Out of Control Fatroll

You may recall a few weeks ago, I did an analysis on singer Kelly Clarkson and her recent (or not so recent) weight gain.

I guess a week or so after I wrote that, she was featured on the cover of Self Magazine looking skinnier than her Idol days, despite the fact she was photographed earlier that month at a Good Morning America concert looking much bigger.

What followed was a botched attempt at damage control by the Self editor-in-chief, Lucy Danziger on the Today Show and Self’s blog network (thanks @maryamelia28 for flagging this a few weeks ago for us).

For a magazine that “promotes” confidence and looking your best no matter what, trying to justify Photoshop is absolutely ridiculous AND the reason why young girls (and people like myself) have such unrealistic expectations about what they should look like.

Read this contradicting piece of information from the editor herself:

Did we alter her appearance? Only to make her look her personal best. Did we publish an act of fiction? No. Not unless you think all photos are that. But in the sense that Kelly is the picture of confidence, and she truly is, then I think this photo is the truest we have ever put out there on the newsstand. I love her spirit and her music and her personality that comes through in our interview in SELF. She is happy in her own skin, and she is confident in her music, her writing, her singing, her performing. That is what we all relate to. Whether she is up or down in pounds is irrelevant (and to set the record straight, she works out and does boot-camp-style training, so she is as fit as anyone else we have featured in SELF). Kelly says she doesn’t care what people think of her weight. So we say: That is the role model for the rest of us.

So, if she truly exudes confidence, works out just as hard as anyone else featured in the magazine AND she doesn’t care what people think of her weight, why on earth did you not publish the original photo as-is? The editor also claims that the silk blouse she was wearing on the cover was quite unforgiving… then put her in something else!! How insulting that her “personal best” isn’t even really her.

Point being, you have a responsibility to your readers to truly advocate what you preach in your articles. Instead, you look like a bunch of hypocrites. The editor goes so far to say that she had her marathon finisher photo re-touched because she didn’t like the way her hips look. You just ran 26.2 miles, idiot. No one looks particularly glamorous after that. BE HAPPY IN YOUR OWN SKIN.  Also, be sure read the comments in her blog post where the editor gets ripped a new one by readers. It’s awesome.

And I’m not buying Self again.

A magazine I will be purchasing moving forward? Glamour because of its awesome portrayal of what is now known as the Page 194 Girl. Late last week, a 3×3 inch photo of a woman named Lizzie Miller was on page 194 in this month’s issue of Glamour and it set the blogosphere abuzz. Dressed only in underwear, this woman looks NORMAL. I don’t think I’ve seen a portrait like this since nude posing in the 18^th century. She has a pooch, her thighs aren’t the size of a Barbie – it’s incredibly refreshing to see a real woman photographed. And she’s smiling and beautiful.

Better yet, compare the comments in the blog post by Glamour’s editor to Self’s. It’s clear that women (and men) have had enough of ridiculous expectations of female beauty. And her appearance on the Today show was awesome, calling her appearance in Glamour “a game changer” for the industry.

Even classic supermodels like Cindy Crawford and photographers like Peter Lindbergh are sick of airbrushing, photoshopping and the like. In the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar, Crawford, Amber Valletta, Helena Christensen and Claudia Schiffer are all photographed without any retouching. Dang. That is true beauty. And really good photography – which seems to be lost since the advent of Photoshop.

So what is the lesson in all of this? Be proud of your body and don’t let anyone else tell you differently. Yes, if you need to lose weight – do it to be healthy, not to adhere to the ridiculous standards set forth by advertisers/publishing industry. You’ll spend too much time being unhappy and not enough time treasuring the gorgeous you.