Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Lizzie Miller

Welcome back, EWHAEDers! I hope you all had a wonderful summer, filled with good food and positive thoughts about your bodies.

By now, you've probably heard of Lizzie Miller, the "plus-size" model who created quite the stir in the September issue of Glamour magazine for bearing almost all, but mostly a little tummy.



Lizzie, who was interviewed along with Glamour editor-in-chief, Cindi Leive, on The Today Show, spoke honestly about her body image, anxious at some times, confident at others. Is Glamour's decision to feature a model like Miller revolutionary, as some readers suggested? In a time when Kelly Clarkson is photoshopped for Self magazine (message: have a big voice, but not a big body), and when Miller's size is newsworthy, I think not. As I said on Today, if you happened to catch it, it's not a revolution, but it's baby steps in the right direction. My hope is that one day, a photo like Miller's won't even elicit a second glance.

8 comments:

Rachel said...

For Glamour, perhaps, it is revolutionary. For the rest of us, not so much. The unobtrusive photo appeared on page 194 in a story purportedly on body acceptance. And, as Lizzie Miller was quick to point out, she's "not obese." The positive feedback from the article certainly came across as revolutionary for the magazine, which will feature even more naked non-size-zero women in its next edition. It's a step in the right direction, for sure, but there's still a long road to go before we get at anything resembling an appreciation of body size diversity.

Amelia Pontes said...

I think in real life, many of us are accepting of OTHER people's sizes. We all embrace Lizzie Miller because we admire her confidence (even if she says she too has moments of self doubt). The true test in discovering if we truly accept ALL sizes, is when women can look at their own bodies in the mirror and appreciate what they see in themselves.

LG said...

Welcome back!

Anonymous said...

I agree. I can't wait until the day when the word "plus size model" ceases to exist. There really should be no distinction. All women-no matter what size-should be able to be seen as beautiful.

I Hate to Weight said...

she looks normal to me. i'm normal size and don't exercise, so i have a generous pooch.

as rachel said, it's revolutionary for glamour.

sad. kind of terrifying.

drstaceyny said...

I wonder, too, if Glamour will move a bit in this direction more for dollars than actual acceptance of larger models. Lizzie Miller is now a money-maker.

Thanks, LG!

Serpentine said...

fat or skinny, that's not healthy.

diversity is great and all, but health should be the main thing.

i cant wait 'til taking care of your body (god forbid) is in fashion.


sizewise, she looks about a 12 (not a big girl by any stretch of the imagination).

crushbarriers said...

I believe that it was a great idea to have a model that is not a size zero in a magazine to promote a healthy body image. Most magazines and shows on TV show these women that are stick skinny and make people believe that they also have to be super skinny to be beautiful and it is very untrue. By having this photo in the magazine, it lets people know that she is happy without being a size zero and it is possible to be a successful model without being super tiny. I also believe that it will be a long time for people to fully accept their bodies and who they are but it is important to have more pictures and messages out their like this that do show a healthy body image. This picture is a great step forward to help women better look at being not a size two as a good thing and start worrying more about their health and happiness.