Wednesday, September 23, 2009

This Is What I Hate


Although there will be some trashing of Jennifer Love Hewitt in this post, my rant has more to do with the publishers of magazines and specifically Shape and Self. Each month on their covers these two magazines generally have a picture of a woman on the cover who looks toned and fit and perfect. I understand about photoshopping and airbrushing and that is how the game is played. Fine.

But if you are going to do that don't run an article in your pages about the person on the cover that talks about how she got this perfect body by diet and exercise because it isn't true. Yes, Jennifer Love Hewitt diets and exercises but she doesn't look like the person you have put on your cover and I especially hate it when you have a sample diet inside that makes it seem like you will look like her when you have completed the diet.

The picture on the cover is not Jennifer Love Hewitt. Yes it is technically her, but the parts that most people find difficult to look at in the mirror are not her own. She is not flawless but the cover and the article make it seem like you will look flawless if you follow the diet or do what Jennifer does. You won't though because even the subject of the article doesn't look like the image portrayed on the cover.

Jennifer Love Hewitt famously exploded two years ago when people said she was fat in her bikini. She wasn't fat at all. She looked great. She said the whole thing was unfair and that people should be judged for who they are and not what they look like. Fine. From now on when you agree to do a cover of a magazine in a bikini, make sure as part of your agreement that no airbrushing or photoshopping is done to your picture because if you do, then you are being a hypocrite and not having people focus on you but some imagined perception and feeding the stereotype that you said was wrong. Be proud of who you are and if you want the world to change, then you need to be part of the solution and not adding to the problem.

27 comments:

Housey said...

A-freakin-men.

Sarah said...

And this is why I'm scared to death for my daughter to grow up in this world that is so fed up.
When will stick thin go out of style??

KellyLynn said...

I couldn't agree more.

Terri said...

I agree!

BlahFrickinBlah said...

"Take an inch off your hips!"....with photoshop....

Sarah, I'm glad I have boys. I don't think stick thin will ever be out of style. I thought for a second it was going to go with the whole 'big ass' trend but I guess not. :(

Anonymous said...

Blah -- boys aren't immune to the "stick thin is beautiful" ideology that Hollywood perpetuates. I took my 13 year old nephew to the beach earlier this month and he commented that a teenage girl should "cover up her jiggles and dimples" if she was to be on the beach. The girl had a small pooch and couldn't have been larger than a size 6/8. I told him there was nothing wrong with her body and that she was a normal, healthy size, but he honestly thought she was fat. When I talked to my sister about it, she had no idea he thought that way. :(

Pookie said...

i'm betting the non-photoshopped version of that pic will be leaked before we know it...

*Miss_P* said...

Well said Enty!

Marna Palmer said...

Thank you Enty! As someone who struggled with eating disorders this kind of crap makes me CRAZY. When I was getting lots of compliments and was super skinny, I WAS MISERABLE. It's not worth putting your body through what these hollywood people do and actresses allowing themselves to be photoshopped continue to perpetrate this myth. (Not saying J Hew does anything unhealthy, just agreeing that her body looks flawless and will send the wrong message)

sunnyside1213 said...

I appluad Kate Winslet who did a recent photo shoot and did not allow photoshopping. She looked great and natural .

ItsJustMe said...

You rock, Enty.

whole lotto luv said...

I remember a couple years ago when jezebel did a numbered analysis of the before and after photos used for a Faith Hill cover for Redbook. Hill was 40, already beautiful, but Redbook just had to make her perfect and erase any signs she was over the age of 20.

I hope jezebel gets their hands on the original of this one.

bionic bunny! said...

she did lose weight after all the "big butt" comments, in spite of her defending her size. she may be a weirdo, but i've always thought she was adorable.
and blah, boys also suffer with body image. for some reason we just don't hear about it as much.
at 13 my son wanted to go on a diet in spite of my assurances that would hit a growth spurt any minute now, just as i did at that age. and yes, he sprouted about 9 inches and then had trouble putting weight ON-- although i've noticed he's gained some sympathy baby weight finally, 15 years later!

roxy said...

Thank you Enty for this well written piece. To add to what you are saying: Nothing about any magazine is designed to help/encourage/get you fit/ etc, magazines are around to sell things. Period. They are marketing tools, used to get people to spend their money. They promote an image and an ideal, that advertising and marketing people spend millions of dollars to try and figure out. Airbrushing is justified by these publishers, as a means to promote whatever crap is being advertised in their magazines. I am not at all defending this practice by the way...

Linnea said...

THANK YOU! Amazing piece.

Maja With a J said...

AMEN!

RocketQueen said...

Par for the course these days, I'm afraid. And..well, it's SHAPE - that's what all their articles are about. How to be/get into shape. Of course it ain't right - more friends of mine have eating disorders than don't (including struggles of my own) and it's just getting worse. Sigh.

jax said...

i thought she looked fucking great playing tennis in heels lol.

chihuahuense said...

THIS is exactly why I don't read magazines--Shape, Self, Parenting, etc, etc, etc.

THIS is the reason why women are stressed out--they think that they need to do everything, be everything, and look like a fucking beauty queen too.

F that. Do the best you can, be who you are and show your family some love instead of worrying about the inches on your hips or how to be freaking superwoman/mom/wife/daughter/friend/lover

Whatever!

Sinjin said...

Big ol' golf clap and hug for chihuahuense :-)

blondie_nyc said...

agreed. girls need to understand that this is not the norm. and guys need to stop pretending that it is and they're holding out for it.

Elle Kaye said...

I knew a guy once who said when his girlfriend got really thin he missed all the fun parts he was able to grab a hold of.

I liked that.

Joe said...

JLove has always been "part of the problem" by screeching to anyone who'll hear "I'm a SIZE 2 and that's not FAT!" That was on the cover of every damn magazine. How is that empowering to other women or celebrating embracing your own size or being judged on who you are inside?? Total HYPOCRITE and liar. Girl ain't a 2..She can her pear ass and go away now..and take Jamie Kennedy with her!

gay tallywacker said...

I'm with Jax - who wears a bikini and heels and hits the tennis court? Need attention much? Maybe her Mom didn't hug her much as a kid or something.

reticulation said...

Well said!

Unknown said...

Amen and well said. I'm a healthy, curvy woman and proud of it. More women should embrace their size and flaunt it.

Susan said...

Check this out: http://jezebel.com/5365104/france-proposes-health-warning-label-on-photoshopped-images

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