Buy Walking VideosYou Don’t Have To Be Skinny To Be Pretty
I subscribe to Seventeen magazine. The first time I noticed that they were using models who looked normal, I called Mike over to me.
“Look at this!”
“What is it?”
“It’s Seventeen magazine.”
He looked at the pages and handed the magazine back to me.
“Do you want those jeans?”
“No, look at the models. They look like normal human beings.”
He took the magazine back and looked at it again.
“They look like models to me.”
Sure, they were models, but they were normal sized models with real bodies instead of living, breathing coat hangers.
“This is why I love Seventeen Magazine.”
This article, while noticing that magazines have a much better view of the female form, is still insulting to me because of this quote:
“Mixed among the pages of dazzling celebrities and rail-thin models that dominate fashion and teen magazines is a surprising sight: young women with thick thighs and flabby abs.”
Instead of describing them like they really are using words like “voluptuous” or “realistic”, they said “thick thighs and flabby abs.” Magazines like Seventeen have come a long way, but there’s a reason that Associated Press keeps their reporters anonymous. They don’t want me hunting them down and giving them a sock in the jaw.
The most important quote from this article is the following:
“I think maybe seeing someone like me in a magazine makes you realize that you don’t have to be skinny to be pretty,†she said. “People see skinny girls in magazines and they think that’s what normal is when it’s not the case.â€
Remember this and hold it close to you. That is the thought that will help you make healthier choices in your life. You are beautiful and you are worth the effort it takes to get and stay healthy.
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March 13th, 2006 at 7:23 am
hey! awsome article, who is that girl, the model in the picture? she is beautiful
March 13th, 2006 at 12:39 pm
I really don’t know her name. She is a model for Torrid Clothing. Does anyone else know who she is?
December 6th, 2006 at 12:29 am
She was on dateline once. I can’t find her name anywhere, which upsets me, because she’s the most beautiful.
December 29th, 2006 at 6:32 am
she is too fat …… she has to be skinny in order to be beautiful
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:10 am
She is beautiful. She does not to be like a coathanger to be beautiful.. when you’re rail thin, you look older right? i’ve had loads of comments, all saying that im pretty.. and im larger. though im 13 i know what to do, and what not to do =D
March 8th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
okay, excuse me jojo? do you not see how gorgeous she is? you think its normal to be skinny? im sorry, but its just not true. People come on this earth in different shapes and sizes, created equal. If you can’t see that, then i’m sorry. I’m really insulted by your comment. Ugh. You’re the reason why girls are throwing up and starving themselves. I hope you’re proud of yourself.
March 8th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
i know, like seriously! adding to michelle’s comment, i have the most gorgeous best friend, and she’s not rail thin. But she is still supper gorgeous. I feel bad sometimes because she listens to people like you, jojo or watever your name is. But she is ten times more beautiful than you’ll ever be.
May 7th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I’m plus size and live in the south west, I am SEXY here lol I’m tellin’ ya mexican men, and black men love thick girls, red bone, heathy, curvy, and other ways they call us. If people around here see skinny skinny girls they think they’re sick and try to feed them more lol it’s great. and may I say mmmmmm torrid girls are HOT I strive to be one haha. and Jojo, go back to the bathroom and make yourself feel better just keep in mind men look for a woman who can cook and does have puke breath grins innocently
July 20th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
her name is crystal renn.
November 10th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
ok… reality is, 99% of women dont have supermodel bodies. know why? because youre not supposed to look that damn way. if your ribs were meant to be visible, theyd be on the outside. people need to get over the whole madison ave version of beauty and realize that real beauty is all around them. im glad atleast one magazine is starting to see that. ignore all the idiots like jojo. theyre all just showing how ignorant they are.
November 10th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
i agree with matt. PLUS crystal is gorgeous. you can’t deny her beauty or any volumptous women in general.
November 22nd, 2007 at 3:23 pm
you cannot be fat and pretty. its just how it is, when people say fat i think of girls who are about size 15 and their bodies are disproportionate. if a girl is larger and her body is proportionate and she does not have multiple chins.
i am not fat, i am a size 2 and i weigh about 120 lbs and i am pretty and i if i were to weigh over 135 lbs i would stop eating.
