an ad. I believe the photo was used to illustrate a piece on feeling comfortable in your own skin.
@ Rowe: Loved your comment… you should write a feminist blog.
And of course, I couldn’t agree more about Barbie and the damage she does to little girls’ body image. It amazes me that so many people continue to claim it’s all completely innocent and harmless.
@ Cath Lawson: I agree that Lizzie Miller doesn’t represent the average woman. It’s not just her height – she’s also young and very pretty. But it’s still a step in the right direction.
@ Dr. J: “Why we have given up so much of our personal power to the whims of others, I’m not sure.” EXACTLY. Trying to exercise free will on this blog.
@ Janice Cartier: She does look like a n artists’ model.
The Stiletto Mom responds:
Posted: September 5th, 2009 at 12:56 pm →
I couldn’t agree more with this post. I saw her interviewed and she is a healthy, fit girl unlike those that starve themselves to be a negative zero and usually get most of the praise.
BunnygotBlog responds:
Posted: September 5th, 2009 at 4:53 pm →
Bravo Verde,
This is a great article and one long over due. Leave it to you to speak up. Well thank you for doing so.
The girl is beautiful and this is what our younger sisters need to see more of.
Jojo responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 1:27 am →
This picture would normally be deemed as not perfect enough, but i truly think its beautiful and it is so touching to think that the rest of us not so perfect mortals (and im a standard size 12 at 5′7″) can feel we are sort of acceptable as we are, rather than trying to compete with an airbrushed image which refuses to celebrate a womans body in its natural form. I think this picture should win awards and i take my hat off to the model and people who published this its truly beautiful and so very natural – thank you
Friar responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 7:20 am →
This is a good start.
Now, if we can also do the same thing, for those @$* Men’s Fitness Magazines.
We less-than-perfect guys are bombarded by unrealistic expectations, too. For example:
Mens Fitness Magazine
Ooh. Look. If you get a hard body like that guy on the cover, then apparently 9877 women will want you.
Not 9500, or 10,000. But 9877.
Oooh, I better start dieting and taking steroids, so I can look like that so the opposite sex will accept me.
MommyNamedApril responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 7:35 am →
love this picture… but i do wish she had just a *little* bit of cellulite
Jannie Funster responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 9:00 am →
@ Els Withers: I was responding directly to Vered’s question, “How did we allow all that to happen?”
The above was my opinion, as is this comment. I had enough heartache and mean comments in college at not being a perfect one, compared to the gorgeous women. I think college guys get this directly from the movie industry standards.
Tess The Bold LIfe responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 9:23 am →
Vared
I agree stop putting our money where the unrealistic bodies are. My grandduaghter reads the magazines and I want to comment and stop it but my daughter reminded me a long time ago I raised my kids and this is her turn so but out. So I remind myself my only job is to love her and it can’t get much better than that. My love is stronger than the magazines!
MomGrind responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 10:01 am →
@ The Stiletto Mom: I agree that Lizzie Miller is probably healthier than a model who starves herself and goes on extreme diets to stay skinny.
@ BunnygotBlog: She IS beautiful.
@ Jojo: Yes, normally her tummy would have been airbrushed. I agree that this type of photo helps non-skinny women feel that they are okay just the way they are.
@ Friar: Agreed – there’s pressure on men to “look good” too, however the pressure on women has always been more intense, and the focus on how women look (as opposed to what they do or other achievements) a bigger part of women’s identity.
@ MommyNamedApril: I actually wondered about that – her skin looks so smooth, I suspect there might have been SOME airbrushing involved.
@ Tess: “My love is stronger than the magazines!” I certainly hope so.
Leah responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 10:04 am →
Wow, am I glad or what. I am a teenager who lives in Ireland and I’ve only heard about this now and I am simply delighted. I don’t buy magazines because I hate seeing all the air-brushed and starved models pouting through pages and pages. I’ll be honest – I have been constantly tempted time and time again to drop three sizes so I could be a zero.
