Is Elle Bad for Women? Elle Editor Says No

The August edition of Elle is out, but I’m still chewing on the “Editor’s Letter” from the July issue, wherein editor-in-chief Roberta Myers defends herself and the magazine. The charge: is women’s media harmful to women?

If you guessed that Myers said “no,” congratulations! Here’s her inauspicious start:

On May 3, I went on the Today show, and in a segment about the winds of change blowing down last season’s runways, I uttered the words “[Elle Macpherson] is not a skinny girl.” Not skinny as in, not one of the anorexic, near-dead models that Ann Curry and I had just been talking about… How ironic that I was actually praising the presence of an almost 50-year-old demonstrably busty and athletic woman as a hopeful sign in an industry where the models have always been way too skinny (read: underweight).

This might be an understandable explanation if Elle had never taken part in the industry tradition of using “way too skinny” models, and if comparing favorably to a “near-dead” model were a meaningfully positive evaluation. Is that how low the bar is now?

“Well, Roberta, she’s definitely still among the living. I even held a mirror in front of her face and detected exhalation!”

“She'll look great in the new Vuitton. Let’s book her!”

[The furor that erupted following her statement] was about what it was about 15 years ago, when I was an editor at Seventeen, and 10 years ago, when I was an editor at Mirabella: In the “who’s responsible for my self-hating body image” debate, there’s no debate at all.

That’s because, in the “who’s responsible for portraying pre-menarche girls as the pinnacle of female achievement” debate, there’s no debate at all.

As New York blogger Amy Odell put it, magazines for women “make us feel bad about ourselves.” I wrote to Amy, hoping she might…explore that a little bit on assignment, but she never wrote me back. Alas.

If only there were more than one blogger who might explain this! If Amy isn’t available, I certainly am.

Why do images of women who are prettier, slimmer, younger, darker, lighter, smaller, taller seem like an affront to our self-worth?

Oh, only because they’re used to point out how flawed we are in comparison, and then sell us products to fix ourselves.

And would self-esteem generally rise were models to look more like the rest of us—5’4” and 165 pounds, the current build of the average American woman?

Um, YES. Obviously.

It’s curious to me that there’s still a belief that the media puts too much pressure on women to be thin, because as a measure of influence it’s an utter failure: The average woman has added 20 pounds to her frame in less than 30 years. More than one third of adult American women are obese, a medically devastating (and expensive) condition.

Hey, did you hear that? It’s the death knell of print media. Isn't the publishing industry’s profit model entirely predicated upon influencing readers and then peddling that power to advertisers?

But seriously: It’s curious to me that Myers ignores the increasing amount of research that being overweight is not necessarily an indicator of poor health. And that the relative affordability of processed and fast foods and the sluggish economy might have more to do with the general rise in the population’s weight than her magazine. And that Elle vacillates between influential and ineffectual depending on whether it suits her argument.

The attractive people favored by media as a whole—movies, TV, magazines, websites—can seem oppressive at times, though they do reflect this truth: Good-looking people get attention.

While this may be true, it also ignores that, beyond the fashion industry, there is no universally accepted definition of “good-looking.” Any model who deviates from the youthful, emaciated standard is shoved into a story about camouflaging those flaws or becomes an excuse for a magazine to onanistically praise its own open-mindedness. Which, you know, could "seem oppressive."

As we grow up and out into the world, how much does the presence of women who have more of whatever it is (brains, success, piano-playing ability) that bothers us about ourselves really hurt us? ...as an adult I realized it felt good to be told I was attractive. And it didn’t diminish my accomplishments one bit.

In other words: “I don’t have self-esteem issues, so I don’t understand why anyone else would. And I’m not publishing this in a national magazine because I feel the need to prove anything.”

And it’s a fair question to ask if media is setting, or reflecting, the cultural norms. Feminism allows us to be, pursue, remake ourselves however we like, so it’s challenging to consider what’s the right amount of “change” advice (let’s not call it improvement) for Elle to offer...

You know, I'm loath to make any kind of definitive statement about the nature of feminism, but I’m going to have to go out on a limb here: I’m pretty sure feminism doesn’t exist so we can “be, pursue, remake ourselves” according to Elle’s high-priced doctrine. It’s so we can “be, pursue, remake ourselves” as anything we want. Anything! Even, say, equal to men, whose magazines—last I checked—don’t contain nearly as many condescending explanations of why their readers’ feelings are totally unjustified.

Do we think that if Elle and the rest of “women’s” media stopped running stories about the latest skin saver, we’re all stop caring about our faces?

Scare quotes and a straw man.

And if the average model (under 20, 5’10”, and 124 pounds) were suddenly replaced by a 35-year-old five-footer, would we no longer find the leggy teenager beautiful?

Is there a reason we can't have both? Because—this might blow your mind—we could find them both beautiful.

Yes, we love [the musicians in this issue] for the way they look! And for the way they sing, write, perform, and otherwise rock our worlds. In every way, I flunk by comparison. And the world is so much more interesting for it.

