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
216 Comments so far
So why does Self (another US Condé Nast title) have to photoshop Kelly Clarkson to buggery, if all these emails are telling editors that readers don’t mind a bit of belly? Doesn’t it make financial sense to listen to readers or is keeping them feeling insecure more appealing to advertisers as they shift more product that way?
I’m surprised Mia that you haven’t covered the whole Self saga, I cancelled my subscription with them over it.
To be honest, I’m pleased that this woman is actually smiling. Her eyes match her mouth. Plus she hasn’t had the grinny crinkles digitally ironed out.
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Haha so true
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Haha so true
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Yep this is true. I have heard that. But somehow what was meant to just be a great showcase for clothing..became a whole self-image crisis
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Ditto! Mags are so Anglo-centric.
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I love this picture too.. wish I had a little tiny belly like that… my over hang is somewhat more fullsome having had 2 children and being fabulously 40. But it shows what happens when a regular sort of girl sits down and leans forward.. and this is the sort of image I want to show to my girls.. especially my very tall for her age, early to puberty with a bit of weight gain, sometimes teased for being “fat” (she isn’t but she absolutely thinks she is) beautiful 10 year old. I’d like to see this picture any day especially having seen pictures of those heartbreakingly skeletal anorexic girls barely clinging to life.
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Nude up love. Stand in the front of the mirror and repeat. “I know, I know I am farken fabulous” Rinse. Repeat. Because in the end we ALL are.
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It’s good to see someone who looks more normal. I love that she looks happy, natural and that she’s not afraid of her little tummy roll.
And yes – I’d be delighted if my tummy only hung over that much. My tummy has over-hang like someone who drank their body-weight in red wine the night before.
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I look forward to a day when they get a beautiful woman like that on a tv show and dont show older women or mother/grandmother figures being the ‘bigger’ ones.. How refreshing would it be to see a lovable character who actually looks like a normal person… a bit of VARIATION NEVER HURTS…take note magazines too!
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what I find funny (not particularly) is that we all think its great for a womans self-esteem to see ‘normal’ women out there (which i totally agree with) and yet one of my reactions was… she’s still more beautiful than me !!!! :O
Really odd how we always have to compare ourselves to others when you stand back and look at it… some women will be thinking/knowing they look ‘better’ than this beautiful woman while others will still believe their still not attractive enough.. sad really.
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But Sarah – why is Gisele the only measure of what is beautiful? In the world outside the media we find people we meet every day beautiful who don’t fit that precise and narrow template.
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I’d still rather look at pix of Gisele…she’s divine. Seeing beauty actually makes me feel prettier, just like I enjoy to be surrounded by beautiful things; furniture, paintings, nature. I don’t need to look like her, I’m cool with who I am
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I think there are some pretty negative people missing the point.
The point is that that everyone would like to see people that look like themselves represented in the media. If you are skinny then you do see reflections of yourself everywhere, and therefore feel good that you are the media “ideal”. If you don’t, then how do you expect people to feel?
If we changed “body size” to say, “colour of skin” would you be more accepting of this need? There should be all colours and nationalities shown in mags and on tv. It’s outragous that there isn’t more diversity. Same same for body shapes and sizes.
The complaint is that the media doesn’t represent the real world. It may be representative of you specifically but not everyone, in fact not even the majority.
This has to change, and not just for the grown adults who can rationalise it. More importantly for the babies, kids, teens and young men and women who grow up being saturated by these images. If 90% of images are of skinny white & beautiful people where are all the role models for people who don’t look like this? Imagine growing up and never seeing someone that looked like you in a magazine or on tv…
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I think its a beautiful photo! And you’re right Mia, most people would be stoked to only get one roll when sitting down! STUNNING
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Industries of other sorts need to update their ‘standards’ all the time… why can’t the fashion industry? I mean, isn’t size 12 the most bought size in Australia? And the US? So, shouldn’t they move that ‘plus size’ stigma from that size and move it up the scale a bit? ORRRRR…. what about taking that awful label away altogether – making it no such thing as plus size. Don’t call it anything. It’s just a size – it shouldn’t define how you are looked at by the world.
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I’m a size 10….have only had one child….and I looked at the pic and thought “wow,she’s got a bit of a gut….must have had a few kids”…haha then I struck the exact pose in the mirror and lo and behold…..my gut looked exactly the same…..probably slightly flabbier. So the moral of the story: Never sit down when you are naked
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I don’t know who this girl is, but she is just gorgeous. What a beautiful smile….
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that has made my day!!! I am normal – thank you!
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I’ve heard before that clothes apparently hang better on long, tall, lean figures. And look better…so they are able to showcase them more effectively.
