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Shifting Body Types Through the Ages

Every era has its body type, and ironically, like hemlines they can change radically in short periods of time. Just think about how quickly we went from buxom bombshell supermodels like Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell (who was not all that big but womanly and curvy) to the short and waif like Kate Moss who beget the likes of Shalom Harlow and Amber Valetta- all of whom look like chunky monkeys next to the skeletal remains of what is left of the Victoria Secret Angels of today. It makes me long for the ‘90’s when you would open that catalogue and see the voluptuous Frederique, or a Paulina Porizkova. The 90’s was a time when there was a bit more diversity in the concept of what beauty, sexy or desirable was in a Woman. For quite a while these divergent types occupied the same space, even walked the same runways. Anna Nicole Smith burst on the scene in the black and white Bruce Weber campaign for *Guess Jeans and the world’s jaw dropped, not at how “big” she was, (and she was) but how sexy she was. There was never a whisper of her being “plus sized” she was simply gorgeous. It was clear that she was not a runway girl, and she was accepted, she had her lane.- She was a campaign girl, she had a body, and a look that harkened back to the iconic bombshells like Marilyn Monroe, Bridgette Bardot and Sophia Loren. Those sex symbols of old would nowadays be considered plus size, or just plain fat. The ‘90’s was an era of diversity in the fashion industry from runway to print, a time when *actual models were cover girls, not the hot actresses of the moment.  It got me thinking about bodies change through the times both in real life and in the media projected image of them. What I found even more interesting was how I, in my new millennium mind regarded and related to those bodies. Ironically as Americans have grown plumper over the years the media projected ideal has wizened. I thought about how diverse the ladies of past eras were, or at least seemed to be, (I’m sure that they too felt much like we do) sure they too were typed, but perhaps there were more types to choose from, or perhaps I am just being romantic.

 

The ever-narrowing concept of beauty makes me feel like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole; either I am getting bigger, or things are getting smaller, either way something isn’t right or nothing, (meaning myself seems to fit) I reside in the murky middle earth of body types. Recently on Facebook I came across some great photos, of a personal female icon of mine, Josephine Baker. I discovered Josephine quite by accident as a sophomore in high school. My English teacher assigned a book report on a biography. Relatively uninspired, and having no one in particular mind I went down to the library and started to peruse what was to be had. That’s where I came across the banana skirt wearing chanteuse. I was enthralled with her look, and her life. As a young African American girl that type of glamour, style, and refinement was generally reserved for the “lighter” side of life, like Elizabeth Taylor or Rita Hayworth. I knew about Lena Horne, but she was so fair, it was hard for me, a brown girl with more traditionally African American features to relate to her. Conversely Josephine baker looked black, and there she was in all of her glory and I do mean all as her topless and nude pin up shots were a good portion of what made her famous in the early days.

At that time as a young ballet dancer I was always striving to be more and less, better in my are but thinner, and less muscular physically, however there was something in Baker’s shape and hue that comforted me. In the photos she was curvy, and she looked to be and soft, like veal. Though the writings mentioned her muscular and wild abandon, I couldn’t see it, and even in pictures of her dancing she did not look “powerful” and perhaps because of the exotification of the Black people at the time I got how she appeared to them to be “wild” and “savage” but in the ‘80’s her body type would not be considered athletic. This I chalked that up to the racial stereotypes that were assigned to Black people at that time. To me her body looked like the epitome of womanliness, she was a brown Marilyn Monroe. She oozed sex, she looked like something that men wanted to melt into, and that women wanted would long to emulate in the in hopes of arousing such desire. With adult eyes I noticed her curvy thickness, and thought that it was beautiful in the second beat I thought that, by today’s standards she would be consider thick, not quiet “fat”, not slim but what could safely be deemed as healthy… The third beat brought me back to myself, I thought, “I’m probably about the same size as her, but I couldn’t see myself or size as ideal”. Somewhere I still feel like would be “better” if I was just…. Smaller, less athletic, more balanced. Where I know full well from doing work such as this, that these feelings of inadequacy are mainly in my head and not a “reality” I also know that it is a part of the disease of the body image crisis, the in ability to see yourself as okay, unbroken, perfect as you are.

