Kudos!

I am, admittedly, a magazine junkie. From the Allures of years past, the Alternative Press' stuck underneath a chair in my room, the Seventeens scattered about (and now, recycled), or the Vogues, Vanity Fairs, and (last of my) Teen Vogues coming in, there is always a magazine in my bag and in my room for me to read.

Being the Director of Body Image for Women's Initiative made me a lot more sensitive to what I was consuming and, also admittedly, is what gave me the satisfaction of staring Vogue's "Body" Issue down and cynically peeling its pages to reveal shoddy, short, small snippets of 'advice' on how to make yourself look like every other thin model. I was disappointed, but not surprised; I subscribe to Vogue because I love fashion, and save my feminist feelings about body image for my time spent reading Ms., but I was sincerely hoping they'd provide women with some sort of feel-good piece about loving your body no matter what the shape and size (cliche, but always appropriate). 

This made me overjoyed to finally stumble upon the most beautiful of pieces on body image today, and in a strange place: Woman's Day. A magazine my aunt subscribed me to years ago, it's usually nothing but recipe cards and articles on cancer, saving money, and organizing- it is legitimately for women older than me, but I appreciate the cute ideas on cleaning out closets and consider myself aware enough to be able to relax with a magazine not focused on how to "figure out my flirting style." I've enjoyed the publication enough to subscribe again and again, probably because of the low-cal dessert recipes and the actual advice on eating healthy (versus starving) that I see in it regularly. 

The piece, entitled "Banish Body Issues," was written by Paula Spencer and focused on how to bring up daughters with positive body images. Expectant of corny ideas like keeping them from sweets and making sure they exercise, I was touched by the source of the piece: Spencer's own observation of her young daughter running freely through a sprinkler. Her daughter's sense of self-confidence and lack of body anxiety inspired Spencer enough to write a letter-style piece on how all mothers could improve their daughters lives with a good, body- and food-positive lifestyle.

The recommendations? They're simple enough. Stress happiness in your daughter's life to create a positive person inside of that body, and then celebrate what that body can do, rather than what it isn't. Be thankful for actual health and not for how starved you appear, free your child to actually savor sweets and stop letting things like scales, your own body image anxiety, and the word "diet" flow through your home, your discussions, and your life. Stress that there is no single shape and- my favorite- avoid the backwards compliments.

Those compliments are a far more complex issue than Woman's Day could have taken on, considering the article engulfed only five columns of space; it is an issue, however, definitely worth observing and consuming. Think of how many times we were giving positive feedback in the form of "have you lost weight?" or "those pants make you look so thin!" I know what it's like to be told that "you're really pretty, but you could lose five pounds," and it isn't empowering. We need to stop giving people positive feedback on their appearance that revolves completely around the American hunger for starvation in order to eliminate the presence of that threat from our children's lives.

So here's to you, Woman's Day, for recognizing the danger in thin-positivity and finally giving moms the reality we all need: that food is ours to enjoy, our bodies are ours to love, and anxiety about body image really can be ours to dissolve.