Snapshot: What do you think?
19 Aug
The woman in this picture is causing a quite a stir. Why do you think that is? Where do you think this image appeared?
Hold on to your undies girls — her image appeared in the September issue of Glamour Magazine.
According to Editor-In-Chief Cindy Leive, the magazine was immediately bombarded with letters and emails shouting pure joy. Think about how monumental this really is — have you ever seen an image of a normal woman's body in a fashion magazine? I sure as hell haven't.
Here's the story behind the picture; Lizzi Miller is a plus sized model (size 12-14 or "normal" sized woman) chosen for an article about "feeling comfortable in your own skin," which she sure as hell does.
As for the letters, Lizzi's loving them;
"When I read them I got
teary-eyed. I've been that girl, flipping through magazines
trying to find just one person who looked a little bit like me. And
when I didn't find it I would start to think there's something wrong
with the way that I looked. When J. Lo and Beyoncé came out and were
making curves sexy, I started to accept myself more. It's funny, but
just seeing them look and feel sexy enabled me to do the same."
So now tell me, do you feel better or worse about yourself after viewing Lizzie's photo?
-mV
No related posts.
She’s beautiful, but I don’t feel any worse or better about myself for seeing it. Stopped comparing myself long ago.
I just love it from the perspective that it is much more real, natural, organic than so many of the torturous fashion images we see.
Finally! Beautiful!
She looks great and seeing this makes me feel happy.
I feel worse. At 5’9 and 110 lbs. I feel that I look like her-that is a fear of mine. I praise her for being so comfortable and happy and able to do this, but that does not change how I feel, sorry.
I feel better. I do. When I saw that photo, I thought if she is beautiful, then maybe I am, too. She’s heavier than I am, and yet she looks happy and confident. That makes me feel good.
I agree with Julie. I don’t think you should be asking people how they feel about themselves after viewing this photo- wouldn’t you like women to stop comparing themselves to others no matter what their size? I do believe Lizzie is absolutely beautiful and it’s a step forward in accepting beauty at any size, but asking people how they feel after seeing Glamour’s photo is inadvertently asking them to compare themselves to the subject.
i’m with most of the other commentators- it sends a positive message to be normal, but does not change the image of myself.
As I have said many times, I think that the issues underlying eating disorders are biological and genetic. Photographs of normal models, too thin models, average models, won’t change how one views themselves if they have one, and I speak from experience.
I think this ad is positive- but won’t change anyone in the throws of an eating disorder either way
I agree with Julie and MCP. Seeing the photo does not affect me personally.
My first reaction upon seeing this, was that the picture was photoshopped. I am not being negative, but realistically, it seemed to me that the top and bottom of her body did not match because it of the different tones of her skin. Also, again, not being negative, but it seemed that proportionally, the top area (ie: her arms) seem smaller than the bottom.
The reason I thought it was photoshopped- as a first reaction- was because magazines commonly do photoshop pictures to make them look thinner than in reality. And seeing how magazines commonly make fun of female bodies that are not thin enough to the magazines’ standards, I thought maybe they were making fun of the proportions of ALL women’s bodies who were not perfectly equal. I thought that they wanted to make all women who are not stick figures (which is most of the female population) feel bad.
It seemed like such a typical thing a magazine would do- to want to make fun of the natural proportions of women’s bodies- and I thought this message was ridiculous.
I was not used to seeing a picture of a completely natural woman in magazines- and I think a lot of people were not. On a positive note, this step to show natural naked women, instead of showing photoshophed, unnatural, stick figures seems like a positive step on behalf of the magazines.
However, I know the magazine was trying to prove a good point and that Lizzi Miller really feels good about herself, but I still don’t think it was absolutely imperative that she pose naked (even though we don’t see all of her body).
I know that sometimes more extreme measures, like showing an exposed woman’s body to the audience, will catch more attention and illicit a stronger reaction, but I still don’t think it was necessary for Lizzie Miller to agree to show this much of her body. (But maybe this magazine has such standards already, and the audience is used to seeing so much skin? And maybe it was therefore needed to prove the point?)
Thank god! It’s finally time to celebrate some body type other than that of a 15-year-old with the BMI of an anorexic patient!
I feel much worse actually.
Although logically I know I don’t look like her but I’m scared.
In all honesty, when I first saw this picture I saw her face and thought WOW, she is so happy and glowing! I want to have a face like that and then I saw her body and thought how do those two go together? How is she so comfortable in her own skin? I applaud her for being able to do this, but it makes me wonder what her secret is!
I think she’s beautiful.
I think she’s much more attractive than I am, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that she is able to accept herself and it shows on her face.
I feel slightly worse.