November 24th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Sorry sammy,
Beauty is a lot more than physical fitness. It’s possible to be fat and beautiful. I’ve seen it many times.
It’s also possible to be a size 2 and be ugly. Beauty is an amalgam of many things and physical fitness is just one of them.
Laura
February 15th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I don’t think girls have to be skinny in order to be pretty… they just can’t be fat! It’s not really a paradox I just mean as long as you’re not size 10 or something- you don’t NEED to be size 0!! Personally I think that if you care about whether or not you are pretty you should not half ass it and blame society for “having” to weigh a certain amount. If you WANT to worry about being pretty you might as well worry about your weight too. It shouldn’t matter if people think you are “beautiful” or not if you care about that and are not happy with what they have to say- lose weight!!
April 14th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I am glad to hear all of this support for beautiful and curvy women, but I also want to caution you all that naturally skinny girls can get the message that they have to look like “real women” to be beautiful, when they are themselves, REAL women. Real women come in all sizes. It is NOT the skinny or curvy girl who is beautiful. Women of all sizes and races can be beautiful. Let’s just appreciate all of their differences instead of saying one is better than the other.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
it dosent matter what people say about you, its not important. you have to except who you are no matter what. i see it this way, as long as you are happy, those negative people can go stuff it b/c they dont give you oxygen. they dont pay your bills or end world hunger. so you know what? F*#k them!
May 21st, 2009 at 3:43 pm
I like it when they don’t use skinny models too, but that girl in the picture – although she has a pretty face she is still overweight. That’s not a healthy weight. You can’t tell me that she has a healthy diet and exercise, no.
Skinny is bad but that doesn’t mean fat is good.
December 10th, 2009 at 7:48 am
If you say you have to be skinny to be beautiful you are so mistaken. Beauty is in the ye of the beholder. To you someone may be extremly stunning but to someone else they may be not what they are looking for. The whole world is teaching young girls that to be pretty is to be skinny and this is evidently causing girls to stop eating to put their health and life at risk. This in its self is a problem that should be noticed and have somethign done about it. To be fat is not to be ugly, yes it is unhealthy in its self and should be looked at as a health factor as oppossed to a beauty factor. The world is focused on looks and weight, rather than health and personality. I refuse to let girls believe you have to be skinny to be wanted. This is just NOT TRUE. You are beautiful no matter what size you are, please dont let idiots make you think that you have to go without food to look amazing. You don’t believe me! And sooner or later fashion will come round to my way of thinking. I’m a size 10 (england) I eat well and exercise and am incredibly happy with myself. Beauty is being happy in your own skin.
August 27th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
I’m so happy to read all these wonderful comments. 🙂 Being average or above doesn’t take away the beauty that’s within everyone. I’m curvy & before reading this, I was feeling bad about myself. My self-esteem was lower. But now that I see that beauty isn’t a stick figure, i have nothing to worry about. 🙂 I knew that being boney wasn’t good in the first place & I never wanted to be boney. Just skinny. But now I’m perfectly content being as curvy as I am. 🙂 I’m healthy & completely happy with my life. <3
March 21st, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Well… the way it goes in middle school is… you HAVE to be skinny to be anywhere near pretty. If you weigh more than 110 you’re FAT! and I hate it! I go home and cry everyday! Girls and boys make fun of me all the time… i think im even the fattist kid in school (i weigh 151 and im 5’2) Today the really popular girl got with her group of friends and called me a “fatass ugly” i felt so bad!! :'( then they all said along with A LOT of guy how not even one boy in our school would ever like me… just thought id share how much i hate myself even though no one really cares… :/
April 17th, 2012 at 3:42 pm
Okay, she is so pretty. Although, why is everyone bashing Jojo? I mean one of the comments up there were “…she is 10 times more beautiful then you’ll ever be.” That isn’t necessary, is it? We all are beautiful whether we are over weight, fat, skinny, and bone skinny. We were born different ways and society is getting to us. So Jojo and anyone else is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.
July 6th, 2012 at 10:50 am
Marrisa, I understand how you feel. Just remember that YOU are in GODS creation. We are all beautiful NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE SAY. im 129 lbs but hey In my middle school I get more guys then skinny girls Just remember you are beautiful dont let name calling hurt you.