When I opened an email from Julie at The Butterfly foundation with this image in it, it literally took my breath away. In a good way. I thought it was absolutely stunning in the same way I loved this image.
There’s just something so…..lush about it. So real. The tummy! It’s a little thing and most of us would be thrilled if our tummies only hung over that much when we sat down. But it’s just not something you ever see in the media, is it?
Nowhere do we see images like this reflected back to us. And it continues to baffle me as to why.
The photo originally appeared very small in an issue of Glamour magazine a couple of months ago. But it has received a new focus this week when the editor of US Glamour, wrote about the overwhelming reader reaction to it.
In her blog, Glamour editor Cindi Lieve writes…..
It’s a photo that measures all of three by three inches in our September issue but the letters about it started to flood my inbox literally the day Glamour hit newsstands. (As editor-in-chief, I pay attention to this stuff!) “I am gasping with delight…I love the woman on p 194!” said one…then another, and another, andanotherandanotherandanother. So…who is she? And what on earth is so special about her?
Here’s the deal: The picture wasn’t of a celebrity. It wasn’t of a supermodel. It was of a woman sitting in her underwear with a smile on her face and a belly that looks…wait for it…normal.
I’d loved this photo at first sight myself–we’d commissioned it for a story on feeling comfortable in your skin and wanted a model who looked like she was. But even so, the letters blew me away: “the most amazing photograph I’ve ever seen in any women’s magazine,” wrote one reader in Pavo, Georgia. From another in Somerset, Massachusetts: “This beautiful woman has a real stomach and did I even see a few stretch marks? This is how my belly looks after giving birth to my two amazing kids! This photo made me want to shout from the rooftops.”
The emails were filled with such joy–joy at seeing a woman’s body with all the curves and quirks and rolls found in nature. (Raising a question: With all the six-packs out there, do you even know what a normal belly looks like anymore–other than the one you see in the mirror?)
So what’s the story behind the photo? “The woman on p. 194″ is actually 20-year-old model Lizzi Miller, and this is her second appearance in Glamour, shot by fashion photographer Walter Chin. A size 12-14 and avid softball player/belly dancer (“I like exercising when it’s fun”), Lizzi moved to New York City from San Jose three years ago to become a model (a “plus-size” one by modeling industry standards, though hello, at size 12 she’s actually “normal size”…but I digress).
“When I was young I really struggled with my body and how it looked because I didn’t understand why my friends were so effortlessly skinny,” Lizzi told me. “As I got older I realized that everyone’s body is different and not everyone is skinny naturally–me included! I learned to love my body for how it is, every curve of it. I used to be so self-conscious in a bikini because my stomach wasn’t perfectly defined. But everyone has different body shapes! And it’s not all about the physical! If you walk on the beach in your bikini with confidence and you feel sexy, people will see you that way too.”
As for the letters, Lizzi’s loving them. “When I read them I got teary-eyed!” she says. “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.” Lizzi, now you’re doing the same for all of us–massive congrats on that.”
When I posted the images of the supermodels without make-up earlier this week, there were many comments deriding them for being shot in black and white or possibly having had “bits of surgery” or being “professionally lit”. My attitude is this: baby steps. These are women who have earned their living from looking flawless. They’re MODELS. Their professional worth and income is indexed 100% to their appearance. So I figure it was pretty brave for them to be photographed without make-up and a decision that should be applauded or, at the very least, encouraged.
That’s my view anyway.
And then I found myself being critical when I read the Glamour Editor’s comments! Hypocrite? Moi? “Why was this stunning photo only ‘three by three inches’ (7.6cm squared) dammit!” I thought. “Why wasn’t it a glorious full page? Why?!”
But then I thought, at LEAST it was in the magazine and at LEAST readers were vocal in their support and appreciation of it. That’s a start. So at least Cindi Leive can listen to her readers’ delight in seeing a more realistic body in her magazine and maybe next time, she’ll think about using more photos and models just like that.
What’s your reaction to this photo? Do you believe a photo in a magazine can affect how you feel about your own body? Are you currently seeing bodies like your own reflected anywhere in the media? And I don’t just mean magazines…..
We’re always looking for inspiration for people you would like to see in our galleries. Let us know who they are.
Tara Lynn and Crystal Renn on the cover of The Times magazine (Photoshopped image)
Comments
214 Comments so far
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I think many commenters here are confusing appearance and health.