It’s become something that every girl must be and I am horrified and ashamed to admit that it has happened to me. I’ve become fixated on looking like those models. But then I heard about this picture and I smiled when I saw it and it makes me feel hopeful that maybe someday everyone will realise how stupid it was to try and become so skinny when in reality the average size of a woman should be around a 12-14. So a massive thank you to you, Vered, for posting this and letting me read it. Hopefully I’ll come back to my senses soon enough, too!
Els Withers responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 10:09 am →
@Jannie:
Thanks for your reply. And here’s how I see it: If college guys are responsible (and I think they are) for choosing to accept or reject the messages projected at them by the media, then aren’t women also responsible for choosing to accept or reject the message projected by fashion magazines?
Speaking as one of those people having a face like a horse, I know what it’s like to be on the wrong side of a standard of beauty. I also learned later in life that more than half of beauty is embodied in a person’s attitude about him- or herself. (On a related note, see my post about Stacy and Clinton versus Descartes.)
Julia responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 1:19 pm →
I always thought my stomach was gross but seeing this makes me realise that other people look like this too. I’d like to see more of this in the future, it’s good to make realistic comparisons.
MomGrind responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 5:11 pm →
@ Leah: I completely agree: Lizzie Miller in Glamour is inspiring. I think all of us feel the pressure to look like the women we see in magazines, because they are presented as the “ideal” which means we are not, which in turn sends us to buy whatever products the ads in magazines are selling to help us look “better.” It’s a lucrative business for sure, but women pay the price – and not just the price of the products.
@ Julia: I’d like to see more pictures like this too, and I’m pretty sure we will – the reactions to it were too strong for magazine editors to ignore (I hope).
Michelle @ Find Your Balance responds:
Posted: September 6th, 2009 at 7:39 pm →
Wow, thanks for posting this. I too have given up women’s magazines and I never would have seen this. Amazing how *shocking* it is to see a real woman. It reminds me of Mad Men…we are watching season 2 where there is a fashion show and the models wearing bikinis are definitely nowhere as thin as the models we see today!
The Lawyer Mom responds:
Posted: September 7th, 2009 at 5:47 pm →
I don’t know who this Lizzie person is, but I’m jealous. Sorry, Vered, but my de-programming isn’t finished yet. It may never be.
“But this is all about money, and the huge publicity Glamour received from this photo pretty much guarantees that we are going to see more images like this one in the near future.” I hope you’re right, at least on the second count.
Jools responds:
Posted: September 13th, 2009 at 5:02 am →
Great post! I just recently became aware of this image and I blogged about it too!
The more publicity this gets the better. And I completely agree that it’s such a shame this photo is so
’special’ but as you say, a giant leap in the right direction!
Thanks for visiting…, and for the comments | Exit78 responds:
Posted: September 30th, 2009 at 8:04 pm →
[...] Lizzie Miller in Glamour Magazine: I Just Wish This Photo Wasn’t So Special [...]
In support of the everysize girl « Half Baked, Twice as Good responds:
Posted: November 4th, 2009 at 2:00 pm →
[...] 4, 2009 There’s a great discussion going on over at BlogHer today about Glamour magazine’s plus-sized photo shoot. I highly suggest you check out the discussion, because not only is it informative, it also really [...]
MomGrind: Best of 2009 | Blogger For Hire responds:
Posted: December 31st, 2009 at 7:01 am →
[...] Lizzie Miller in Glamour Magazine. Ghostwriter Sean Platt emailed me the story, and I responded with “I don’t know, [...]
dre responds:
Posted: March 4th, 2010 at 5:03 am →
She is very beautifull but the stomach is a total turn off. Im not saying whats wrong or right, its just how i feel (she we can yap on about the media planting images in my head but i cant change that now).
The rest of her is fine so shes obviously not fat from birth or lazy (why do so few women complain about being overwright, then eat chocolate cake to make themselves feel better and then not do any sport?) and she looks healthy so none of those are the cause. If its because of childbirth then fair enough, but like i said, it ruins an otherwise absolutely stunning body.