The SELF You Never Were

Re: the Kelly Clarkson SELF cover kerfuffle.

Before I address SELF, to be fair, I want to refer to Lauren Collins' article from the May 12, 2008 issue of The New Yorker entitled, "Pixel Prefect" because it has stayed with me since I read it.

In it Collins delivers the how-can-it-be news that even Christy Turlington isn't Christy Turlington-y enough for fashion photography:

Pascal Dangin is the premier retoucher of fashion photographs. Art
Directors and admen call him when they want someone who looks less than
great to look great, someone who looks great to look amazing, or someone
who looks amazing already... to look, as is the mode, superhuman. (Christy
Turlington, for the record, needs the least help.) In the March issue of
Vogue Dangin tweaked a hundred and forty-four images: a hundred and
seven advertisements (Estee Lauder, Gucci, Dior, etc.), thirty-six fashion pictures
and the cover, featuring Drew Barrymore...Vanity Fair, W, Harper's
Bazaar, Allure, French Vogue, Italian Vogue, V, and the Times Magazine, among others, also use Dangin.

We've come to expect this from magazines, but the layered irony of SELF's message was too lush to pass up:

Irony One: You don't even have to bring your self to the photo shoot. They'll make you a fake one.

Irony Two: Clarkson is on the cover as The Most Inspiring Woman of 2009. For eating disorder inspiration.

Irony Three: The issue is focused on "Total Body Confidence." Unless you have a real one.

Irony Four: The cover photo is the money shot. But since Clarkson is famous for her singing, off the shelf sales will largely be due to fans of her musical ability. Yet SELF takes the focus off her talent by making us focus on what they see as the money shot... a version of Clarkson that doesn't exist. They don't see the real woman as talented, pretty and skinny enough to bring in revenue.

In an interview on the Today Show with SELF's Editor in Chief Lucy Danziger and the model Emme, the issue was debated. Emme suggested that because so many women are expressing outrage at all the retouching, we should use this as an opportunity to hear that women want to see a variety of body types represented in magazines. Danziger defended her position with illogical certainty:

"SELF says 'Love your self'... We love [Kelly] for the confidence she exudes from within...You want a cover to capture the essence of you at your best so we're saying to women, 'Look: Everyone can love who they are from the inside out and want to achieve your goals.'"

What size is your essence?

Comments

[tsanders726]

I was reading a copy of one of these magazines (Self or maybe Shape) while waiting to get my hair cut one day. I leafed through the magazine for about 10 minutes, and if I had taken everything I read seriously, I would have had to kill myself right there in the salon. Every page was "eat this or you're on the verge of death" "exercise or you're worthless" "your hair and skin are the key to happiness".. etc.etc.

This is a SLIGHT exaggeration, but not by much. There was not one message that said you are ok just the way you are. Everything was about change and how you will never be happy unless, dot, dot, dot.....

too bad we're sending these messages to young girls (and old ladies of 48 like me)...

[BlackJAC]

Entire books have been written on the subject of glamour photography and how to do it. It's all strategic lighting and camera angles.

[Jamie Frevele - Huffpost Blogger]

These lady magazines are like glossy, pretty crack. They make me feel inadequate, asymmetrical, unsuccessful, spinstery...yet when I'm in a salon, they're the first thing I reach for, ironically while being "repaired," but probably not enough.

And that was "Insecurity Minute with Jamie Frevele."

[PatA]

I've read interviews where Clarkson has talked about her body image in a very defiant way. I tend to think that one can protest too much..my feelings are that she doesn't much like her body as it is........
As for that SELF editor, what a nutcase!

[JScott]

In other word, we just make the pictures pretty enough so you see the ads and buy the products in em or use the services of them, damn the editorial integrity.

[Trichica]

The editor in chief actually said that they wanted to capture the "personal best". So according to Self and its editors that "personal best" was 30 lbs lighter than Clarkson really is.I know about airbrushing and editing, but Self presented an unturth. Self claimed to be writing about being happy with one's body image, but then they admit by their actions that thin is how you look your personal best. The non sensical explanations given by the editor are also ridiculous (her blog on the Self page is crazy.) I am fit and work out very hard to try and stay that way. Please do not give me an article about a woman who claims she loves to eat junk food and does when she wants to and then air brush her. America has an obesity epidemic--show what eating poorly can do to you--show the real Clarkson not what you created to sell magazines. Self turned out to belike very other magazine--selling a body image that is not real.....and that this smaller body image is your "personla best."

[allonfla]

Agreed totally.

Also, I expect fashion magazines to alter,well, everything. But SELF is a health and fitness magazine that's always touting that we should love ourselves.