People can be healthy at many weights. Size has to do with all kinds of things, especially bone structure. I have a girlfriend who will never wear size 10 jeans purely because of the width of her hips. And she has an enviable flat stomach which goes to show even that won’t get you into a size 8!
I think it is important that women who are carrying a little more body fat make sure they are checking up with their doctor often, but so should slim girls.
If you exercise regularly, nourish your body with fresh, whole foods and surround yourself with positive, supportive people, your healthy body will be whatever size it is supposed to be.
This picture represents the fact that women are judged for not have a stereotyped body. Our minds are trained by repetition to believe this woman is unhealthy when really it’s our mindset that’s unhealthy. We are so quick to judge each other. Unless you’re a trained physician, shut your gob
On a side note I do agree this woman’s head seems abnormally small for her body…
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Don’t tell me MamaMia is starting to become like other wormens print magazines – rerunning the same articles every couple of years….
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I am so sick of this photo and article! I’ve been seeing it around this blog for about three years now – it was nice the first time but please stop repeating it.
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i guess one reason to run this photo again and again is because there is nothing to replace it… it’s a total anomaly… how often do we see relatable, not heavily air brushed photos of women looking comfortable, natural and confident…? i certainly don’t… so yeah… we should circulate this photo until somebody gets a clue that this is how we want to see women portrayed…
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She really does have a gorgeous body.
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This photo is great as it shows a woman who is totally comfortable in her body. I wish I was. I really do. But I’m not. I am saving to have surgery to remove my saggy baby belly. I regret that I feel I need to do this, but I do. I hate it. I hate that clothes don’t fit. I hate how it moves when I walk or exercise. I hate that I didn’t have a clue that this was a possibility after child baring. Yes, I am eternally grateful to have my beautiful babies, but there is NO WAY I am living with this hideous skin flap/apron forever. Hell no.
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The big is beautiful fashion week makes me want to throw up! Are we seriously encouraging this? these women are unhealthy and overweight! I am mortified that this is being encouraged.
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Throw up? What, are you in year 9?
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you should take a moment to reflect on your reaction to those pictures.
why would you have such a strong reaction to the bodies of other people?
it is not up to you to judge somebody’s health… ‘health’ is a very complicated notion. for example… not knowing you… based on that comment… i would consider that you are unhealthy.
all that is being encouraged by those pictures is that everybody deserves to feel good about themselves…
and that nobody deserves to be judged by others.
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You’ve got to be kidding. What are you? A stick insect?
Size 12 and average height is not even close to overweight.
I don’t know if you’re aware of this but women are supposed to have a few curves.
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Women are meant to be curvey. It in no way reflects their health, being underweight on the other hand can cause serious health conditions and is probably a reaction to a mental health condition.
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Whu? Is this article and photo repeated every few months?
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This article reminded me of a fabulous movie produced for birth educators and women about women’s bodies. It has changed the way I feel about my post babies body. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfOBGQpG9fA&list=FLP1drFIBv73Tq_WHyjg876Q&index=3&feature=plpp_video
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I was watching a fashion show where the standard models came down followed by the plus size girls.
My first thought was – no wonder they don’t use these girls as models, it just isn’t decent! They were SO sexy. Too sexy!!
There were boobs and cleavage and thighs and bums and it was a total overload of WOMAN! The difference was incredible!
I hope the skinny model never goes out of fashion because the men will oggle their eyes out if the lush girls make a come back!
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It’s about time people stopped believing in photoshop created beauties. Fake good looks make too many people miserable about themselves.
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This is going to sound awful, but it looks like they photoshopped her head to make it look smaller so that her body looks bigger. I personally think it looks awkward and unattractive.
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I agree. This is not a positive or healthy image for women to aspire to. What is wrong about promoting fit and healthy bodies – you know the ones that won’t be a drag on the public health system when they reach 50? Why are we in race to achieve mediocracy in order to satisfy the PC brigade?
Why doesn’t Mia write an article that gushes about Samantha Stosur’s body? Now that be worth reading…..but I won’t be holding my breath.
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TwoDogs are you saying that this body isnt healthy? Truth is, you can’t tell from the outside. But that is the tummy soooo many of us have regardless if size or health. I’ve had three kids and my tummy looks like that. Possibly it did so before the kids!
