(Bottom right hand corner.)
Dear Seventeen,
I am writing you concerning your headline on your June/July cover, "THE PARTY DRUG THAT CAN MAKE YOU FAT & UGLY." I hope you keep these problems in mind for your future issues.
First of all, "fat" is a descriptive term. It is not a negative thing if it is what is healthiest for a person, and I mean ACTUAL health, not like how your "Health" section is really just code for "Skinny" ("Feel lighter and leaner!") It's very disappointing to see your efforts with the body peace treaty and Jess Weiner's column about body image contradicted with the suggestion that fat=ugly.
By trying to discourage the use of drugs with the threats that it will make someone fat and ugly, you're saying the worst thing that can happen to your average reader, a teenage girl, as a result of drug use, is not that she will have any damage done to her brain or become unhappy, but that her appearance will suffer (again, being fat does not mean bad appearance, but that is what you imply.) Notice anything wrong with this picture?
I know that the reality is that people do value looks over intelligence, and that therefore, the easiest way to convince them not to do pot is that it will make them unattractive. But it doesn't have to be that way. Pop culture and the media, two things teenagers especially breathe, have quite a bit to do with the way teenage girls are expected to value beauty over all else. You, Seventeen, do too, and you have an influence, so use it. I know your intentions are good, but there are ways to discourage drug use without taking away from another important message. Teenage girls are worth more than looks, and we don't need another media outlet telling us otherwise.
Sincerely,
Tavi
P.S. I'm just taking a guess here, but could it be at all possible that your valuing looks over intelligence or happiness is somehow related to your advertising content?
(Image source.)
350 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 350 of 350I love how you pointed out the hypocrisy of their body peace sectino and the implication that fat/big equals ugly. Unfortunately I feel like most magazines are like 17 in that they talk about how skinny doesn't equal beautiful, and that "curvy" is pretty, but then contradict their statements by only showing size 0 models.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that I'm glad that you posted this, because it shows that there are smart girls in the fashion world who know that beauty comes in all sizes, and who also aren't afraid to speak up about it. (Quite eloquently, I may add)
Oh god, that was corny. (But true!) So thank you Tavi. You rock! :)
i love seventeen but im with you in this one !! ... sometimes they try to do something good but fails!
You are so awesome, Tavi! What I love about your blog is like it is a coming of age story in progress (with a fashion + feminist bent). I have followed stylerookie almost since the beginning, and I have definitely watched you evolve from a girl into a young lady.
My teen years were so formative, and it is so awesome that you have the internet as a vehicle to use your voice...I only wish I had a similar outlet teenager.
Hopefully, Seventeen and like minded magazines will get your message!
I was thinking along the same lines too when I read the cover! I read the article, and I really didn't even read anything about being "fat" or "ugly" (maybe I missed it though?).
Whenever I read Seventeen I get a horrible feeling that it's written by 14 year old girls while they talk about what their crushes did or didn't do that day. Where did the writers get the idea that every girl talks like "OMG, like Derek totally didn't see me in the hall between 3rd and 4th period. He must think i'm like fat or something."
This is not okay.
Teen girls are HUMAN! we have brains that could find the cure for cancer or discover the secret to world peace. However, with this constant babble about "645 ways to look cute this summer" and a "free hot guy mag!" how are we supposed to expand our minds and truly know what life is like outside our front door?
I want to make quality clothes that fit rather than buy the overpriced version at a store that considers me "Plus Size" as a size 14. I always feel like an outsider reading Seventeen, or any teen magazine out there, because I love to work on my family's farm rather than dress like a slut to get my crush to notice me.
Thank you Tavi for writing a letter to Seventeen and confronting them on their obvious lack of vocabulary and values.
I disagree with you Tavi. If using that to attract girls attention it's worth it. Especially if those girls don't listen to a voice of reason. I don't care how they know, as long as they're informed. This is my full response.
However, I also have to agree that some people need to realize that skinny does not necessarily mean healthy.
this is great, I really really really agree..why is it always..the beauty part? the fat part? bla bla
I like your letter, I think you should also send it directly to them:)
xx
way to go tavi!
This reminds me of the anti-drug scare ad that told guys they would become gay... and incestuous... if they smoked pot. Apparently those are the teenage male equivalent of weight gain.
