Like many women, I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Lizzie Miller, a refreshingly normal looking model who appeared last September in an article in Glamour magazine. Lizzie defied the skin-and-bones model typically featured in publications. She didn’t appear to be sucking it all in; in fact, she is photographed with a bit of belly roll hanging over her underwear—and she looks radiant, beautiful, and confident.
I felt excited to see Lizzie in a major fashion magazine. Could it be that real women and girls are breaking the unrealistic, and often unhealthy, mold of the waifish supermodel? However, my joy was short-lived when I saw a pesky little phrase, "plus-size," in much of the commentary following Glamour's decision to publish the photo.
At 5'11" and 180 lbs., Lizzie is a size 14, the average size of an American woman. So, how could she possibly be perceived as “plus-size?” In fashion magazines, on TV, in the movies, and even among our friends, girls and women are told we should have a very specific body type that is very different from the bodies most of us actually have. What concerns me is that these unrealistic expectations can damage our self-confidence and rob our attention and energy from more important and fulfilling ways of thinking and living. Is a little tummy pooch such a big deal? What is "normal" is different for each of us, and the most important issues surrounding our bodies should be that we are healthy and safe.
Women’s bodies come in a variety of shapes and sizes. We use our bodies to do some pretty amazing things, like playing sports, dancing with friends, and simply getting us around in our busy lives. It makes sense to keep our bodies and minds healthy. And trying to fit into a particular size or comparing our own bodies with those of models and celebrities is downright unhealthy for both.
It’s a colossal waste of our time to constantly worry about the number on a scale or the size of our clothes. If we're held to any standards, shouldn't those standards be about more important things, like the way we treat our friends and family or our performance in school and other activities we're involved in? How about the way we contribute our time and talents in this world or our ability to be ourselves when peer and media pressure try to tell us who they want us to be? That's a much more unique and fulfilling accomplishment!
Glamour received an incredible amount of positive response from its readers about its decision to feature a "real" woman within its pages. I can't help but wonder if this response will actually change the type of women the magazine selects for its models in the future, or if it was just a gimmick to sell more magazines. I'd like to see the very normal image of Lizzie become the norm for Glamour, and all magazines, for that matter. Real women and girls read these publications and should be shown in the content.
Let's redefine what it means to be beautiful so that it looks like most of us, not just a select few. I see beautiful, active, strong, and healthy girls and women every single day—and most of them look a lot like Lizzie.
Photo: Lizzie Miller photo by Paulette Sedgwick, Licensed under Creative Commons/www.flickr.com/photos/paulettesedgwick/4216000466