A few days later there was a photo of Marilyn Monroe pressing weights posted on Facebook. She is wearing some manly fitting jeans and a bikini top, she looks sexy, and healthy, not super chunky like she could be, but not skinny- she was never skinny. I think she looks wonderfully natural, very Norma not Marilyn at all. Once again I thought her body looked great and once again I tried to see if I could be acceptant of myself (and size) as I looked at the photo, and once again it was difficult. I write all this to say that I truly believe that some of my inability to see myself reflected in these two icon women of iconic body types is because in present day these types are barely represented and when they are they are labeled as the “alternative” idea of desirable—even when the majority of country looks more like that– then like the marketed “ideal”. One of my favorite writers Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  did a TED talk about the danger of the single story. The single story makes itself the only- leaving little to no possibility for the presence of others. It becomes “The” thing not “A” thing. The single story, whether by default or design is exclusionary and omitting, and that is dangerous, whether we are talking about a single race story, gender story or body story.

 

In the media we are constantly being told a single story of what beauty and the idyllic female type is. Certainly there are some exceptions, people will quickly cite Kim Kardashian, or a Jennifer Lopez, or even a Sophia Vegara. But when you can could the “other” on one had or call them by name, what does that tell you? Also the “others” I have mentioned are all a single type of other? They still fit comfortable into a preexisting female context of “Sex Symbol” We have not yet truly advanced as much as we have gone retro; we are not broadening but recycling a body image of yesteryear. This is one of the reasons I find the British singer Adele to be so interesting, on multiple levels. Okay she is full figured, for sure, and she is fine with it, I say this because usually at her level of success you would see the pounds come off and her hair get blonder, (or redder), it’s just what happens in the industry. You make it and you get thinner and lighter, be you black or white. She has not. She stand firm in the body she inhabits, and has commanded that the world * listen to her gift not ogle her and try not to hear as most of the pop and R&B female vocalist do. Her talent is pure and her confidence in it is staggeringly stalwart for women her age. And the world has not only embraced her but also exalted her for it. She has been at the top of the music charts for 2 years with the same album breaking all sorts of records and like Old Blue Eyes she did it her way. I think this says something about what people are craving, honesty, truth and authenticity. I can’t go on the Huffington Post without seeing a post about the errors in photo shopping, from elongated images, to thinned out waist lines and thighs to missing limbs, it’s out of control. We as a culture are sick of it, but when there is nothing else to eat, you consume what is placed before you.

 

There is hope; at least we are actively acknowledging the fact that the enhanced and altered images are just that altered. They are not real. In our minds we know that in such cases we can not believe what we see although it still takes a beat to snap us back to that reality and out of those all to familiar feelings of in adequacy that they produce. The day will come, and it will come that we will simply dismiss what we see and when we do will we will see it no longer, because when it comes down to it, we are still (by the power of our dollar) driving the demand, and there for have the power to dictate what is supplied, we just have to remember that. By created our own concept of beauty, one that includes ourselves just as we are we can change the way the world sell us to ourselves.

Gabby Douglas’ Mom Speaks: on raising an Olympian

 

It is history laid on a little girls shoulders. Gabby Douglas clinched the title of Best All Around Gymnast in the World, and as the world talked about her hair (more on that later) and the commentators talked about her teammates chances (or lack there of) Gabby went to work and did her job. And in the stands, often color coordinated with her leotard, her Mother and sisters cheered her on. Here is a video where Gabby’s mother Natalie speaks about what it meant to letting her baby go so that she could follow her dreams meant…

See & Say on ABT’s Firbird (Misty Copeland) With Dance Magazine’s Wendy Perron- VIDEO

It is always a great pleasure to go to the theater with Dance Magazine’s Editor in Chief Wendy Perron, and afterwards we like to do what I named a See and Say Video review. It has been a while but we finally linked up to see American Ballet Theater’s new version of Firebird choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky. It was a big night for Soloist Misty Copeland as she was making her New York Debut and this was one of the roles that might propel her to the Principal status. This also marks the first partnership between Dance Magazine and My Body My Image. We hope to bring you more!

Enjoy!

Advertising: Where Are We Now on Body Image?