Samantha Stoser is a professional athlete. Her body bears very little relevance to women as do the bodies of fashion models. So why are they the only ones held up as ideal?
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I disagree. The woman in the photo is an athlete. I’m only 18 and all through high school I was confused about my body. I constantly wondered why I had so many stick thin friends who ate junk food, whereas I ate healthy and joined sporting groups but I never looked like the girls in magazines or on tv. I was always concerned as to wheather my breasts are normal. With all the fake or non existent ones on celebrities, I had no idea. I picked at every part of my body and hated myself for a long time. I now know that everyone is different and we can’t all look like models, but it still gets me down sometimes. I even wonder if maybe boys would see me as hideous because they ogle over tiny women in the media. If I had grown up seeing all different body types in the media, maybe I wouldn’t have been so upset with myself. Not just bigger girls but also thin or pale, different ethnicities etc. I’d also like to see normal male models so that my expectaions of the opposite sex are realistic.
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I have to say, she looks healthy and normal and fine… but she is only 20! Maybe at 40 after three kids this is normal, but for a 20 year old woman it is not something to aspire to.
Once we start encouraging people to embrace curves and cellulite, we swing to far in the other direction… Surely with the rates of obesity out there, we have bigger problems that a little bit of low self esteem…
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what are all these comments about ‘aspiration’… aspiring to look like anybody else just makes people miserable… because nobody really looks like anybody else. beating yourself up for not looking like a profesional athlete of a model when you sit at an office desk all day is completely pointless. ‘aspiring’ to look like them… and ultimately failing because that amount of personal care just doesn’t fit your lifestyle is also pointless. there is a widespread culture of women taking this failure as a sign of personal worthlessness. this is the issue at hand here.
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SAHM is a web page buy two women for stay at home mums on one wage, the use pin up 50s pictures as imagery on their web and fb site I found it to be totally opposite to their mission which was suppose to be empowering women in particular those whom make a choice to stay at home ….I wrote thie on their fb site and added that as a mother of three you girls I rather realistic photos inmwdia to help promote healthy body image in young girls….and they blocked me from their site……I love this photo..this is a real woman
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I think I might draw her in my next art class.
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I think in many ways this is good as long as the pendulum dosen’t swing to far the other way and make girls whos real body is slim and shapless feel bad (and yes it may change after babies etc but that dosen’t mean it dosen’t apply)
Myself, I’ve always been slim and as a result I now have almost no boobs and hips and it’s not something I’m thrilled about but I don’t want to be made to feel bad about it either
I’m all for real untouched images of bigger women but this size is not the ONLY size just as much as size 0 is not the only size.
What I would love to see is pictures of women of various shapes altogether rather than seperating the curvy from the flat.
The emphesise in all this should be on reality and health, I mean we have size zero pressures on the one hand and growing obesity rates on the other.
We really need to find a balance
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I browsed through the other photos in your gallery, but only a couple appealed to me half as much as this one. I think there is also something so beautiful about the fact that this is not in any way a “sexy” photo. she’s not even showing a curve of boob, or tilted as if to say, “take me baby.” It’s like she’s relaxing next to her bath chatting with her best friend, or boy friend. completely comfortable. In Japan, people of the same sex bathe naked in out door baths, (secluded from onlookers of course). Women chat with their friends and children, walk between the baths, and relax in the way this woman seems to be doing. I saw this and it took me straight back there.
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Finally registered as I kept seeing many ‘Amys’ and didn’t want my comments confused with theirs!
I think the picture is lovely. I try not to compare my body with others’, but this made me stop because I thought how wonderful the image was, and realised that figure is very similar to hers. I have always had a belly, and I have not yet had children. I’m disappointed that so many people have commented that she looks bad… I know people are entitled to their opinions, but I feel that the reason why many (even straight women) want to look at toned, slender women with tight abs in magazines is because that is the image we have been told since birth is the ideal. Even in a subconscious way. Even when I was very unhappy a few years ago and lost a lot of weight as a result, my tummy never went away. I’m pretty short, and I was fitting into size 8 and even a few size 6 items, but I still had a jelly belly. Some body parts on people will always be a certain way. I could do all the sit ups in the world I still doubt that I would have that ‘perfect’ flat tummy. I’m only just starting to realise that, and that it’s fine. There are many women with that figure (naturally and otherwise) which is wonderful, but the fact still remains that the media needs to represent ALL body shapes and types. It’s not about bigger is better, or curvy is better, or skinny is better… it’s about all girls and women (and actually, men too, they often get forgotten and have body shapes to supposedly look up to!) need to be able to see themselves reflected in media images so that there isn’t just one body shape to look at. It’s simply not true that every women can look ‘that way’ through exercise and diet. I have a friend who has a sturdy bone frame – she will never have petite shoulders or smaller feet. I will never have a flat stomache. It’s high time we all startefd to understand that even if we all worked our butts off, we would still essentially be a certain shape. So I’d rather not spend all my time in agym trying to gain a body that I cannot physically get.
