Fitness magazines usually show the same body type on their covers month after month — trim, lean muscled and minimally curved. This often portrays our general standard of what “fit” looks like. Magazines, in general, tend to use cover models who have a certain body ratio, thinness and are the epitome of a very singular standard of sex appeal. And even though these models generally possess a body type that is unrealistic for most women, these magazines photoshop them further, making them even more unrealistic.
These are the images that circulate young women's minds and provide the shape and image of what a woman's body “should” look like, which has proven to lead to an unhealthy body image, poor mental health and eating disorders.
In August of 2015, Women’s Running magazine used a model named Erica Schenk on their cover, and she just happened to be plus sized. To say the least, everyone was pretty stoked about it. The magazine threw an image into circulation that is realistic, and won’t create an unhealthy body image in young women’s minds. They showed a body type that differs from the magazine cover norm, not the overall body type norm, which can lead to a more normalized view of body diversity.
In order for the general, nationwide idea of what a woman's body should look like to truly become “normalized,” there needs to be an infinite amount of different body types shown in media, instead of just one type. Every single woman has a different body than the next girl, which means that no one image is “normal.” The only thing about body type that is truly normal is that no two women are the same, and we are just as beautiful and attractive for it. In order for young girls to get that idea in their minds, we need a plethora of body types on our magazine covers, and I think Women’s Running might just be paving the way.
This month, Women’s Running magazine is featuring yet another plus-sized model, Nadia Aboulhosn, on their cover.
Jessica Sebor, the magazine’s editor and an avid champion of a positive body image said in July that “As a runner, it’s obvious that fit, healthy women come in all shapes and sizes. There’s absolutely no such thing as a ‘runner’s body.’ You can go to any marathon finish line for proof of that fact. Healthy isn’t about what a person looks like; it’s about how she lives her life.”
Ain’t that the truth! Amen, Jessica.
But as for Nadia, she seems pretty freaking cool too. As an Insta-famous model from Orlando, who now lives in New York City, she’s appeared in various magazines like Seventeen and Teen Vogue, but she also designs for the plus size lines of BooHoo, Addition Elle, and Lord & Taylor. She has a fashion blog with quite a view avid followers and is an advocate for self-acceptance and body positivity.
While Nadia is featured in and involved in a few “plus-size” fashion lines, she does say that she does not use that term to describe herself because she believes that it contributes to the marginalization of a specific body type as well as increasing the stigma associated with a “normal” or “standard” body types. “I’m just trying to normalize what should have already been seen as normal,” she said.
Nadia says that she runs often throughout her week, and loves to exercise. While eating chemicals, fast food and never getting up off of the couch does not make for a healthy lifestyle, eating well and being active and allowing that lifestyle to mold your body in the way that it will, and being confident in whatever that shape looks like, is the most healthy thing that you can do for yourself.
Thank you, Women’s Running, for allowing us to take a step towards a healthier body image.