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I think the pic is very warm and engaging – and I do feel like I can relate to her because I have a bit of a flabby tummy too. Those who have commented that she looks older than 20, do you realise that women in their 20′s are gaining weight quicker than any other group, at an average of 800g a year? (I’m not saying this is a good thing, in fact it’s indicative of the obesity epidemic but it’s also reality.) In my case, I put on about 15kg between the ages of 18 and 23. Happily, I have managed to lose it in the last 18 months but it’s left me with empty, saggy looking boobs, stretch marks and a wobbly bum and tummy. I’m only 25 but my body probably looks like that of a 40 something who’s had a few kids! (Not that it bothers me very often – the only person who sees me naked assures me he likes what he sees!)
Regarding plus-size models: I saw banner ad online yesterday for a bank (I think it was St George but I’m not sure) and the smiling model holding up the sign with the interest rate on it was probably a size 18-20 I’m guessing. She was the only person in the ad and her size was of no significance in regards to what she was selling. It stopped me in my tracks! Usually the only time you ever see a model that size is in a plus-size clothing catalogue or as the before shot for a weight-loss company! Keep an eye out for the ad…
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I really love this comment, especially since I nodded my head the whole way through. I have 3 kids, I am about 15 plus kilos overweight (or keep going) and my belly doesn’t fold over all soft and cute I can tell you.
I love that you said you are ace the way you are. I’m going to work on saying that to my own self. It sounded a very cool way to be.
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Oh, she’s gorgeous!
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People want fantasy but they NEED reality.
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I see what your saying, but when it causes a mass of low self-esteem in women all over the world…I think it needs to be taken seriously.
Its also in the marketing. For example..”if you use this *** moisturiser..your body will look taut and tight like this model”.
A whole lotta false advertising.
Women are born with this desire to feel beautiful and desirable. When we see something that makes us feel less than beautiful…we compare..and feel bad. Unfortunately thats just how women work. Its something we need to work on. But it doesnt help when the media consistantly tries to portray what is fake as real. Ah its hard to put my finger on it.
But seeing womens bodies digitally “enhanced” just seems so..degrading to the natural design.
As the solicitor from The Castle once said “..Its the vibe”.
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haha! love it! Where abouts in africa is your heritage?
Its funny, I’m built more like an african woman..I think it comes from my fathers south american heritage.
But yes, why cant we see more woman bulging out of their undies on the covers of magazines???
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Before I read the article I thought she must of had a child. And I agree with making notice of that & showing the good in that for children are a blessing from our Creator and nothing to feel ashamed of at all!
Thank you,
JELaurin
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Miss Manly,i didn’t say models were ‘perfection’,but i look at it that way:they are human coathangers,blank canvasses to show a garment,similar to a store Mannequin.Fat-rolls,Cellulite,veins and whatever else would distract greatly from the impact of the clothes in my opinion.The whole Fashion Industry is a Fantasyworld,and i just don’t see the need to use “REAL” People.What is real supposed to mean anyway?
You are right,Miss Manly,there was a time when bigger women were the perfection.Back in these days it was a sign of wealth and health,and only the poor people were skinny.Look in Africa,where food is sparse today-i daresay in most places would count ‘the fatter,the more desirable’.
So,as long as we have an absolute overload of food availible to us,and people have not much else to do but stuff their faces and make excuses why they are getting fatter and fatter,skinny will stay ‘in fashion’,so to say.
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Not every one who is “fat” as you so elequently put it, stuffs their faces. Some people have other. Issues that contribute to their weight, for example, hormone imbalance can cause major weight gain or loss depending. So I wouldn’t be so quick to judge. I think a Women with a bit extra is way sexier than a woman who’s rib cages show because she has to starve herself so she fits into that size 0 skirt. Ugh a Woman should be natural no matter what size. That is true beauty.
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Well said! x
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hmm that last sentence is grammatically incorrect, but you get my drift!
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Unfortunately Jaz, I have the physique of my mother and missed out on the african booty. In fact I completely missed out on the booty altogether…lol. but my older sis, now that is booty, and boy does she know how to shake what her mamma (didn’t) gave her…lol.
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That comment breaks my heart Lulu. Why are we all (and I’m not directing this at you, but society in general) so obsessed with the way we look?
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The point most of us are trying to make is that…there should be NO body type ideal…every single body type is their own ideal.
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But who was the giant fuckwit who decided long, tall and lean was the ideal?
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I have one thing to say to you..
Hooray for african booty! I’d so love to see a big african ass on the cover of Vogue.
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I don’t normally comment on your posts, I usually feel you’ve said all there is to say. But this photo has effected me in such an unusual way, I’m almost in tears. The woman in this photo renders me speechless. My belly looks like that, and I’ve hated it since giving birth, because before having a baby, my stomach was the one body part I felt good about. Whenever I got depressed about my big bum and legs, I would think at least I have a nice little flat tummy. So I have felt there was nothing on my body to feel good about – until seeing this photo. She is beautiful on so many levels, and now I see that a little overhang doesn’t make one repugnant. If anything, the realness of it enhances her overall being and I want to thank you for posting it.