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I saw her body and said to myself, That is me, it doesn’t look so bad on someone else, so why am I so critical about myself?? What an eye opener, thank you for sharing
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I love it, and DAMMIT, im gettin’ it ON tonight, with the LIGHTS on!!! Thx Lizzie for showing what normal women look like, especially after children! Lets get it on!!!!
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We’re all made to feel inferior because of the images thrust down our throats of the ‘ideal’. Well the ‘ideal’ is usually in the heads of gays, I promise no offense at all, my best friend is one, but they like boyish looks and as they flood the fashion industry their influence is strong, so they pour out images of boyish women and make real women with curves feel like there’s something wrong with them.
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So, this is late but anyway. That’s still kind of offensive, even though you may not have intended it to be (and I’m sure you didn’t!) because the whole ‘Gay fashion designers want skinny models because they like the boyish look’ makes a huge generalisation about what gay men like, and sometimes (unfortunately often) goes further into ‘gay men like boys, which is why the models are so skinny and shaped like children’ which is even worse.
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How come none of the girls in the “real girl” pics you post ever have cellulite? I havent seen one inch of cellulite in any of these photos. Every girl has it, why can’t we show it? It would make me feel better than having girls with sagging stomachs etc.
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I hate to say this, but not every woman has cellulite!! I don’t have andy, but I have a saggy stomach and no boobs (thanks to 2 kids feasting off them). I run and do yoga whenever my timeframe allows and yes my body is in ok shape, but I work at it. The thing is I still look in the mirror and find flaws!! Every woman, whose life doesn’t revolve around sheer survival does, we envy what we don’t have. I bet you have the best boobs around, gorgeous, voluptuous, generous breasts..I envy you!! ‘Real’ woman come in all shapes and sizes, some big, some little, but we’re all real, we all have our own body issues…cellulite is one issue, a cup size beyond an A is mine!!
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A further peculiarity of all this is the presumption that all men are into the same types of bodies. I have friends who can’t get enough of large breasts, but I’ve always preferred smaller ones, myself. Some people find visible muscle on women unattractive, others think it’s sexy. How attracted I am personally to a woman has a lot more to do with how she moves than how she looks. Glam shots are sterile, impersonal and inhuman. They push none of the buttons that actually turn men “on.”
What’s especially interesting is that advertisers know this. By and large, advertising featuring glam-shots is aimed at women, not men.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXf8fr0Kp3Q This is the truth of photoshop.
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I have a feeling that I have seen this photo somewhere earlier than in the Glamour magazine mentioned. I say that because when I first saw it, it really struck a chord with me too. I think it was in a nude photo shoot a couple of years ago for either Madison or Marie Claire (I forget which) where they showed a series of naked women of different shapes and sizes looking gorgeously natural.
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This photo did not appear in Glamour ‘a couple of months ago’ – more like over 2 years ago! And we’re only talking about this now??
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I’m glad that women are finding this photo to be refreshing and inspirational. And while I understand writer Mia’s comment about “baby steps,” I disagree. I feel this photo needs to be approached with a lot more critical perspective. The photo in many ways still prescribes a specific dominant image of female beauty: the model is conventionally beautiful, not-overweight, (presumably) cis-gendered, white, young, great teeth, naked etc… I know many of my womyn friends would not identify with this photo and I would hesitate to call it a “normal” image of a woman.
I do not think Glamour should be applauded including this photo in a section about being comfortable in your own skin when the rest of the magazine says otherwise.
While still requiring a critical eye, I found Nancy Upton’s photoshoot (her blog http://extrawiggleroom.tumblr.com/post/9836643886), responding to the offensive American Apparel call-for-models, to be way more inspirational (also covered here: http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/american-apparel-the-next-big-thing/). She is awesome.