Wait, so Myers admits to feeling inferior in comparison to these women...when that’s the same attitude she decried earlier.

Admittedly, it’s a daunting task to justify the existence of an entire industry. And while I don’t think anyone expects Myers to launch an all-out attack on her own livelihood and, like, immediately cease Elle’s publication, it isn’t unreasonable to hope for a genuine attempt to answer the fashion industry's critics. Instead, we get clichés, contradictions, and almost zero acknowledgment of magazines’  role in promoting the outrage that inspired Myers’ response. Women’s magazines can't speak for all women, but it would be a vast improvement if they at least tried to speak to us.

Related: Elle Editor Goes on the Offensive, Gets "Real"

Comments

[Jess]

"Yes, we love [the musicians in this issue] for the way they look! And for the way they sing, write, perform, and otherwise rock our worlds."

But the only aspects of Rihanna they choose to highlight on the front cover are her new LOOK and her new MAN. Nevermind that both her look and man are not "new"...

Rihanna is not that thin, either. They've whittled her down WAY too much.

[John Morris]

Its really great, this blog has got really very great stuff which helps us to growing up to our health. Keep it up the good going, It is a great pleasure to see this topic dealt with so clearly. Thanks

[Laryssa]

Thank you for this. The only solution I can imagine is for women to just stop buying these piece of shit magazines! Why do we like to read them so much?

I don't really buy them anymore - sometimes, I'll read a fashion mag while I'm getting a pedicure or my hair done. But my decisions today don't erase all the damage those magazines did to me as a teen (not just in terms of body image but the way I approach relationships with men as well).

Lately, I've been spending more time looking at and admiring real women in real life situations. It helps to spend time in a city like New York where the women are stylish and come in different shapes and sizes.

On any given night out on the town, I spend a lot of time "woman watching" and asking myself: what makes each woman beautiful? If the woman is with a man, I like to watch the way she interacts with him and vice versa.

All that might sound kind of creepy, but my observations have helped me heal and appreciate myself a little more.

[DrBubbles]

I thought it was really creepy that she would refer to "an almost 50-year-old" woman as a "girl." I wonder if setting women up for failure is intentional? After all, if we felt good about ourselves we wouldn't buy the mags.

[Liya]

Thank you! With your writing you give me glasses to see through that show so much more clearly how fucked up this situation is.

[Margo]

This is why I love your blog. Brilliantly done.

[PolitiCat]

I am so glad you addressed this one. The thing that gets me is how she ducks the true issue. She says, look, we are not influential, American women are getting fatter! But the issue is how those women (beautiful at many different shapes and sizes) *feel* when they are constantly being presented with an unattainable ideal, increasingly more unattainable as a 'perfect' size 6 has been whittled to a 2 or a 0. On top of that, she ducks that fashion mags set cultural norms, saying that perhaps they merely reflect them. At the same time she admits the cultural norm now is 20 pounds heavier -- so if the magazine is reflecting norms then shouldn't the models be heavier too, not skinnier? Finally, if these mags truly are trying to sell us on these clothes, shouldn't they be presented in a way where most of us can imagine ourselves wearing them? Of course clothes look great on a coat hanger, but how can a size 10 or a (gasp, lol) size 16 woman get an idea of how something would look on from a picture of it on a twig? I found the tone of her letter to be quite condescending as well. I am so glad you wrote about this. Your blog is awesome!!!

[Lainie Murrell]

Thanks so much for this. As an overweight woman who happens to love fashion I feel constantly ignored and belittled by the fashion industry. (Ha, belittled--good one.) I now only read Real Simple which has a different focus but still has all thin women for models in their few fashion articles.

[Laura]

I hope you send Elle a copy of this righteous critique, and that Roberta Myers has the spine to take you up on your offer. But I doubt it.

Brava.

[Vivian - Closet]

Love your blog here. I've enjoyed reading a few of your posts, and will be back for more.

[dryad]

Funny how the first thing I thought, prior to looking at what was presented below it was, "That girl (Rihanna) needs to put on some weight."

I stopped reading any magazines, particularly fashion and fitness, that perpetuated the belief that the average North American woman does not fit into the unrealistic ideal that the media and entertainment industry present. That was 20 years ago and I think I'm a happier, more attractive woman because of it. This is due to self-confidence and esteem I've been able to develop based on what I see on the street (other 'real' women that are beautiful in a variety of shapes and sizes), in the mirror and in my man's eyes (and he thinks I'm beautiful at size 16 & size 0, both of which I've been).

We're grown women with women's bodies. Why the heck would we want to look like an underdeveloped 12 year old or a teenage boy?! Until a brief period in the 1920's and then the 1960's onward, feminine beauty was always defined as being voluptuous, full-figured, zaftig.

It's wonderful to see this blog addressing the issues it does. It also tells me the magazines I gave up haven't changed a bit since I last read them in roughly 1989. So sad.

[Fashion Events]

In front cover her new look is gorgeous to c ...Feels so happy to visit ur blog ... Your blog is extraordinary one when compare to others..!!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQVTXSgd2Cg I enjoy reading ur article ..