Hosted by Huffington Post:

Karen Fraser

Director of Credos

According to Dove, winners of the advertising award at the Body Confidence Awards hosted by the APPG on Body Image this month, only one in eight British women consider themselves attractive. With results like this it is no surprise that political concerns and public awareness surrounding low body confidence in the UK are increasing rapidly. Minister for Equalities Lynne Featherstone’s Government Body Confidence campaign has driven debates on how to diversify socially prescribed definitions of beauty.

The focus for advertising began with discussions on airbrushing in the media; yet approaching this from an informed and balanced stand point was hindered by the lack of solid research that had been conducted into understanding the issue. The advertising industry’s think tank, Credos, set about rectifying this and last autumn published Pretty as a Picture, the culmination of almost a year’s research into airbrushing and body image. We held focus groups with 24 young women, spanning ages from 10-18, held separate focus groups with their Mums, and commissioned an online survey of a nationally representative sample of 1000 girls aged 10-21 years.

We found that 84% of our sample understands what airbrushing means, whilst 61% reject the use of airbrushing in removing blemishes, and a massive 84% believe it’s unacceptable to change the shape of models’ figures. Overwhelmingly, the message was that whilst beauty and glamour are central to advertising, faking beauty undermines young women’s trust in a brand.

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Let the Nudity ..I mean the GAMES Begin!

As predicted the skin baring has begun. I called it a few weeks ago in my post asking “Will the Olympics Bring a New Standard of Body Image?” It’s not like I’m Nostradamus or something it’s just the way the media functions. We carry the idea that if you have a “Hot Body” you are somehow in a way obligated to show it. I HATE that mentality. It irritates me to know ends when when the likes of  Guiliana Rancic and Kelly Osborne say that crap on Fashion Police, “She’s Yoooung she has a beautiful body, she should shoooow it” I think it’s so reducing, and sexist. No one ever says that men with hot bodies should walk around in hot pants with see through shirts, in fact that would be considered tacky and cheesy. I don’t know if this mentality it’s out of appreciation, or envy inducement, more likely it’s to get the dollar dollars Branding by Buns!
I have to say that I think that the human body alone is a work of art, and when (tastefully) photographed it can truly illustrate its majesty. Personally I have done my share..That having been stated, There are times when, even when the photos are “works of art” I still have to ask why? Is this truly appreciation or exploitation? Take a look at some of these pic that have come out so far and tell me what you think.
ESPN Magazine, the U.S. Women’s Indoor Volleyball Team
olympic_basketball

Tyson Chandler — New York Knicks Center

Photo: Via ESPN

olympic_sailing

Anna Tunnicliffe — Sailing Team, USA

(This I love because it shows how her body looks when she is doing what she does! Love this! Awesome)

Photo: Via ESPN

British skier Gregor Tait took it off for Powerade advertisements shot by photographer Nadav Kander. It’s nice to see that male Olympians are willing to share their adorable behinds with us.

(The same here, this is how we understand why their bodies look the way they do!)

NOW these next ones personally make my teeth itch, WTF! I abhor this Snow Bunny look. These women are strong and powerful they race down mountains at amazing speeds, and here they are lounging and looking helplessly alluring, please! I would have preferred if they had them in bikinis and skiing or snowboarding with abs and quads popping, now THAT would be HOT right now they just look cold!

U.S. Olympic snowboarder Hannah Teter got a gold medal in the 2006 half pipe competition and is featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. But more importantly, she’s got her own Ben & Jerry’s flavor called Hannah Teter’s Maple Blondie. So jealous!

Twenty-two-year-old Colorado Olympic snowboarder Clair Bidez took some of it off for this winter’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She looks cold.

U.S. Olympic aerial skier Lacy Schnoor from Salt Lake City joined the ladies in the Swimsuit Illustrated swimsuit issue

 

No worries there will be more more to come…ugh!

 

And Now in Stupid Parenting News…Mother Urges 14 yr old Daughter to get Breast Job

When Will It Stop?

britney marshall boobs“At the moment she doesn’t really have what I would say are boobs — but I’d like her to follow in her sisters’ footsteps… I really love the fake look of my girls and I know Britney will go that way when she’s a bit older.”

hosted by Huffington Post

Bras, braces, makeup are all rites of passage for many teen girls. But if you’re a member of the Marshall family, so are boob jobs.