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I quit buying and reading all the “fashion” magazines many years ago because they are just not realistic. I occasionally pick one up when I’m under the dryer waiting for my highlights to process and I usually find things I love in them. If we all boycotted the magazines for one month, imagine the change we could create! Models that are size 12/14 like all of us. Clothes that actually are cut for our bodies instead of for a model thin body and adjusted for ours (notice how they never quite fit?) One month, that’s all it would take!
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I’m horrified by some of these comments. Firstly, this woman is quite tall. Of course she’s not going to have tiny thighs (unless she starves herself and exercises for five hours every day and even then she might not have smaller thighs). Another thing – every woman’s body is different. I am tall and tend to gain weight all over my body and thus my stomach is usually quite flat. My best friend is shorter than me, eats more healthily than I do, and exercises more than I do. She has a stomach which healthy eating and hours and hours of exericse won’t get rid of.
How can anyone say that this woman is not healthy? She probably eats healthily and exercises every day. The point of this image is that she is embracing her body as it is, stomach, thighs and all. She is not eating 100 calories per day and exercising obsessively to fit into someone else’s ideal of what is perfect. She loves her body as it is. Everyone is different. I have no doubt that there are women out there who exercise every day and eat a healthy diet and have a stomach and thighs like this girl. And yet we are buying into the myth that if we eat healthily and exercise every day then we should have the body of a model. No frickin way! Your body will probably be slimmer but will still retain the shape that it was meant to be. We need to stop spreading the myth that the model body is the ideal body and that everyone who doesn’t look like that must be overweight and unhealthy. The woman above is not overweight and unhealthy. She just doesn’t starve herself to attempt to mould her body into something that it can never be. She accepts her body as it is.
Just as there are women out there who are born slim and can never gain weight (no matter how much bad food they eat) there are many women out there who can eat as little and exercise as much as they like and still not get super slim. We all have different bodies. Also – if you look at an interview of this model on Good Morning America she actually looks very slim and healthy and beautiful. She is just quite tall and doesn’t starve herself to look extremely thin.
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Well said Kat! A woman is worth more than the size of her thighs.
I’m also tall but have a bit of junk in the trunk – it’s a genetic thing, all the women on that particular side of the family do. And I have also played State League netball for a decade, which I can tell you, involves a pretty decent level of fitness. But according to some people’s logic, I should be ashamed of myself purely because of the size of my thighs. Ridiculous.
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Get over it people…She has a beautiful smile, she has GORGEOUS skin, she seems content with her body and she is BEAUTIFUL!
Not everyone is naturally skinny!!
And Robyn Lawly is gorgeous too.
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Firstly, this picture is beautiful. Such a breath of fresh air to see a “normal” women in a magazine.
I have to say that the stomach area is not only of a concern for women who have had children. I am 30 and have never liked my stomach, and I have never carried a child. It has been a problem area my whole life, and I used to struggle to look at it in the mirror. I am healthy, I do a lot of exercise and still cannot seem to shift the extra in the middle.
To see this picture is great not only for the mums out there, but for the rest of us who might have a more womanly shape. We are meant to have curves and we need to start embracing them.
My partner loves my figure. Stomach and all. Absolutely loves it. And that makes me feel better. It goes to show that not everyone wants to be with a model. It just seems to be an expectation that us women put on ourselves, and the media do not help in any way.
We need to start supporting a real shape, and promoting a good body image. Girls need to realise that the important things are being healthy and loving what they have been blessed with, not whether they are size 8.
Keep up the good work with body image. And thank you for making me realise that my little “pot” is beautiful.
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Curvy women are super sexy and I’m so happy to see them in magazines etc as I know its rare, but I don’t think its good to celebrate ‘big is beautiful’ in terms of women that are overweight. Healthy curves are fabulous but we also have an obesity epidemic in this country !
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Yes I agree.The percentage of obese people in this country is alarming. Being too fat (or too skinny) is not healthy. But I would love to see more versions of everything in between in our magazines.
