PR Disaster (re: SELF Magazine)

wadingmoose · August 2009

The editor also admitted to having the photo department resize her in some of her post-marathon pictures because she wasn't happy with her hips.Really? Wouldn't it be healthier to show that you don't need to be at 5% bodyfat to run a marathon? Wouldn't it be a better image to portray that even if you have a little extra fat, you can still be both active AND happy? I mean, at least when Twiggy was a model, they didn't have all this ridiculous technology to create the unhealthy image for everyone. She actually was that thin. Now, we have people trying to become some bizarre ideal that doesn't even exist in reality.

laurening · August 2009

If you see candid photos of Dana Torres she is pretty ripped. Every magazine photo is photoshopped, but at least that photo is representative of what she actually looks like. The Kelly Clarkson one is a completely different body. I'm not her doctor, I don't know how much she weighs or what her BMI is, but if you see candids of Kelly, that's not at all what she looks like. Photoshop is great for smoothing out the body, taking off 5 lbs, and getting rid of random small bulges. but this is way overdone. Why even bother doing a photoshoot? They could've just cut and pasted.

veronabrit · August 2009

what i meant was that the olympic swimmer is an athlete and was portrayed as one. Did they spray tan her and maybe use photoshop to sculpt her a bit- maybe...but it is not out of the realm of possibilities that she looks similar to the way she looked in the ad (often times at a shoot, models will do push ups, sit ups etc before their photo is taken to make their muscles stand out in the photos) this cover portrayed KC as someone she is not remotely similar to- a size 4

aerotigergirl · August 2009

Really? Wouldn't it be healthier to show that you don't need to be at 5% bodyfat to run a marathon? Wouldn't it be a better image to portray that even if you have a little extra fat, you can still be both active AND happy?^THIS^Also, it seems to me that a lot of the problems that most people have stem from not being willing to see themselves in the harsh light of reality. By 'shopping her marathon pictures, the editor, herself, is refusing to admit to herself that "this is what I look like" (or "this is where I am in life" or "this is my current level of fitness" etc.)I am very familiar with this dilemma because I did it to myself for years. Friends would ask me to go rock climbing or whatever, and, because I had an un-realistic view of myself I would imagine myself scaling up rock walls with ease... I had it in my mind that my body was capable of doing such things! Then I would accept, only to arrive at the rock wall and not be able to climb very high at all before my body just gave out. Inevitably, I'd head back home feeling worse about myself than before, all because I'd had un-realistic expectations of myself that came from not seeing myself in the harsh light of reality.This editor says that she's able to post un-edited photos of herself now because she's gained confidence. I propose that she hasn't gained any real confidence because, to her (at least it seems), confidence is tied to a particular waist/hip/bust circumference. Even now, she's probably still so ashamed of her un-edited marathon pics (despite the achievement that is implied by them) that they'll never see the light of day. The situation with KClarkson is so maddenning because it's just so transparent. They preach one thing because it's PC to do so, but in reality, SELF is no different than any other women's magazine (I've yet to find one besides Runner's World--which isn't really a women's magazine--that does justice to women). EDITOR-Just admit that you got your hand caught in the hypocritical cookie jar and stop your ridiculous back-pedaling because you (or your PR team) aren't smart enough to talk your way out of this one./RANT

SwedishChick2011 · August 2009

If Dara Torres actually looks like that, then it's fine. I mean, wow. But to me it seriously looks like a man's body (sans hair) and sort of out of proportion. Then again, if I was that ripped, I probably wouldn't be complaining.

tbh33 · August 2009

Dara Torres actually looks pretty similar to that. I saw her on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and she's really broad. I know she's pretty ripped in the abs, but that might have been exaggerated a little with photoshop. The only thing that may have been photoshopped with her is the exaggeration of the muscles and maybe a fake tan.

smokeybailey · August 2009

Coco-she is famous for her abs. You should have seen her arms on Jon Stewart. Awesome.Anyway, yes, photoshopping someone into someone else is just bad. I remember this happened to someone else and she was upset about it. I don't remember who that was though.

eastunder1 · August 2009

That cover is insane. It makes me lose a little bit of respect for Self, with is a magazine I normally love. I get that airbrushing and photoshopping happens, but that is excessively insane. They've easily knocked 30-40 pounds off off her. Possibly more. (and I completely agree with whoever said she was overweight by that much.) What kind of message does that send? If you want someone in healthy shape on your cover, pick someone who is already in that condition. I don't think the Dana ad looks all that photoshopped. The woman is in crazy good shape. Aside form a little shadowing and body makeup to cover flaws, thats pretty much what she looks like in person.

PR Disaster (re: SELF Magazine)

Re: PR Disaster (re: SELF Magazine)

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