Tavi, I so agree with you and I totally support your idea of this open letter - not only Seventeen (what done is done) will pay attantion to it but some others who are about to write smt like fat=ugly :(
You’re too young to remember old seventeen of the 2001 era. There wasn’t even a section discussing fitness or health. Sure they had the occasional article on the dangers of this or that but it wasn’t a proactive effort to educate girls. These new articles take a real approach to ways you can be healthier. A drug that makes you “fat and ugly” is a legitimate concern because it show unhealthiness. I used to roll in crowds that did weed, e and coke with girls not even batting an eye at the possible long term effects. But if in the short term they knew they were drastically changing metabolism and looks I believe it could have helped to deter them. There are more to drugs then just the aspect of addiction. No one talks about how your body changes.
As teenagers the message “don’t do drugs” is shoved down your throat. Kids everywhere sit through health ed classes learning about the dangers and still some of those kids do drugs. Why? Shows like intervention and celebrity rehab further still show the effects of addiction but they aren’t deterring the problem either. Seventeen is taking a different route and not trying to rehash what kids already see everywhere. They are trying to dissolve the allure of drugs by showing how gross they can be. There are still a considerable number of girls who take drugs to be skinny. I know a girl who did coke just for that reason. Skinniness is still desirable
I also believe that seventeen is smart in how they present this info to girls. While they show the horrors of drugs they provide a means to be healthy.The message seventeen is trying to convey is that there is a way to achieve a level of both health and skinny without resorting to drugs. In the old magazine they didn't have that. Seventeen is trying to make girls feel positive about themselves through both fitness and image. There is nothing wrong with being plus size or above a size 2 however that isn't an excuse not to be physically fit. So what you weigh 300 lbs but are active? Thats the road seventeen is trying to go. You can be beautiful at any size but don't use your size as an excuse to be unhealthy.
well said! do more of this, as your voice is so powerful!
http://thedivinitus.blogspot.com/
Is it too late to tell you that you fucking rock? On behalf of all the Fierce, Freethinking Fatties in the world, THANK YOU!!!
Peace,
Shannon
FierceFatties.com
It's such rubbish that the media are just giving society what they want. They are drip-feeding their own convenient ideals to society in order to control our minds and sell sell sell, more so with every passing year as the grip the media have on us grows and grows!
Isn't it funny how not that long ago, in the 80s, the ideal body was a healthy (as in the true sense of the word) buff woman's body with muscles, a la Jamie Lee Curtis in her heyday. Then, not long before that, in the 50s, Marilyn Monroe was considered the most beautiful living celebrity, whose body definitely did not show off any horrible protruding bones, and actually had-gasp-breasts!
And now that magazines have in the last few years taken to sensationalizing weight massively, screaming "LOOK HOW MUCH SHE'S PUT ON!" or "THIS IS HOW YOU CAN LOSE AS MUCH AS SHE DID!" with every cover, everyone is suddenly paranoid about every quarter-inch of fat they can pinch from their stomach. Ridiculous.
It only takes one powerful organisation to change this-look at how happy everyone is that certain designers are now incorporating larger models into their collections and many are banning size zeros completely. The models they have opted for instead of the usual stick insects look even more beautiful because they are truly healthy-looking and glow because of this-you don't feel like they've just taken 10 laxatives in the toilets before the show because they ate a granola bar a week ago. These new more sensibly-chosen models are more sophisticated, ooze old-time glamour, and no-one disputes this because really we know that bony isn't actually that nice. Especially when you see it in real life and not put on a pedestal in the pages of a mag. Eww.
So if influential mags like Seventeen-ESPECIALLY ones like this as they target a younger and more vulnerable demographic-could gather half a brain between their many staff members, they could start to reflect a style of beauty which does not revolve around skipping breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. For a month. Every month. And, lo and behold, guess what would happen? Everyone would go CRAZY for this new revolutionary way of thinking! Which, really, isn't that new, but ever since circa the Atkins diet we all got brainwashed into forgetting everything we knew about true beauty and true health.
Shame on you Seventeen. That cover was thoughtless and completely unintelligent. I would have thought SOMEONE would by now have the sense to boycott all vacuous, childish, sheep-like narrative of this nature from their magazines. Clearly this editor does not care. Or is too high on dieting pills to notice.
Well done Tavi, I hope they feel truly embarrassed when they receive your letter.
its amazing to see the stand you take on the issue for young girls
Not to go completely cheesy on you, but seriously, Tavi, you give me hope. Keep being awesome.
