Source: Speak Up
Speaker: Justin Ratcliffe (British standard accent)
JUST AS BEAUTIFUL
Do you think today’s super models are too thin? Is it time the world’s fashion houses put “real” women on their catwalks? New glossy magazine Just As Beautiful certainly thinks so. The launch of the bimonthly magazine has caused incredible controversy in Britain.
PLUS-SIZE
Just As Beautiful is the first magazine for plus-size women. What’s a plus-size woman? The magazine’s publisher Ronie Ajoku explains: “She’s curvy. She wears a dress size between 14 and 20 (46-52). And she’s just as beautiful. “The magazine was launched in October, but has existed online for three years. It had an online readership of 30.000. Ajoku decided to launch the print magazine after hundreds of requests from the readers.
THE MESSAGE
What makes the magazine special? It never uses traditional super thin models. Photographs of models are never modified Editor Sue Thomason says. “Women are constantly exposed to one message: ‘thin is beautiful’. We have different message. You don’t need to change your appearance to be happy.” Just As Beautiful model Rachel Morales adds. “The curvy revolution is here. This magazine promotes self-acceptance, not starvation and emaciation!
DIVISION
The launch of the magazine was very controversial. Health experts claimed the magazine promoted obesity. Others suggested it created a division: thin versus fat. People also suggested the magazine’s title Just As Beautiful was patronising.
DIET-FREE
How does editor Thomason react? She says the magazine isn’t creating a divide. It has articles on all types of women. The magazine doesn’t claim thin women are ugly. It simply says that many fat women are beautiful too. The magazine offers articles on fashion, cooking and lifestyle. It aims to be like any other mainstream magazine. It does not however, give diet tips. Thomason argues that dieting is often the cause of obesity. It is the catalyst for many eating disorders.
ONLINE
Are you interested? Visit the magazine’s website and you can download the most recent issue, and all the previous months as well. Simply register with the site. It’s free. Finally, Thomason says, “We hope other magazines will follow our example and end the era of the super-thin model.”