Britney Marshall, a 14-year-old from Nottinghamshire, England, is the youngest girl of the Marshall family and the only one without breast implants. Her mother, Chantal Marshall, told the Sun, “Britney is going through a funny phase at the moment and saying she doesn’t want to get her boobs done.”

*Smart Girl!

Chantal and her four other daughters collectively own £50,000 worth of fake breasts, with sizes ranging from 32DD (21-year-old Ripley) to 34HH (27-year-old Terri). But Britney’s au naturel… for now. The “brainy” one of the family, Britney told the Sun, “Maybe I’ll decide to get them too and start saving in a few years. But for now I want to focus on my school work.”

That crazy girl. For what it’s worth, it seems Britney’s brothers provide an alternative perspective on the matter. According to the Daily Mail, Chantal Marshall admitted, “Some of my sons think we’re crazy… They keep telling Britney she should be different.”

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Seriously you should have to take a test and have a license to breed! Is this child abuse?

Serena Wins Twice At Wimbleton!!!

As I watched Serena Williams in the Women’s final yesterday, it was hard to tell that just a year ago she had almost lost her life due to a blood clot after foot surgery. Her strength of both body and mind, and her skill at placing the ball at impossible angles belied the fact that a short while ago living was the best she could hope for, forget playing tennis and forget winning a Major. Just 2 weeks ago at the French Open she lost in the first round. The tennis world was stunned, and I am sure the other players were relieved at not having to go through her to get to the title. Much ado has been made about Serena and Venus not only for their race and body type (Serena) but for their unconventional approach to the sport. Throughout their careers both have played far less tennis than other top players. In fact, during their heyday when they dominated the sport they played half the tournaments as their counterparts, with better results. They were admonished by their elder sportsmen for “not taking it as seriously as they should”. They were not the single minded, myopic players of old. Instead they chose (at their parents urging) to pursue higher education (academic, fashion and beauty) started clothing lines, an interior design company (V Starr interior Design, Eleven) and even acting, and not only became personalities on the court, but off the court as well. Their “Tennis is not my life” (or not my WHOLE life) attitude rankled people because never before a player, let alone two players (siblings) had such a seemingly laissez faire approach to the sport and still managed to win. If in fact they were not so successful it might not have been an issue, but it seemed a slap in the face to those who had to work 3 times as hard to be a strong and acquire the stamina to keep up and try to bet them. They changed the Women’s game, upping the ante with serves at 140mph equal and better then some of the male players (Ivo Karlovic holds the male top serve at 155mph) . In their early days their success was all chalked up to their brute strength, and that did have a lot to so with it. They out muscled most of the other players but the way commentators talked about them made them sound like beasts (black beaded beasts) little was ever said about their skill, when they won it was because they steamrolled over their opponents.In the late 90’s when they began to put pressure on Martina Hingis (at the time the number one seed), commentators spoke of her game in terms of  skill and intelligence, her angles and how she forced her opponent to make errors. When the Williams sisters started to beat her they made it sound like they were Goliath and stomped her down with brute force. Little was ever said about the fact that along with the power, they actually knew  how to do more that whack balls to the other end of the court. True they had a lot to learn, but to was a reduction, and easy excuse, and it seemed (perhaps because I am Black, and American, and there is a history of racism in this country that I am sensitive to) like there were subtle implications to racial genetics….

Then tragedy struck and kept striking, the death of their sister, injury, their parents divorce, illness- tragedy both emotional, spiritual and physical leveled the playing field. It not only took their bodies out of the game it took their minds, their hearts away. Others began to win. I am of the opinion that in times of crisis when things are out of control it is human nature to go back to a place, a thing that grounds you, a thing that you have power over. This is the root of most eating disorders, it’s not about weight per se but about controlling the body by controlling what goes into (or out of) it. This is what Tennis seemed to be for the sisters. Something familiar, something they could control, direct, something that made them feel powerful, it was home. Whenever they emerged from a “life hit” they went back to the courts with a new found focus and determination and when they showed up, they would win. This fortitude was the thing that gained a deeper respect from the Tennis world. After they had been proven to be beatable (albeit with a handicap) but their ability to dive in and comeback made their winning palpable. When they came back they would talk about their love for the game, and how they were completely focused on it and winning, and that is what the Tennis world wanted to hear, utter devotion to the Sport. All or nothing, titles were earned not by just what you did on the court, but by how you lived your life…dedicated to the game…