The article itself touches the health risks of the party drug, but I assume the headline's purpose was to catch the attention of readers who are a bit more ignorant than others. Through what seems to be a marketing tactic, Seventeen has displayed insensitivity to girls by putting the words "fat" and "ugly" together, as mentioned in this post. I completely agree with you in saying that something like this shouldn’t be ignored, and in the respect that I don't think that Seventeen intended to send this message to their readers. Oh, and one more thing. You’re intelligence is unfathomable and you're a great influence on adolescent girls, however I have one concern with this post. For me, "feeling leaner and lighter" allows me to feel less of a tendency to starve myself, hence improving my confidence and health. Other than that, keep up the good work!
Preach Tavi!
I'm just getting a blog started and you are truly an inspiration!
http://myclosetsgarden.blogspot.com/
I'm a teenager, and I feel like every time I open a magazine, especially Teen Vogue or Seventeen, girls are made to feel like crap about themselves. We see these gorgeous, airbrushed women and we are made to feel inferior about how we look. If you page through a magazine, every single girl is flawless. They are all skinny and beautiful. We then compare ourselves to them, which is exactly what we shouldn't be doing. I guess the teenage years are pretty crucial. We're trying to figure out who we are, who we want to be, and how we can made an impact in the world. If all we do is focus on what Seventeen Magazine tells us to focus on, how are we going to get anywhere? How are we going to develop ourselves as human beings and realize that image isn't everything? Thanks for saying something.
Just for clarification, what I meant in my previous comment, having to do with "leaner and lighter" were the foods that are supposed to help reduce bloating.
First, I would like to thank you for contributing to my realization of Seventeen being a total mainstream money mad magazine. Also, I would like to mention that I agree that the fashion is completely not for the right reasons (check out my second last post on my blog, as re writing the whole "article" on an iPod at midnight would be quite troublesome.) I have to admit that when I do read some shenanigans in the mag, I enjoy it, but with the party drug thing, I understand your frustration. Actually, I understand why people would get annoyEd with a lot of th content; ie: stories of a real cheater! Read Anna Karenina instead. Seriously.
But, as we know, money powers almost EVERYTHING, despite my disapproval of this negative truth in our world. Teenage girls, at least the ones I know, will NOT be interested in an article about health that matters; they will care about the kind that attracts popularity and only the thin layers that don't require many thoughts. Even magazines that are more avant garde care about money. Cheers for your efforts, though.
You bring up great points, Tavi! As a fellow teenager and Seventeen reader, I fully agree with you.
While Seventeen attempts to do good by promoting healthy body image on one page, they find a way to shatter that inner tranquility (that is so hard for lots of girls to achieve, in the first place) on the next. I truly enjoy reading Seventeen but I agree with you, this was not the argument they should have used against druguse. I feel like they underestimate their readers; thinking that we're egotistical, vapid and high maintenance teenagers, they put our looks on one side of a scale, drugs on the other and say "don't do drugs because it tips the balance". Its sort of insulting that they think teenage girls are mostly concerned with losing their looks and not their HEALTH.
http://culturesidents.blogspot.com/
Dear Seventeen Magazine,
As I already AM fat and ugly, and clearly have nothing to lose, I have decided to abandon my ambitions and concentrate full time on becoming a pot-head.
I'm doing pretty well in school and had been planning on training to be a vetinarian, but now I realise the folly of someone who is not attractive imagining that thay have some kind of value beyond their looks.
Thanks for putting me straight!
Now, can anyone give me the number of their dealer? I need to score some weed.
Tavi, i totally agree with you. I think Seventeen expects everyone to be skinny and beautiful in this world.
Tavi, you are a hero,
Lucy
www.lucyplease.blogspot.com
You go Glen Coco!
Way to go Tavi! This is amazing. I hope the people at Seventeen really pay attention to what you're saying.
xx
you are so right. why is this world filled with magazines that want us to feel bad about our bodies? party hard. x
Although I agree with you to some extent, I have sort of an odd opinion on the subject.
Yes, I too think it was wrong of Seventeen to associate fat with ugly, but when it comes to the using appearance to make a case for not using drugs, I disagree.
Society places a high value on physical appearance, and one has to remember that Seventeen is a mere company. It's entire magazine is focused on looks and that's what its readers expect to read about. It has influence, yes, but at the same time that was not its original purpose. Seventeen is a business and it's goal is to make money by giving its readers what they want. I feel like it's unfair to single out Seventeen for this too, considering every other teen girl magazine out there practically does the same thing.
I also think it's unfair to blame the media in general for teenage girls obsession with appearance, and possibly insecurities. As I said before, the media portrays what society wants to read. Yes, the media has some influence over society, but I believe that the influence society has on the media is far greater than that of the media on society. Therefore, unless society changes its ways and demands something different, magazines will always be like this.