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Keep in mind she is 20yrs old, a model (so she would still be obliged to keep somewhat toned)..and there is no reason why you cant be toned, fit and healthy.
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ur so fucken awesome
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I think she looks gorgeous, but I would have guessed her to be at least in her late 20s. She looks about the same age as my mum and people always think she is my sister. But even then you cannot deny that Lizzie is one stunning looking girl. I think its cause she looks so happy!
Agree with everyone that they need to feature a more diverse range of models. But not only size, but in ethnicity also. i don’t even care if the covergirls are only white (I’m never going to be a covergirl, way to short, so meh…), but if 50% of the pages in a magazine are just ads, I don’t think it would hurt to chuck in a couple of extra pages for make-up looks for black, asian or mediterranean looking people – I mean apart from some of the Asian readers, most of us will not be trying to pull off the porcelain look that’s all the rage on the catwalks this season, nor do I care particularly for the free spray tan every reader receieves (though this is a good one with the harsh Aussie sun we live under)!!! The only thing that stops me from subscribing to US or UK versions is the fact that I prefer wearing summer clothes in summer and vice versa with winter, but with the ridiculous prices of some of these things, they will have to keep having some great feature stories or I am gooonnneee!!!
Anyway, I reckon this is a niche market that could make someone a great deal of cash. Heck! The latest issue of Cleo is so small but i did not fail to notice that the price is now $7.95 (I hope I don’t sound like a stingy tightarse, but i reckon its a bit steep).So maybe if they just made a website instead of an actual mag (this way they could also have a larger worldwide base), until then I will take to getting my make-up tips from US websites and this wonderful looking book (when it is delivered): http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9697714/page/2/ (I couldn’t find the actual page that I first found it on but what Salama (she writes the foreward) has to say is so true about all the great differences in women (size, colour, etc). And yes Iman and Salma are hotties, but that doesn’t mean they are not “real” or “normal” women, and their opinions and thoughts are invalid. Hope I don’t sound narky, but sometimes when I read the comments on here it seems like commenters think that just because someone is rich, famous, beautiful or all of the above, they are not allowed a voice, pretty much they should be seen and not heard and we mere mortals have every right to rip them to pieces. I think its tall poppy, not sure, my parents are originally from Africa, so i didn’t grow up with all the Aussie colloqialisms and sometimes get them horribly wrong (both in saying and context…lol)
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This girl is beautiful. And I’m sure men find her far more sexy than a woman who looks ‘perfect’. Because she looks happy and comfortable in her own skin, not uptight and self conscious.
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This is more like it!
You know whats happened now? The world has become so desensitised to the “perfect photoshop” images that when we see someone who looks natural…we fall in love. We see it as MORE beautiful than the perfect images we normally see. Because “normal” has become rare and what is rare is beautiful.
Its funny, when I see a little cellulite on a woman…I actually think its kinda hot. Which is so weird, I know right? But I got tired of seeing perfectly smooth baby like thighs on women in magazines..and when I see a little..I think its very womanly.
True beauty will ALWAYS find a way to emerge in this silly little world of ours.
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My favourite thing about this pic is that she looks genuinely happy…which is more than i can say for pics of super skinny models in most magazines.
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I don’t agree with Anouk at all. The whole premise that the models are ‘the perfection’ is flawed. The are only considered such as the media has made them so.
There was a time when ‘perfection’ was a female body without a hint of jutting bones and visible rib cage. Look at the old paintings, old silent movies…Even ballerinas used to be quite sizeable. Soft, curvy female body was then the ‘perfection’.
THe problem with only presenting super slim women is that the artificial construct of ‘perfection’ gets reinforced again and again and again.
I daresay if, all of a sudden, fuller bodied women were on every billboard, every magazine page and music video, then the public opinion of the ‘perfection’ will change too.
I am not saying that a very skinny woman does not deserve a place in media. She does. But considering that A MAJORITY of women are not that skinny, and the whole process of growing older, giving birth, breastfeeding causes some natural weight gain, it is not in the interests of women to be only shown your so called ‘perfection’. Perfection, my arse, 17 year old underdeveloped girls – no thanks, I’d like to see more womanly women. I am sick of seeing children modelling the clothes I am supposed to wear.
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It’s true the pervasive images are so overwhelming that it sometimes feels there’s a media populated by another species, and then there’s the rest of us wandering around. Even in the land of blogging (which you’d imagine to be the great bastion of individuality) the variety in body shape and size is quite limited – although street style blogs like Hel Looks (from Finland) are a great place to see people of all shapes and sizes doing great stuff with their clothing and their own individual looks.
