I mainly don't like them, because a) I don't care/know a whole lot about skin care and expensive fashion and b) their health/nutrition advices are regurgitated over and over again.
My old roommate P subscribed to Men's Health, and I often found myself more interested in what was written in there than other magazines like Shape. However, for Christmas, I decided to try out their female counterpart Women's Health as a gift subscription, to see if I'd find it equally worth my time.
Sadly, (although better than a lot of others) I rarely found information in there that enlightened me. HOWEVER, there was one thing that I noticed one day which put Women's Health in the realm of publication that I can mildly appreciate. That, my friend, is the addition of "Athletic Build" in their "Body Type" category.
Hallelujah!
You know the body types that magazine feature some times. "Boyish", "Curvy", "Pear-shaped", etc etc. They often use it as a basis of what you should wear to hide your flaws and flaunt your best features. I'm sure many people, including myself, didn't fit in any one of those. There are usually only about 3-4 options, and you can't categorize American women figures into 4 types.
My issue was always, the following: I was way too bulky for "Boyish", I didn't have enough boobs for "Curvy", and I was an upside-down "Pear-shaped". I had wide shoulders and a narrower waist. Hence, I was man-ish. I was a swimmer for a good part of my life! My shoulders are broad and my arms are a forced to be reckoned with. At my farewell luncheon, a co-worker had praised me, stating that I was "not only the strongest woman in the office, but one of the strongest people."
So, when I saw this and their bathing suite guide last month, and was pleasantly surprised with the addition. Until this point, I kind of considered my features man-ish (as I just mentioned), but I like the newer label of "Athletic". That's right, bitches! My arms swim, and my legs ran a marathon. It's a good thought.
It's a struggle enough for everyone to feel comfortable in their own skin, as it is for me, even now. But when a publication recognizes something you thought was not common, it's kinda nice, no? I'm still on the fence about categorizing your body type in general, but Women's Health receives some kudos for representing an often ignored one. That's better than most.
2 comments:
i want to be inspired by my magazines, and that means by the models they use, too. if i wanted to look like the models in shape and self i would have to stop working out to lose muscle. i read muscle and fitness hers because they are FITNESS models, with huge muscles. I might not want to get quite as big as them, but i put more stock in the articles if they produce results like that
Thanks, Kelly, for those recommendations! I will check them out.
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