Magazines Graciously Feature Plus Size Freaks

With the series of sudden deaths of skinny models and the realization that not all women are a size 2, magazines have decided to feature plus size models.

Take a quick tour of Glamour Magazine’s website and you’ll find a section called “Body Image.” There you will find pictures of plus-sized women and Body-Confidence Secrets. At first I was very happy to see this page, and I thought to myself “Hey, we’re making progress.” But after thinking about it for a few seconds, I realized that this is the opposite of progress.

Look at the women in the “Body Image” photo gallery. Doesn’t anyone realize that these women are still quite thin? Obesity is becoming the norm in the U.S but “plus-sized” women are still treated as abnormal. They are still the exception.

When women’s magazines try to put themselves in a good light by showing us pictures of plus-sized women, what they’re really doing is treating them like crap. These women are defined exclusively by their jeans size, adding to an even more ridiculous focus on weight. Any woman that wears above a size 2 is put in a special place for heavier women but is seen nowhere else in the magazine. What about the makeup or fashion sections? Apparently only thin women have nice lipstick or clothes. Featuring plus sized women in magazines is becoming more like telling everyone you have a black friend to prove you’re not racist.

This trend continues when it comes to celebrities. Glamour and Cosmo’s celebrity beauty sections feature Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Rihanna, all women whose size represents 20 percent of the U.S population. Larger women like Queen Latifah and Jessica Simpson are displayed like circus freaks.

Women are still being told that being a size zero is normal. The only thing most women’s magazines are doing to change that is to say “fat women exist too, but they’re still the exception.” Meanwhile, women are standing in the grocery lines look at the cover magazines where super skinny actresses go out of their way to show themselves eating fattening food.

The only thing left to believe is that big hips and belly fat are our fault. If Kim Kardashian can eat ice cream and still look like that, I must be doing something wrong. What magazines don’t show is the money celebs spend on personal trainers and chefs that will cook them a perfectly healthy meal that doesn’t taste like cardboard.

Hey, Cosmo, the next time you want to become a champion of positive body images, why don’t you show plus sized women doing something other than being plus sized.

Contact the author here: JennY@morningquickie.com