And since society puts such a high value on appearance, especially teenage girls, of course that would be a factor in determining drug usage. Honestly, many girls today are more scared about the fact that drugs could cause pimples than losing a few brain cells - while this is unfortunate, it's also a reality and we can't expect Seventeen to change our minds for us. In fact, one of the main factors that scares many children into not doing drugs is the before and after pictures - something appearance based. At least Seventeen is using its power to try to prevent drug usage, how they do it is up to them and beggars can't be choosers.
Until society itself chooses to get an attitude adjustment, I don't think you'll see much change in the media nor can one expect them to.
Good job girl! You tell 'em!
follow!
www.fashiontwits.blogspot.com
Way to go girl! I don't even think those magazines are written by youngsters for youngsters. I think they're written by old, wining women who think being skinny will make you happy and decides what you contribute to society! IT'S NOT!!
Eloquently put, it is amazing you realize this at your age. I'm 21 and just beginning to be outraged by magazines doing this sort of thing.
I think... The whole "radicalist feminism" thing died in the nineties,,,,,
seventeen is just trying to advertise their article in a way that is most appealing to their generally ignorant abercrombie and fitch wearing consumers...
Their intentions were good (demoting drug use) even if their execution was poor...
So I don't really think this is necessary :/
Tavi,
Thank you so much for writing this letter. I remember opening that spread and doing a double take, it's a complete contradiction to the body peace project they have been promoting. Note, also, that the words fat & ugly were grouped together, as though they were one and the same? It's ridiculous that 17 would print something like that. Where oh where has Sassy gone??
Thats amazing! I wish you posted it!
Brilliant Tavi! You're absolutely correct - as a leading consumer publication they should be able to tackle one issue without lessening another.
I'm sure the majority of teens, and adults, feel ugly and fat a lot of the time if not all - what does this message say to them? Take the drug as nothing worse, than what you already are, can happen?
Go tavi!
We are with you 100% You go girl !!!
http://nyc-fashion.com/
you are really just so lovely. and i'm actually so jealous of your miu miu collar!! Because of you I'm obsessed with sassy magazine, I'm so sad that it's gone. I love your blog!
Please check out mine!
http://dontgimmenolipchild.blogspot.com/
xx Sheridan
Yes you are tight when you think about it. I mean come on a girl smokes pot destroys her life, has sex doesn't know it, and dumps education just because of a drug and all seventeen can care about is fat and ugly.I never liked their magazine...you know why because over the years I have found them to be total hypocrites gone unnoticed and I'm sick of it. Have we ever seen a normal girl on the cover...have we ever seen a plus-sized girl? Think about it people. By the way tavi well written letter and I hope they take your opinion seriously and they do not write you back some crap like no comment or make up excuses for why THEIR correct.
Yes you are tight when you think about it. I mean come on a girl smokes pot destroys her life, has sex doesn't know it, and dumps education just because of a drug and all seventeen can care about is fat and ugly.I never liked their magazine...you know why because over the years I have found them to be total hypocrites gone unnoticed and I'm sick of it. Have we ever seen a normal girl on the cover...have we ever seen a plus-sized girl? Think about it people. By the way tavi well written letter and I hope they take your opinion seriously and they do not write you back some crap like no comment or make up excuses for why THEIR correct.
LMAO! Seventeen's journalistic integrity is worse than a tabloid's! do they really expect young girls to buy this crappeee??
Let's get something straight as you probably can't go ask your parents if it's true....
Pot makes you neither fat nor ugly.
The "munchies" may make you eat a lot of junk food or healthy food depending on your tastes. This is no different than normal food cravings and the nature of one's appetite.
As for the "ugly" part...If you are the sort of person that can close your eyes and visualise "ugly" then you are an ugly person..because that part is just ridiculous.Just like beauty,ugly is also in the eye of the beholder
This post got me thinking about Tyra Banks' Top Model Show and her talk show ( admittedly both are drivel-ous by nature),the winner of which,gets a modelling campaign with Seventeen. It seems a lot of names in the fashion biz contradict themselves a lot when it comes to the body issue.