She’s beautiful, but I don’t think I’d necessarily want to see her in a fashion magazine. I read magazines to see thin, fit women so that I can be inspired to eat healthy and exercise. This woman does not inspire me. And we have no idea if she is happy.
I find it depressing that her body shape is still viewed as “plus size”…
But she’s beautiful. Her thighs and bum in particular just look wonderfully womanly.
I prefer to see people dressed.
Fantastic! But if SHE is considered “plus sized” then the fashion industry still has a loooooong way to go.
Ditto Foodie. That was my first thought.
I smiled. She looks so happy in her skin. I wish that I could feel that way all the time. I wish I could feel beautiful. While, at the same time, the idea of a size 12 terrifies, the concept behind the picture–and the woman’s size–is amazing, acceptance, pride, happiness…..
i don’t know whats wrong with me, that i am looking at this photo wondering “what is retouched?”. because she doesn’t look like a size 14 to me. i assume like, size 8 a lingerie model. i think i’m kind of warped now,reality doesn’t look like reality to me anymore.
Hey Mrs. B: And what about the thong?? I just don’t get it, and it really makes me feel like a grandma!!
(Hey- I turned 40 yesterday!!)
mV
@MamaV – I’m about to turn 30, thongs make no sense to me either. Like dental floss for your arse. ;o)
On a better and brighter note, hope you had a great birthday! x
YAY!!
My tummy!!!
I have never understood thongs. bottoms need more support. I see so many thin young women with bottoms flopping around under their pants. I always want to introduce them to Spanx! Spanx and push up bras are women’s best friends!
Oh, and happy birthday, Heather. I turned 51 in June. You’re just getting started.
BTW everyone. Jessica won several sales awards at work this summer, and her boss told her that she is the “head honcho” of hostesses. She’s doing great. She starts her new semester at school next week. She’s very excited. Life can get better, ladies. You just have to take recovery seriously. Your life depends on it. Both your spiritual and your mental life.
Sharon’s idea that it looks photoshopped because the upper body looks smaller… well, the top half of my body is a size or two smaller than the lower half. Could just be how she carries her weight.
Looking at Lizzie’s photo just shows me that my views of size and weight are way off. atleast when it comes to photos. (it’s the same with women on tv or in movies) I would have easily said her body looks about the same as mine and my boyfriend thought the same. Neither of us would have guessed she was a plus sized model or a size 12-14. I’m a size 4-6.
My boyfriend’s first reaction to the photo was “She’s naked and has extra skin on her tummy.”
Shinobu,
If you read further on in my post, I do say that naturally, women’s body are not perfectly proportional and I agree that this is good and natural. My point was that magazines do not show natural women too much and I am happy that they have shown Lizzie natural and not photoshopped. But because I had not seen too many natural women in magazines, my initial reaction was that it is photoshopped. (Also, the thin red line of her thong creates a separation on her body. I had not known it was a thong.)
This image scares me….i feel like it looks like me, and that is horrifying.
Just being honest.
It made me feel a little better about myself, but I still have an ED and its not so easy as to look at a picture to overcome it. *sigh* i wish it were that easy =/
Amen Amber.
I am with u!
theres a lot of ambers here aren’t there? im gonna pitch in again, because i agree with you. if i were her size, id probably commit suicide. i would be hopeless, terrified, and disgusted with my self. id feel like ive lost everything ive worked for, but i find the person in the picture attractive. i don’t understand how i can accept her, and hate myself.
Ya, i know!
I have friends and family who are her size and larger and i would never consider them fat…but, i would always say that i am overweight (when in reality i am much smaller).
What is with that?
How is it that we can accept over weight (or normal weight) people in out lives without judgment, but we cannot be that kind to ourselves?
So frustrating. When i am with friends or family and i mention how disgusting i feel they are always insulted! “if you think your fat, then what am i’?? In reality i think they look great and i love them for who they are, while i would NEVER accept myself if i looked anything near as heavy…ugh
better better better!
I would feel even better if the media would stop referring to NORMAL people as ‘plus-size’.
Tanya,
Agreed!
Why is it whenever i read a mag and girls like Kim Kardashian say ‘i know i am curvy…i am not skinny..’
WTF?? SHE IS NOT NORMAL SIZED, OR CURVY! She is 100 pounds..christ.
Then Jessica Simpson is called fat, when in reality she 130 pounds??
I feel horrible. When I saw this picture I found myself saying the one thing I hate to hear. “She has a beautiful face.” That comment hurts and is said to me all the time. That is probably why I automatically judged her and said the same thing. I saw her belly and thought “yuck, gross, not pretty at all, damaged.” Shame on me. Shame on society for teaching me to think that!
She still looks airbrushed to me, which would make it not a real image.
she makes me feel fat
I would have to lose a lot of weight before I’d look like that
and her skin is far too flawless
*jealousy*