Positive Body Image Tidbits
"I'll Never Look Like Those Models in the Magazines!"
Have you ever said or thought this? Usually it's followed by a sigh and a trip to the cookie jar. Well, I'm here to give you the hard truth. Ready? You're absolutely right, you never will look like the models in the magazines...
It's not because of your genetics, what you eat, how much exercise you get, and especially not because of your perceived lack of willpower...
It's because the models themselves don't even look like their own pictures in the magazines!
This interactive display shows you in detail what had to be done to a model (a young one, too!) to make her picture ready for publication. Check it out for yourself (it takes time for it to load, so be patient - it's worth the wait!).
This blog post gives a bunch of other places you can go to see more examples of retouching.
Everyone is Talking About "The Woman on pg. 194"...
I believe the tide is starting to turn. Finally. I don't read many magazines because I am not interested in reading about how so-and-so lost 10 pounds in a week or the new "fat-burning" workout, or basically all the things that are wrong with me. Eat this, do that exercise, be this kind of parent, do this for beautiful hair, it goes on and on.
But...Glamour Magazine recently included an awesome picture of a very "normal" woman who looks very comfortable in her body. And this picture was part of an article on body acceptance - not a topic you see everyday on the newsstands. Cindi Leive, Editor-in-Chief of Glamour, who wrote the article, was inundated with messages from woman thanking her for publishing a picture of a woman who they can relate to.
Check it out and be sure to read the whole article because the woman in the picture had some comments about the excitement of her picture. If you are so moved, please leave a comment at the end of the article. Right now as I look at that page there are quite a few "catty" comments going on among a few people. No one needs that negativity. Also, at the end of the article is a link to take you to the actual article in Glamour which is also a good read.
Have You Heard of PLUS Model Magazine?
One of the members of the Intuitive Eating Support Yahoo Group posted a link to this YouTube video. Until seeing the video, I had not heard of PLUS Model Magazine. All the magazines I know of that promote self-acceptance at any size (and usually they don't have a model under a size 12) have disappeared. I just found out that Figure stopped publishing earlier this year.
Anyway, this magazine appears to be more of an industry publication, for plus-sized models (can we come up with a better name than "plus-sized"?). But I think it would be worth buying or subscribing to as a reminder to yourself that all women are beautiful and honestly, I think these women are much more beautiful than a lot of the models in the popular women's magazines. Check out the video, you will love it!
By the way, if you have any recommendations for magazines, please let me know. I do hope there are still some out there. | 
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