Elle Promotes Unhealthy Body Images with the October Issue

There has been a lot of controversy associated with Elle's October cover of Gadbourey Sidibe, so much so that EIC Roberta Myers already spoke out in defense of the lighter skin Ms. Sidibe appears to have on the cover. I'm not sure if Elle lightened Ms. Sidibe's skin or not, and I'm really not concerned with that non-issue. To me, the problem with this cover is unequivocally one of health. Why did Elle chose to glamorize someone who is severely overweight, obese, and unhealthy? This is unhelpful and harmful! Two-thirds of Americans (over 190 million!) are overweight or obese. Obesity-related diseases are a $147 billion dollar medical burden annually. Childhood obesity, First Lady Michelle Obama's singular issue, has tripled in the last thirty years (CBS). This is a problem, not something to celebrate as an issue of diversity ("The cover is of a real woman!") or one of self-confidence. It's not an issue of judgment, either. It was Elle's choice to feature someone who is unhealthy.

What perplexes me, though, is why more people aren't bothered by the lionization of someone who is incredibly unhealthy. If the cover model had been unhealthily thin, people would be speaking out left and right about how the magazine is promoting impossible body standards, negative body images, and unobtainable weights. When the person is on the opposite end of the health spectrum, no one mentions the problem and those who do are deemed "insensitive." It is fine for a person to say to me, "You're too skinny!" or "You could stand to gain a few pounds!" but it would be unthinkable of me to say "You're too fat!" or "You could stand to lose a few pounds!" to someone else. I will never understand why that is. Of course, I think any comment along those lines is inappropriate, but in American society, it is perfectly acceptable to criticize a thin person, but insensitive to criticize an overweight person. Elle only enforces that paradox with this cover.

I can't wait to read what Elle readers thought about this cover when the letters to the editor are printed in a couple months.

What are your thoughts on the cover???