Serena has always been the more controversial of the two, the baby, spoiled and self centered. She had the freedom to act out in ways Venus could not. Venus was the example, she is tempered and levelheaded, careful with her words and attitude. She is not flashy or arrogant, she is the smoother, protector…(but I have a feeling that behind closed doors she too has a lot to say). Serena on the other hand will let folks have it! She doesn’t care who you are she will go in, on the press, commentators, and yes infamously umpires. Although sometimes I think she goes a bit too far, I have to say that when she does give a flippant response, or shows her irritation, (often at herself) I get it, it might not be “right” or “courteous” but it is authentic, it is human. No one can image the stress that it takes to be in those situations and one of the only, and having the pressure to be a “perfect representation” of not only a “Sportsman” but an African American. Sometimes you just want to be you. And like a pro, she as taken her lumps from it. She was banded from the US Open and fined several times and she is learning (hopefully).
(here she is talking about not being ranked #1 after winning 3 majors…around 1:00)it may be wrong but you know what she’s saying…

I was moved to see a more sensitive and vulnerable side of her after her Singles win at Wimbleton. It was only then that I was reminded of how far she had come to hold that silver plate. There is a great sweetness about her, a tenderness, you can see the “baby” in her, but there is also the other side of the coin and she gets slammed for it in a way that McEnroe never was. He was a major arrogant ass and people…not so much loved him for it, but they accepted it, they expected it. In fact I can remember watching matches and waiting, almost hoping there was a bad call so I could see him blow up. But then again he is a man…

The thing that I think people never take into consideration is what these two women of color had to endure (thank god they had each other). Where they were not the first to arrive (Althea Gibson, Zina Garrison) they were the first to dominate, and at a very young age. The isolation that Venus must have felt being the only before her sister joined her and became a force must have been unbearable. One can only image the snide comments made under people’s breaths, the tension in the locker rooms, and the pressure of “representing” your whole race with a racket Do you recall when McEnroe challenging them to a grudge match in 2000? What was that about? Why was he so mad at two little girls?

And never once did they speak a bad word about anyone, and not until they were adults did they start to be more expressive Serena more so, Venus is ever the diplomat. You can say what you want about their Father Richard Williams, but he and Oracene raised those girls right! You can call him crazy, arrogant, or foolish, but he ain’t never lied! He said they would be number 1 and they were, he said they would dominate the sport and they did, and in the early days when he spouted off at the mouth, his daughters said little to nothing. Their job was to play, his to protect. And maybe that was the plan, he laid down cover fire so that they could make their way, he was their voice… I don’t know that’s what I image….

In a post celebratory glow I was hunting for clips and came across this 2008 video of Andy Roddick imitating both Serena and Novak Djokovic. As Serena he stuffs towels down is pants and shirt to mock her body and at the end does a booty shake… I felt the heat rise up my neck, but I thought watch the rest see what he does as Djokovic. Well, he proceeded to imitate his long ritualistic preparation to serve…hummm after seeing that I felt justified to feel offended. He (like a punk– sorry but that’s how I feel) went after her body and her race. I have never seen Serena bounce her booty on the court (now there was a video out there of her bouncing it in her hotel room but we don’t have to go there…) Why go for her body? Well I guess that’s because he couldn’t imitate her serve, and he CERTAINLY COULDN’T IMITATE HER WINS!!!  (the Williams sisters may hold their tongues but I certainly don’t have to) take a look…(I never really was a fan, but now I just think he’s an ass)

Reasons for men’s body image insecurities

We know that women aren’t the only ones with body image. Truth be told the standards are vastly different and more forgiving. When a man has a belly, it’s forgivable, when they bald, forgivable( or they go mister clean) when they grey and wrinkle they get more distinguished, women uh… Yes men dye their hair, and get Botox too, they get pectoral implants and workout like fiends just like women, however their viability does decrease the way a woman’s does. Men age and date women far younger then them and where we are beginning to see the dating habits of older women men to younger men increase to has also come with the derogatory term of “Cougar” as if they are “preying” on these young boys. Here is an article that outlines just how and why men feel insecure about the way they look:

Hosted by helium.com

By Michelle Wilkinson

Men are just as susceptible to the pressure to look good as women, although maybe this pressure hasn’t been quite as evident in the past. In today’s society, though, men are expected to keep themselves in good condition; remaining slim and toned, dressing smartly and keeping themselves well-groomed. If men don’t happen to possess the ideal masculine body – tall, lean, and muscular – they could quite easily find themselves developing body insecurities because so much emphasis is placed on people’s appearance. They may well have a negative self-perception that affects their ability to form relationships due to the fact their confidence is so low.