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Yes, many of us (women) have that belly “pooch”, especially if we’ve had children, and yes, this model’s body is one that many of us can relate to. I am all for women embracing their bodies, for all the beauties and flaws inherent in them, however, I cannot in good conscience support women choosing to be overweight or obese. Should we all be a size 2–no. But we should all strive to be healthy. Through a nutrition-oriented lifestyle, our bodies will equalize to the weight appropriate for each of us individually. Body health has to do less with what a body looks like, and more with body fat percentage. For women, a 20-25% body fat percentage is healthy. Anything more makes a woman overweight or obese, and prone to all kinds of health problems. Approaching 40, I was overweight by 20 lbs, had no energy, had digestive issues, and felt fat and ugly. I got on a program to lose my weight naturally (which I’ve kept off for a year and a half), drastically improved my health, and then became a nutrition coach to help others (mostly women) achieve their health goals. So kudos to the magazine for showing a more “realistic” model, but I feel it would have been more supportive of its female audience to include commentary about confidence and beauty as related to health.
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Amy I agree with the general point you are making about health being the underlying necessity here; but I want to make a note the things like BMI and fat percentage are not the only measures of true health.
Liver tests, general blood pathology and blood pressure are just if not more important here.
As someone who exercises very regularly, eats extremely well but suffers like a large percentage do from a metabolic problem (in my case an auto immune disorder that has killed my thyroid), it is impossible for me to fuel my body healthily and fall in that fat range. I do not lay far outside of it; but I just wanted you to know there are more sides tot he story and “healthy” needs to be the main point raised not “fat percentage”
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love to see an image of a real body that hasnt been photo shopped she is so luscious and sexy , really thats what we all need to see……so men can say mmmmmmmmmmmmm and women can say …..hell yeah thats what i look like for real……..
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So she has a little jelly in her belly, so what. Just as long as she’s healthy I think.
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Just want to say, women are fat, women are supposed to carry fat, I’m not sure what all the fuss and jubilation is about.
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Love it! And even though the model in the pic is only 20, and not a mum, it’s particularly relevant for mothers.
Fact is, for more than half of women with kids, our tummies are the least favourite part of our bodies.
Fact is, it’s completely normal for a woman’s tummy to get stretched and lined during pregnancy, and perhaps remain puckered, marked and saggy long after the baby is born.
Fact is, it’s rare to see another mother’s tum. At the beach, our post-baby bellies are often covered with a one-piece swimsuit (with built-in tummy control
), and generally, in the media, Photoshop irons out any evidence of wear, tear, and wobble.
Last week on my little ol’ blog I ran a bunch of un-photoshopped belly images from xoJane accompanied by awesome stories of belly acceptance, I was inundated with comments like:
“I love this idea of self acceptance and it has inspired me to just stop obsessing!” and
”.
“thank you for sharing this, when our bellies are always hidden it can make women feel like freaks because we just assume other people have “normal” tummies. I love my kids but tummy love is something I am trying to learn
It’s important for us as women to ‘keep it real’ for each other.
Mia, I love that photo too. And here’s the link to some of the other beautiful bellies: http://www.foxinflats.com.au/2011/11/what-real-mummy-tummies-look-like/
x Andrea
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Please could you post a link to the models without make-up? Thanks.
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At the risk of being shot down here, I can honestly say I don’t like this photo much. That the girl featured appears happy in her own skin and comfortable with her weight, I have no problem with what-so-ever. Power to her and to those who find her an inspiration for affirmation — that’s great. I’m not even against more of these kind of images in mainstream media – that’s not my issue today.
My issue is this: as someone who doesn’t find this girl’s stomach roll or large legs to be particularly attractive, I’m left feeling guilty and somehow ‘in the wrong’ for not stating ‘isn’t she gorgeous?’. Yes, she has a pretty face and a lovely smile and if the photo is an indication, she appears to be self-confident, which is attractive in itself, no argument. However, I can not for a second pretend that I find her flabby stomach or large thighs attractive. I just don’t. I work moderately hard to prevent both those things happening to myself (and I’ve always had a tendency towards ‘big thighs’). I’m not ‘naturally slim’ just an average size 8-10. I could be slimmer (and have been in the past) if I put more effort in, but as I get older I don’t care as much and have better things to worry about, quite frankly. I accept what I can’t change, but I don’t want to be guilted into thinking that if I don’t find a saggy, baggy stomach attractive there’s something wrong with me (and, yes, I’ve given birth). I like the look of tight abs and flat stomachs, even if they’re not mine! So shoot me.
