Recently, Self Magazine came out with a shady and misleading way to get women to submit images of themselves running in tutus, so the magazine could turn around and mock them.
I've never liked Self magazine. It's filled with nothing but images of women who fit an extremely narrowly defined idea of what beauty is. In other words, it's nothing but excessively skinny, airbrushed models, unless the rag is mocking someone, of course. You will find diet tips; more diet tips; exercise routines, so you can look like the models on the pages; and ads, tons of ads for weight-loss supplements, exactly what you would find in any other shit publication that lacks integrity and substance.
This little scheme they pulled got people up in arms. It's not just that they mocked women, it's that one of the women they mocked, Monika Allen, proudly sent in her image thinking this might be for an article or column about empowering women. After all, she was wearing the outfit to raise money for Girls on The Run and expressing herself after battling brain cancer.
Nope, it was strictly to put these women down and make fun of them, despite the fact these tutu-wearing women were completing marathons and races and accomplishing whatever goals they had set for themselves. Nice move, Self!
Self Magazine made a lame apology. One of the best comments by a former reader stated something along the lines of: The magazine must be burning a ton of calories backpedaling that fast! The only good thing that came out of this shameful behavior by the publication is that people united in protecting and defending not just Monika's right to wear whatever the fuck she wants in a marathon but everyone's right to do so.
I don't think I can express how angry and upset I am that shit like this even happens, but, sadly, we have largely become a society of haters, bashers, complainers and takers, especially in the media. As upset as I and many others are, I can't say I'm all that surprised.
Tonia Smith, a beautiful woman battling cancer herself, addressed what happened in this blog post. I don't think anyone could state it better: The Tutu Controversy
Great posting & you've expressed what I think about any company/product/magazine making fun about people of any body size exercising or what they wear while exercising. Lululemon included. This type of hazing can cause people to stop or continue to exercise. We need to support each other.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Patty! The world needs more uniting and less dividing. Imagine how things would be if we really did support each other.
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