In Tyra's case at least,she tries to empower women of all shapes and sizes and colours by suggesting the fashion industry is not all superficial and about being a smaller size but yet makes it blatantly obvious what a hypocrisy it is when all the potential models picked for Top Model are never on the curvier end of the spectrum( the plus size models are not even worth mentioning because they are always size 10's).The whole franchise in general is PANTZ! lol
I'm am glad to hear the opinions of the younger ladies out there on this matter as I am not Seventeen's target audience but often wonder how much of the advertising machine works on the younger generation who love fashion as much as me!! :)
Tavi,Thanks for making your blog so readable lady! and also using good grammar(so over bloggers who think they are cool enough to get away with lazy language skills )
This is why I never touched a Seventeen Magazine in my life.
I lied. I did, but only to laugh at its content and spit on it. Really.
This is why I never touched a Seventeen Magazine in my life.
I lied. I did, but only to laugh at its content and spit on it. Really.
"The ultimate secret to a great butt"?
Well said. You are wise waaaay beyond your years.
you are so right, today's media is trying to make people feel bad just to make people buy their product. Thanks for using your power for this!
WOW! My thoughts exactly! Glad you caught that! Right on!!
www.styleemm.blogspot.com
Damn Tavi.
You have such a way with words it'd be impossible for them not to hear you.
Intelligence isn't valued anymore in society because MONEY and FAME are what people want these days. It's like they think if you don't have any materialistic items in your life then you obviously aren't a happy camper.
And those are my fifty cents ;P
Go Tavi!!!!
Thank you for speaking up.
Tavi I am a 28 year old woman and I have to say that what you say on this blog (especially this post) makes me wish that when I was growing up I had someone like you around. You are officially my hero!
This is an amazing advice for seveenten and im so agree with it because some people look beauty like something superficial, something that is just around a perfect body and that's not true because something which is absolutly beautiful doesnt have to be perfect.
I really love the way you see this Tavi!!
Fantastic! Brava!
More of us should direct our voice and make things right. Thanks for this post, it's truly inspiring to me.
Tavi, THANK YOU!! You have articulated my thoughts on Seventeen Magazine (and teen media as a whole) perfectly. I can't stand the fact that this magazine markets on the idea that teenage girls are stupid and that appearance is everything. I used to consider myself "the fat kid" in early middle school, and now I know that I was perfectly healthy the whole time. But the media is infiltrating our lives and we need to act! We can't let ourselves be insulted anymore and I applaud you for taking a stand.
very bold of you... i respect you for voicing your opinion!!
<33
heelsandinspiration.blogspot.com
clap, clap, clap
I loved your letter and I agree with you! Hopefully they will take heart. I've written a letter to Seventeen myslef except about the possibility of having a more diverse pick of actors on the cover of the magazine (it was a year when most of the cover actresses all looked relatively the same.) They wrote back to me, telling me I had might have self-esteem and body image issues (I have a pretty healthy body image view actually, I was just bored with their same old covers) and then gave me a long list of organizations to help me, so I hope your letter fairs better than mine did and they actually take you seriously. :-)
Tavi, you've hit a very complex issue and I admire your voice on this situation. I myself love fashion, but at times the fashion houses/magazines decide to use stick thin models that are highly photoshopped and therefore giving the impression that is the only form of beauty. Hence anorexia and plastic surgery. I pray that your generation raises their voices against these things and talk to the designers/editors that do this so that they know what their influence is to the whole public.
In high school I wrote a paper on basically this exact same subject-the contradictions in teenage media. They ostensibly tell girls to be self-confident, to be themselves, to love their bodies, etc., but everything else about the magazine promotes a very specific image of what is considered beautiful and acceptable, much of it subtle and more subconscious. Only what good did my paper do? No one saw it but my teacher. You should definitely send this in. Thanks for posting.
I totally agree! :)The sad thing is it is this way with most magazines out there for women and girls today that its really sickening. :(
I love the fact that, even though you're heavily involved in the fashion world, you're quelling such sterotypes that beauty is the be all and end all. It's really refreshing and I was seriously disgusted to hear that this was how Seventeen chose to warn girls off drugs (we don't have it in England, so I get to witness it's awfulness from this and ANTM). I think you should send it to them anyway.
Yes! I absolutely agree with you!
Finally, someone writes something cutout to the bad influencers on modern day girls!
[Clapclapclap]
If you could see me right now, you'd see a "fat but not ugly" girl applauding. Well, right after I click publish anyway. Thanks!
thank you for posting this. for magazines that purport to serve young women, they do a lot of tearing them down. those headlines make me so disgusted... i think they'd be surprised what would sell if they stopped undervaluing their audience
yeay someone who also finds no interest in 14 magazine!
