Drop a dress size by tonight?
The December issue of Cosmopolitan screams “Drop a dress size by tonight.”
Really Cosmo?
And how I am going to do that?
By engaging in unhealthy, disordered eating behaviors? By over-exercising, purging, starving, or abusing medications? Eating only carrot broth or “health foods”?
I assume the article inside suggests something much less harmful; however, I can only hope that is the case given that I decided against spending my hard earned money on a magazine where the top priority is to find a new party dress (mine from last year will do just fine, thank you!).
Perhaps it suggests wearing Spanx or drinking more water; sometimes these types of flashy headlines do promote more benign ideas. However, what I would suggest is that the headline itself is misleading at best, but dangerous regardless.
Promoting the idea that a dress size can be dropped in a matter of hours or even days is setting consumers up for more than disappointment. It’s also implicitly promoting unhealthy means of achieving rapid weight loss. Because the fact of the matter is that in my experience, there is no healthy way to lose weight fast. In fact, in my experience, body changes that are slow, steady, and prompted by a deep and abiding love for one’s self are the only healthy kind.
Beyond that, screaming about dropping a dress size to check-out line passers-by also implies that dropping a dress size is something they need to do. I’m minding my own business, piling my purchases on the conveyor belt, checking out the latest Orbitz flavors, and BAM!, I’m presented with the idea of dropping a dress size by tonight.
Hmmm, I think (in this facetious scenario), I wonder if I should drop a dress size. Maybe that black number would look a little better a few pounds lighter… Oh shoot, that party is tonight! Whatever will I do?
This is of course slightly exaggerated, but it’s not far off from the mental process that marketers are aiming for when we’re presented with these types of media messages. The answer they are looking for, of course, is: “Oh, I’ll buy this magazine and learn how!” or “I’ll purchase this diet aide and be happy!” or “I’ll stop by that gym down the street and sign up for more classes!”
But what if, just maybe, we didn’t believe the hype? What if we didn’t buy into someone else implying that we need to lose weight or drop a clothing size?
What would that be like?
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Christie @ Honoring Health
514 days ago
I haven’t seen the magazine yet, Ashley, but I agree with everything you said.
Interestingly enough, I have also been watching my twitter feed this month and have been surprised by the amount of diet mentality that is out there – even from people I never expected. I have been unfollowing most of them because I don’t want to support that mentality in any shape or form but it really gets under my skin. The way we have been brainwashed to believe that if only we were thinner life would be grand.
I was thinking about this yesterday, last week, I got rid of clothes I had been hanging onto for literally years. The reason I got rid of them was because I knew that even though I have done the work to love my body just the way that it is right now, having those clothes around are just another example of the thin fantasy. A place in our minds that doesn’t exist and the magazine plays right into that.
Christie @ Honoring Health recently posted..Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Ashley @ Nourishing the Soul
514 days ago
I have also been surprised by how insidiously the diet mentality rears its ugly head. I think unfollowing on twitter is a good idea, especially for those for whom its hard to resist the pull. I have been thinking of really taking stock of my twitter account and removing those who promote messages that aren’t in line with my own.
Michele @ Healthy Cultivations
514 days ago
It’s a difficult situation. Corporate responsibility clashes with capitalism. Unfortunately, these headlines sell magazines. It’s so sad though because as you stated, people then think that perhaps we should be able to lose weight that quickly… assuming weight needs to be lost at all.
It would be wonderful if we could all focus on being as healthy as possible at whatever weight we are… and trust that if we eat well, exercise often, and sleep adequately, then our weights will settle just where they’re meant to be.
Michele @ Healthy Cultivations recently posted..Home for the Holidays
Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun
514 days ago
I don’t even get how they could think to claim that. Ridiculous. And I agree with Christie’s comment about a lot of diet mentality out there right now.
Tina @ Faith Fitness Fun recently posted..What A Good Day!
Megan @ ascension blog
514 days ago
What would that be like if we didn’t buy into the hype? Well, a lot less magazines would be sold! :) Seriously, I do think that magazines probably make most of their profits by preying on the insecurities of women, who frantically search through glossy pages for the answers to their ‘problems’. If women only knew that they could find all the answers they need inside themselves, most women’s magazines would fold. Personally, I haven’t bought one of those types of magazines for many years, and I know for a fact that I haven’t missed on anything of even the slightest importance.
Megan @ ascension blog recently posted..Tchau tchau- body-shame
Ashley @ Nourishing the Soul
513 days ago
Very much agree. I can only imagine what dollar value the industry of “make women feel bad about themselves and then offer a ‘solution’” makes!
Katie @ Health for the Whole Self
514 days ago
Magazines like this always make me angry, but this headline is particularly infuriating. I agree with everything you’ve written here, Ashley. And I really believe that the best way to tell these companies that this is NOT the content we want to read is through our wallets. I still remember the day I canceled my subscriptions to all the magazines that I felt promoted negative ideas like this one. But I didn’t just stop buying them; I also wrote letters to the editors explaining exactly why I was canceling my subscriptions. It’s a small step, I know, but it felt really powerful.
Katie @ Health for the Whole Self recently posted..Six Strategies for Managing Holiday Stress
Ashley @ Nourishing the Soul
513 days ago
That’s a really good point. We can complain all we want, but when it comes down to it, money talks!
Therese
514 days ago
This is why I no longer subscribe to any women’s magazines (or the ideas they promote)!