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You should not be shot for your opinion, however, no one is cramming anything down your throat or guilting you into anything. The point is that this is one photo among millions. This is a statement that beauty has many, many definitions…all of them are right. There is no such thing as the one perfect beauty. So, if this one is not your cup of tea, there are plenty for you to view. However, for the rest of us who look like normal women, no matter how hard we try, it it nice to feel ok about looking as we do without feeling like we are somehow unworthy or not quite good enough because we are not airbrushed into some editors vision of perfection.
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Normal women????? What is normal. So if a women has a thin model-like body or perfect abs she is not normal? It is not abnormal to have the media perceived perfect body because there are women who are like that.
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“Normal” in the literal sense of being near the center of the bell curve. Yes, there are plenty of women with naturally slender bellies and great abs. But there are more women who are not like that, and we rarely see them naked. And there are plenty of people who are attracted to other types of bodies, and we rarely hear from them. It is fine if you don’t happen to find this woman attractive, but I think the joy readers are expressing is less about sexual attractiveness one way or the other, and more simply about being acknowledged and “allowed to be shown off” in public. There are certainly body types I personally don’t find attractive, but I would nonetheless heartily celebrate their appearance in Glamour.
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Perhaps you are right about ‘no one cramming anything down my throat’ — I acknowledge that, but sometimes with all this rhetoric of ‘normal women’ — that is anything over a size 12 (Aus) — smaller women become abnormal by default.
And I reiterate, I have absolutely no problem with this photo being shown and reproduced in magazines and if it makes other women feel better about themselves that’s only a good thing – but that doesn’t mean I should feel guilty about not finding large thighs attractive (or something to which to aspire — the whole point of the advertising industry), which this post did. But, maybe you’re right, I’m taking it the wrong way.
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Except they’re not “large thighs”. They’re thighs.
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I think people will be attracted to all different shapes and sizes; and goes with the saying ‘there is someone for everyone out there’ and that’s a good thing!
The most important thing I feel as women is that we don’t judge each other, or ever make one body feel less equal than another, be it bigger or smaller, more toned or more pudgy.
There is a story and reason behind why each woman looks the way she does and without full context no one has the right to judge.
So next time you make eye contact with any size woman, give a smile before you look away; get rid of that fear that someone was just thinking that she was too fat or too thing. Let’s love each other ladies.
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I think the point the photo is trying to get at is that beauty or attractiveness doesn’t only come from models who are slender and slim and toned and/or photoshopped. If you think her tummy or thighs are unattractive then you’re probably too used to how ‘beauty’ is portrayed today and you sound like a product of of insecurity caused by these (mis)representations.
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I decided I want to make an unequivocal apology about my original post. I supposed I tried to word what I was thinking into something I thought wasn’t too disrespectful, but after thinking about it today I realised I should have said nothing.
Here’s why: the model in that photo has done a courageous thing by being photographed with almost nothing on when she is not a fashion/media standard size 6. She looks confident and happy. If I was to meet her or see her at the gym, the beach or on the street I would not comment on her weight, size or anything to do with her appearance as it would be rude at best, insulting and downright derogatory and mean at worst. The last thing I would do is ridicule a ‘larger’ person (and, yes, she’s not even that large) in public to make them feel bad. I am always horrified when I hear that people actually do this. It’s an appalling thing to do. Therefore, I shouldn’t have even it said it about a photograph of a woman whom I’ve never met before. I would be mortified if I thought she had read my comments – that’s the litmus test.
Besides all that, it is — as has been pointed out — necessary to have women of all different shapes and sizes represented in the media and my original comment goes to the heart of why we don’t see them. We are conditioned to think certain body types are more attractive than others. Obviously, as I’ve stated, I’m conditioned this way, too. In all honesty, my idea of what is ‘attractive’ or the ‘perfect’ body type — that is, what I would aspire to look like personally — is probably not going to change, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t embrace difference, inclusivity and better representation of all women’s (and men’s) body types in our media.
And so I apologise unreservedly for my original comment.
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Didn’t this all happen two years ago, in 2009??
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I actually came across this image a couple of months ago and absolutely fell in love with it too! She is just so stunning!
Pictures like this give me hope that we might be heading in the direction of a much healthier world.
I am so proud to say I am 16 and curvy and healthy as ever and I DON’T believe you have to be skinny to be beautiful, like so many other girls my age seem to.