When I first started my own funny little style blog I was astonished to get replies from (I’m assuming) young girls who responded to me as “plus size” – I’m an australian size 8-10 most of the time (US 12 is a few sizes bigger than our 12, so more in the realm of what we think of as plus size here) but in the online fashion universe that makes me a bit of an anomaly. Not the only one of course, but you have to look harder to find them. Bigger girls are quite well represented, but the kind of medium sized every day body is a rarer beast to find.
Still, the fact is that in the blogosphere I can find that variety of looks, and it’s one more reason I’ve almost completely lost interest in the mainstream print media. That girl with the tummy is lovely, but she’s still a 20 year old model – I’d be shocked if she didn’t look utterly beautiful! It’s a long way from any kind of real inclusive version of beauty.
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beautiful photo! Thankfully my new partner has told me that he prefers to be with a girl who is slightly on the overweight side…so where is that chocolate for morning tea lol:)
The funny thing is that he has more body issues than I do…He gets really self conscious that he has a little belly. But he is a big man (6ft 3ish), and broad shouldered etc. I don’t mind a little belly if he doesn’t mind mine!!
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Gorgeous photo! It is baby steps I guess and isn’t it amazing the reaction people have had to something that is supposedly normal? We are so conditioned in what we start to see as normal and then try to compare with what we see in the mirror that no wonder this has caused quite a stir.
Is it similar in the way some males are so conditioned with doing nothing in the house unless harassed continually that when they do something of their accord – like put a new cake of soap out – the band has to be playing, streamers flowing and let the awards ceremony begin….
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right, had some breaky, and a cuppa and a think… this is what I wanted to say… Put aside models for a moment, and catwalks, and concentrate on magazines. Even if you don’t buy them, you can’t avoid them… supermarket checkouts are laden with them shouting out in bold text things like “WOW superstar loses baby weight in 6 days!” with a photos of said famous person looking slim, flat stomached, and not at all tired… or, lose a dress size in 1 week…. or, get your body ready for summer and swim wear… I’m normally a fairly happy, confident person, and am happy with how I look, most days, BUT even I catch myself trying to suck my mummy tummy in. Super stars, celebrities, etc appear in mags in 2 ways – the air brushed fabulous version, or the seedy pap shot with a circle and arrow showing cellulite, pimples, and unwanted body fat. Which do we believe? The airbrushed version… even though we know in reality it’s not true. Why do we believe it? Because it’s what we see, on TV, in waiting rooms, at checkouts… and while us grown ups can rationalise it all… what about young children? What about teens, in the height of needing to feel accepted and the same as everyone else? If the main way bodies are represented in accessible media is super slim, super toned, super perfect it is going to affect real peoples idea of acceptable body image… and that’s sad. Magazines need to stop token efforts of “plus sized” models and the polarisation of good and bad celeb photos, and find some middle ground. How about for a start mags stop filling their pages with fad diets, junk food adds, and unrealistic makeover stories? Ok, kettle on, time for another cuppa.
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I think it’s a wonderful step in the right direction. I too love this photo… for everything it represents. She’s happy, she’s flawed… it’s just perfect.
Thank you for sharing this today.
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Mia thank you so much fro posting this picture! I am always wishing my body looked different and that I could shed some kilos (and I am small as it is!) it is so refreshing to see what a normal female body looks like. This reminds me of the fabulous post you did on Jools Oliver after she gave birth.. keep them coming!
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Thanks for posting this Mia – I KNEW you would love it as do I. I think this photo is so beautiful and that little ‘pot of tum’ just slays me. I have never seen a photograph like this on the pages of a glossy magazine and I congratulate Glamour for printing it and for the divine model (Lizzi Miller) for doing it.
There is stil, of course, a very long way to go for the fashion/modelling world to be getting an ‘A’ score from me – but I throw them a little credit here. It’s a smokin’ hot start and I for one am going to rejoice a little in some optimistic hope that we will soon be seeing many more women like Lizzi very soon and very regularly.
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She looks absolutely stunning! I love this photo. It is a perfect example of a normal stomach and she is a great role model for girls and women.
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There’s nothing superior about perfect-bodied supermodels and that is why everybody’s making a fuss over the photo. The models are only “perfect-bodied” according to the media.
And I’ve seen plenty of clothing on skinny modles that looked better on a girl with a big butt and boobs–I’ve even seen a picture of a model in a dress and then a photo of that model so that she’d look like a size eight instead of a size zero–and it looked MUCH better. So, that’s really not true. This is the whole thing we’re getting at. Some of those modeled outfits do NOT “ONLY” look good on their bodies.
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