Therese recently posted..If you dont hear from me
Nancy
514 days ago
I wouldn’t assume that for many in this country there isn’t a need for better eating or exercise practices. What’s difficult to swallow about these magazines and retailers alike is how easily health and good looks are tied up into a size or a number. When I first began seeing a therapist about my issues, she asked me if i would be happy at a tiny weight even if I wore a size 8 (which is big for my shape and height-I’m not judging that size). I flat out said no, I don’t want to shop in certain sizes. I realized that chasing a size 2 and 0 just to feel comfortable in a fitting room was half my battle. Now, I’m learning to accept whatever the size is on the label as long as it fits a healthy body.
KCLAnderson (Karen)
514 days ago
Excellent commentary as usual Ashley!! And yes, I’ve noticed the same thing re Twitter and Facebook and media in general and it’s crazy-making!!
KCLAnderson (Karen) recently posted..Yes It’s Scary But It Means Living More Whole-Heartedly
Margarita @ Weightless
514 days ago
Ashley, I couldn’t agree more! I used to take these tips to heart. For instance, I thought that I had to be a diet because I definitely wasn’t slim and trim, so I clearly didn’t deserve to eat what I wanted. I had many thoughts like this. Now, whenever I come across these headlines or articles, I just find them comical. What worries me is that many people do not, but by dissecting and revealing the messages these magazines send and by talking about what is healthy, I like to think that we’re adding a meaningful counter to the thin-is-in conversation.
Margarita @ Weightless recently posted..Body Image Booster- Journaling
charlotte
514 days ago
For my part, I like to turn all those magazines around when I stand in the checkout line. I’m sure the people behind me think I’m nuts but even looking at the pictures makes me a) hate myself b) wish I were thinner and c) angry, as I realize that I am yet again being manipulated by the smoke-and-mirrors of the mainstream media. Yep, I turn those puppies over.
charlotte recently posted..The Best Gym Outfit Ever is Mine!
Megan @ ascension blog
513 days ago
AWESOME! Thank you, Charlotte, for turning me onto my new favourite hobby :)
Megan @ ascension blog recently posted..Tchau tchau- body-shame
Ashley @ Nourishing the Soul
513 days ago
Fantastic idea, Charlotte!
Jen Saunders
513 days ago
Whole industries (beauty, diet, etc) are based on creating fear and insecurity in women that they are not thin or pretty enough as they are. Can you imagine what would happen if women stopped buying these magazines and silly products?
How we spend our dollars is our vote. Blogs like this encourage women to critically think about their power and use it for good!
Great post – keep them coming!
Dorry
513 days ago
Something so ridiculously unrealistic as the line “Lose a Dress Size by Tonight’ is laughable to me, but I realize it can also be dangerous to some. It probably would have been dangerous to me at a younger age. It’s irresponsible and I’m sad that someone at Cosmopolitan gives the “OK” to publish it.
I love the idea of turning the magazines around at the checkout stand.
Dorry recently posted..Billy’s Half Marathon Playlist
Jean Sampson
513 days ago
I think the whole economic system of the USA would collapse if all women felt good about themselves and their bodies. Seriously!
That magazine headline is hideous!
Hope Despite Depression
512 days ago
Wonderful post Ashley! I couldn’t agree more! I’m so tired of seeing stupid “headlines” like this on magazine covers. I’m tired of photos of celebrities being airbrushed. I’m tired of the people thinking that beauty is only in how one looks. I’m tired of all these things which make women (and men) question their body image and make them feel like they are not good enough. We ARE good enough. There are way too many of these magazines out there saying stuff like this and way too many people who believe it – it’s so sad.
Thanks for posting this!!
Take care!
Christine
Hope Despite Depression recently posted..Anxiety and the Holidays
Susan@Home Workouts
512 days ago
It’s all about making money. They don’t care who they could potentially hurt, as long as they can successfully fool them into buying a copy of their magazine.
Susan@Home Workouts recently posted..A Holiday Home Workouts Gift Just For You
taylorgirl6
511 days ago
What if someone published a new kind of magazine with teaser titles like….
10 ways to get your family to eat at the dinner table each night
or
Ditch capitalism and enjoy the holiday season for once in your life
or
Make-up is superficial – You’re gorgeous as you are
or
Buy clothes that feel good on your body
Would it sell?
taylorgirl6 recently posted..Lets Have a Ginger Barn Raising!
Ashley @ Nourishing the Soul
507 days ago
I would totally buy it!
Nina
505 days ago
Great post Ashely. It really is such insidious brainwashing, and so sad that intelligent women (myself included) fall right into the lure of those headlines. It is like saying “grow 5 inches talller by tonight” Absurd! And yet in taps right into to that insecure, self hating part of ourselves, where we are willing to believe anything.
So what to do? Be the change you want to see! Thanks for your great site that does this!
Nina recently posted..Stop Dieting and Start Living
Ashley @ Nourishing the Soul
492 days ago
That’s a great comparison to highlight the absurdity!
Meg
493 days ago
Thanks Ashley- your blog is so important. As women we need to be really ultra aware of the mass-consciousness/mass-media messages that are being brought in to surround us and distort our perception of ourselves as beautiful and worthy in our natural female shapes. I know that I still struggle to love my physical body 100 percent. I struggled with all the usual eating problems as a teenager and young adult. Even now that I am in a much more balanced and at peace place in my life, I still find constant fault with my body, when I should be appreciating and admiring it, affirming its health and beauty every single moment of the day.
Keep up the good work. Meg
Ashley @ Nourishing the Soul
492 days ago
Thanks, Meg. I’m glad that this post resonated for you. I agree that we need to be ultra aware. So many of these messages “slip under the radar” if you will, and then years later we don’t understand why we hate our bodies so much!
Kelly
352 days ago
I can drop a dress size easily…shop at a different store or even a different brand. There is no uniformity in women’s sizing…something that drives me nuts.
RUDY
236 days ago
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