As in the case of women, men develop body insecurities largely because of the influence the media has on attitudes towards appearance. The media continually portrays ‘masculine’ men as the ideal – these men are strong and fearless – yet, there is an added dimension since men are also expected to be sensitive and gentle these days. Men are expected to look like ‘real’ men so that they are tall and muscular, but to also take greater care of the way their overall appearance.

It seems that it is no longer acceptable for men to be hairy, as more and more decide to wax their chest, underarms and pubic hair. It has become more socially acceptable for men to be well-groomed, but in the process men who formerly didn’t feel the need to go out of their way to make an effort with their appearance are now feeling that they must do so in order to conform.
Indeed, men can be affected  by the people around them as much as they can by the images they see in the media, so that a harsh comment from a friend or relative can make men conscious of their supposed flaws and make them feel that they ought to do something to alter their appearance.

If a man has a bit of a beer belly the last thing he needs it to have it pointed out to him, as it simply makes him unhappy with his appearance. He might commit to going to the gym, giving up drink and eating healthily, which may not seem like such a bad thing, but nobody should be pressured into doing something they don’t really want to do, and decide to change themselves for someone else’s sake.

Men tend to encounter the same problems as women when it comes to their body image, with their height, weight, size of ears and nose all common sources of insecurity. The pressure on men to look good has reached a similar intensity to that experienced by women, as more and more products targeted at men have hit the market. It can be therefore be difficult for men to accept their bodies the way they are because they become convinced they are defined by their ‘imperfections’ which they then feel the need to work on.

Eighth Grader Gets Seventeen To Stop Photoshopping The Girls In Its Magazine

Eighth grader Julia Bluhm was tired of hearing her friends in ballet class complain about being fat, and knew that they were basing their self-conscious opinions on altered magazine images of themselves. So she started a petition asking Seventeen magazine to stop photoshopping the women in their pages. Julia asked for one unaltered image of a “regular girl” in every issue.

“For the sake of all the struggling girls all over America, who read Seventeen and think these fake images are what they should be, I’m stepping up,” Julia wrote. “I know how hurtful these photoshopped images can be. I’m a teenage girl, and I don’t like what I see. None of us do.”

This inspires me. The fact that a 12 year old girl not only has the presence of mind to know that something is wrong with girls her age complaining about being fat, and that they were creating their standard of beauty from the altered images of teen magazines shows that there is a growing awareness of the damage that can be caused by media and print. The greatest inspiration comes from the strength that it took for her to take action against it, and getting results in the form a Body Peace Treaty.

The Rest:

Today, with the petition at more than 81,000 signatures, Seventeen responded — and went even further than what Julia had requested. The magazine committed to Julia and organizers at SPARK a Movement to represent a range of women of all shapes and sizes in its magazine — every month, every model — without any photoshopping of their bodies (they will still be using photoshop to take wrinkles out of clothes and hide flyaway hairs):

Win! After over 84,000 people signed Julia’s petition and she and her fellow SPARK Summit activists hand-delivered the petitions to the executive editor of Seventeen, the magazine has made a commitment to not alter the body size or face shape of the girls and models in the magazine and to feature a diverse range of beauty in its pages.

Julia’s message to all her supporters: “Seventeen listened! They’re saying they won’t use photoshop to digitally alter their models! This is a huge victory, and I’m so unbelievably happy. Another petition is being started by SPARK activists Emma and Carina, targeting Teen Vogue and I will sign it. If we can be heard by one magazine, we can do it with another. We are sparking a change!”

As Julia notes, the fight isn’t over. While Seventeen has agreed, other teen magazines have not. Change.org has a petition up asking Teen Vogue to follow suit.

Please click on the link and sign the petition, let’s get this movement moving!