I received my edition of the 2013 April Seventeen Magazine and to be honest, I was pissed. I was pissed that:
1. The magazine YET AGAIN showcases clothes and accsessories that are way over the budget of the average teen girl.
2. There are no plus size girls.
Promptly after recieving my magazine I tweeted:
"I want @seventeenmag to have "big ass, thighs, and stomach" as a body type. It's just so hard to relate to the magazine. #curvydoesntcutit"
I mean, it's not like Seventeen tweeted back saying the next issue will feature larger girls nor did they tell me to sit my fat ass down. But I've been thinking about it all week. I mean, is this really what I 'm paying money for? For a "relatable teenage magazine" that only features clothes and accessories for girls that are 5'7, size 4, and that have long hair. These girls are their target and yet, so are other teen girls who do not fit that mold. So whats up? As I look through the magazine, it starts to remind me more and more of Teen Vogue, but not nearly as high end. It seems that Seventeen is trying to get the message across that "You can be beautiful, chic, and stylish WITH OUT paying the designer cost." Seventeen, you're killing me. I want a magazine that is not bombarded with Ads and skinny people. I don't need to know how to LOOK HOTTER IN MY JEANS but rather HOW TO CONFIDENTLY SHOW OFF YOUR THIGHS WITH OUT FEELING BAD ABOUT YOUR BODY IMAGE. Not every teenage girl watches Pretty Little Liars nor did I need to be informed as to WHICH HOT GUY PANELIST SHOULD I DATE? Give me a magazine that has large inspirational girls, DIY, and Benedict Cumberbatch. I guess that's why I have a Tumblr.
Normally I like to use these magazines as "inspiration" for things I want to do for my personal wardrobe and life style but it's gotten to a point where it has a negative affect on my life. It seems that the magazine is serving as a constate reminder that I can't wear the things these girls wear, my hair won't look like those girls, and those shoes would never fit my feet. Know why? Because I have a size 16 (14 on a good day) ass, hair to my shoulders that never manages to do anything but lay atop my head in a bun, and because I have size 8 feet that are as wide as my hand. And I'm ok with this because: It's me.
I don't need to see pages filled with girls who look so much better in clothes I can't dream of ever finding in my size. Then I step back and wonder, "Why would I want to look like them. They don't look like me!" Seventeen has turned into a magazine that seems to understand teenage girls from what they see on Twitter. They understand what we "want" but they are not giving us what we need. For me, I need a magazine that understands I need other inspirational women and girls who have stories to share and who share the same feelings that I do. Not some girl that is a star of a popular TV show or a music artist that wakes up "feelin' like P. Diddy." I just can't relate. I wake up in the morning feeling like Lillie. Someone who has interests and passions but also someone who has insecurities and self-image issues. I feel that many others could relate and the reason I feel this way is that not every girl is like those in the magazine. And let me go out on a limb and say some can relate more to this blog post rather than an article about 17 SWEET KISSES TO TRY! Give me an article about 17 WAYS TO GET OVER A FICTIONAL CHARACTER.
As every issue comes out, the magazine becomes more like pages for the Popular girls. The girls who are more concerned about how they look, about their hair, and about boys. And if those their interests, then who am I to judge them. But here's the thing, a magazine for teen girls should not just include general information to what they think teenage girls want. I wonder if they ever stopped to consider, "Hey, not everyone that we feature in our magazines looks like our readers. Maybe we should fix that."
I assume not.
I am a plus size girl.
I like the internet.
I don't have a lot of money to spend on trendy things.
This is not an attack at skinny or other girls that are not plus sized. The best way I can describe this is that you go to a fruit market and all they have are apples. There is no variety. I would also say that they lack in showing a variety of other body types and personalities of teen girls. After I posted that tweet, I had a petite friend of mine who agreed and said Seventeen needed more styles for short hair, because she has short hair and can't relate. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who understands there is more that just a few body types or a few hair styles that covers the entire population of teenage girls in America.
I want a magazine that will inspire girls into not changing for others or to feel pressure that they have to wear certain clothes or have a certain "Style." Am I glam-punk or am I rocker-chic? There needs to be a magazine that helps girls be comfortable with themselves. To let them know that it's ok that we make mistakes because other awesome women have made mistakes and they turned out, well, awesome. I don't need to do anything for people to like me. This magazine needs to find a more genuine way to say "Be Yourself." Because how its "trying" to now, just seems like it's all one big marketing ploy.
I'm excited for my Friday Favorites of the Week. Expect it to feature some plus size friendly links. I may even do another post talking about plus sized women on the internet and media.
Until next time
Lillie
x
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