I recently asked a friend of mine (who was having issues with her weight) why she wanted so badly to be a size 4, she said “I don’t know… because it looks better”. But WHY? Why do so many women think that now days? In the 40s and 50s it was actually embarrassing to be what is considered what is today’s ‘norm’. For god sake look at Marilyn Monroe! She’s the sexiest women who ever lived! I want to know where along the lines did skinniness become so necessary for someone to feel beautiful?
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that if you are thin you’re not beautiful, I’m simply saying beauty and sexiness should not be measured by weight!
Sexiness is a way in which you carry yourself! It’s a confidence! And confidence doesn’t mean loving every part of yourself every minute of every day, it is simply knowing quietly that you are beautiful, because beautiful is so much more than an appearance. The fact that you are alive and sharing this world should be beautiful enough as it is.
This lack of self-confidence among women is caused partially by a lack of role models in the media. Pictures like these ones offer the prospect of true beauty really being embraced and a healthy body being defined not as a gym-junkie body running on nothing but what the media tells it to eat, but a strong body with good energy food fuelling it that works for the individual! I believe, if you are healthy, then you will look healthy.
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She is lovely – stunning really but looks real at the same time and very comfortable in her own skin!
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I love this photo too. I bet many men also love this women’s body.
The sad thing is women are often our own worst enemy and ter women’s enemies when it comes to our bodies. Afterall it’s just a shell to get us to old age, it’s the spirit that reallshines through.
Wake up advertising world we are so over unattaible, unrealistic barbie dll figures repesenting a divese female body.
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I would LOVE to look like her- so much prettier and sexier than all the Pirelli Calendar photos.
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This photo is beautiful, she looks happy and healthy and different to the images that we see so often every day
Im not against seeing thin girls in magazines and on bilboards, as long as they are healhy, however i think it would be great to see a range of women, all shapes and sizes, thin, curvy, muscular, big bust, small bust, round thighs and butt or slender. short and tall. women are beautiful of all shapes and sizes and that should be celebrated, one body type should not be labeled as more Ideal or real than another as one persons Ideal is gaurenteed to be different from anothers.
and as for the posters saying that she needs to hit the gym to get rid of the belly, I am 19, workout 10-15 hours a week (its my job, part of uni and I love it) and eat a very healthy, balaced diet and when i sit in a simiar position to what lizzie is in that photo, I have a little belly too. you can be young, strong, fit and healthy and still have enough body fat to give you a belly.
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I agree – all shapes and sizes. Usually when we see plus sized models they are typically hour-glassed shaped and not all of us have the big boobs to balance out the hips LOL!
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These are the types of pictures I want my 4 girls to see….normal ordinary beautiful woman….this picture made me teary, because it’s just something we don’t see in any magazines…my wish for my girls is that when their old enough to read magazines, these kinds of picture will be everywhere…..
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Beautiful picture, compelling story. Our body is art, art is our body…..
This is why it is so important that we have emotional intelligence education seen as a priority teaching in our classrooms on a consistent basis.
it takes a developed mind in todays world to be able to see our true beauty.
If we want our world to be a beautiful place we must accept our own beauty!
Teaching children to be aware and accepting will raise self-esteem and bring great changes. Articles like this are too few we need MORE!
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Beautiful! A happy, smiling woman enjoying fresh air on her naked bod for no other reason than the sheer pleasure of it … and not naked for the sake of selling something. Soooo beautiful,refreshing and inspiring!
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it IS a beautiful photos. unfortunately (i didn’t know i was REALLY one of those women) i thought “GAH! that looks like my tummy
but not in a happyt way! i don’t hate my body at all but i’m trying all i can to get rid of my tummy, 8 months after second baby. i wish i could change my mind-set, instead.
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I love that photo of lizzie & Robyn Lawley – both very beautiful.
My sis is law looks just like Robyn Lawley, I’m trying to convince her to try plus-sized modelling. She had a bad experience with a top modelling agency when she was just 14…….
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Are all these negative people serious???? Yeah because I’m sure you are all perfect! It is just another NORMAL person. Get over yourselves!!
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Something is funny with the comments on here – I’m seeing all of them as individual comments even though some are quite obviously replies to others.
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Looks like the office pony has crawled into the cabling again.
PS: Thanks for the heads up!
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Also no comments have thumbs up registered except my one. That can’t be right. Naughty pony.
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I love that photo. I noticed three things when I looked at it, in this order:
1. She’s really pretty.
2. That’s a real smile.
3. What nice skin.