Way to go, Tavi. Magazines like this really only seek out money and also to destroy girls' self esteem. It's sickening.
♥♥♥ Sydney ♥♥♥
http://aahsooriginal.blogspot.com/
clap clap clap!
Your response made me think of this link i saw recently. please watch! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6wJl37N9C0
and because the above link ^ may not be very enticing to go out of your way to look up or may seem potentially creepy (ha) here's a brief description: You tube video of a poetry slam contestant and her issue with the concept of "pretty". it's awesome!
Bravo!
wow good one tavi :)
OMG! Tavi, before that letter you was an exemple for me but now: YOU ARE MY HERO! thank you so much! Joanna :)
Great message. But I really don't think that beauty is valued more that intelligence in society. The world runs on the minds of the intelligent (including yourself). Sure in the entertainment industry, looks may be highly esteemed but, in the rest of the world (business, government, hospitals, universities) a great brain will take you much further.
You go girl! :) GO TAVI!!!!!! that´s one of your best post ever tavi! From this day you are official my biggest idol :)
xoxo
You go girl! :) GO TAVI!!!!!! that´s one of your best post ever tavi! From this day you are official my biggest idol :)
xoxo
This is a really great letter, well written and thoughtful. Thanks, also, for making no reference to the drug in the article - no need to perpetuate Seventeen's terrible "advice" to teenage girls.
you tell 'em!!!
Yes! Great inspiring message :) Girls like you make a HUGE difference. good for you and keep being your wonderful self.
Isabelle
http://pilonstein.blogspot.com
So sad this is what teen magazines are still like. But I think we are getting somewhere with with the promotion of a healthy body image. It's up to everyone to let every person know they are beautiful!
http://prettychiclady.blogspot.com
hey tavi! this is a great letter, and though posting it on your blog may be influential, i think that you should nonetheless send it to seventeen as well. awesome job! :)
Good point you've got there! keep up the great work!
Dear Tavi, at 37 I'm probably one of your older followers. I found this letter highly intelligent, I actually think that those born after 1980 do not have the mindset that paper magazines assume them to have.
I think articles like this will die out with time but a little push like your letter shall help them out.
I've learned that ugly doesn't exist.
My best/Claudia
How warped are the priorities of these people that:
1) They think harmful substances should be avoided because they make you FAT, which is a worse fate than having brain damage and organ failures, and
2) Being fat and ugly to them means you're pretty much worthless.
Really, how insane is this? I thought this kind of thing only existed in hyperbolic parodies of girls' magazines by slightly misogynistic men, turns out I was soooo wrong.
Amazing Tavi, Amazing.
This was beautiful (: .
I'm from England , so they don't sell seventeen magazine here - but some of the content in our magazines is JUST as bad . Maybe I should write my own letter in response to the content in British magazines .
You are an inspiration my lovely !!
xx
Right on...that's a interesting model and not surprising. Thanks for sharing.
Tavi, you are an inspiration
www.hellcomemonday.blogspot.com
Chapeau, Tavi!!
kisses from spain :)
I couldn't agree more with you, Tavi. It's a pity that certain people still think that way :/
Wow you just made my day Tavi!
You rock Tavi, this letter is brilliant and I hope they will take note from it!
Great letter! They just don't make teen magazines like they use to! Sassy was my favorite as a teenage girl.
a+
-Izzy
:)
I completely disagree. Maybe Seventeen wasn't really thinking about how it would be portrayed, but they do want girls to be healthy. By relating drugs with being fat and ugly, they are desperately trying get girls healthy! We know that trying to be model skinny is terrible, and I wish it could be different. Being you is the best dream you should achieve. But kudos to Seventeen for trying to make girls healthier, even if they could've done it more delicately.
I applaud to you tavi! I suggest you go through with initial idea and send it in.
All right on your part is very important what you do and yet many people refuse to say so openly, I am sure that most are on your side.
Really you are wonderfully amazing, I do not stop to fascinate me with your work, the way you write and express your opinions. When I visited your blog for the first time, I forget your age, just be admired for the way you create, and then when reading the same thing happened to me have a drive and a way to express yourself boldly and bluntly to go to the spot.
I'm sure it will help raise awareness the hard way to see the human beauty that many teenagers are subjected today.
İ compleatly and utterly agree its like there stressing girls to buy the magizines to look pretty
Completely agree.
Josh H.
Royall Media
Great insight! I saw news outlets like The Huffington Post write about your blog post. Glad you're getting yourself heard!
~Vanessa @ Smashion
Good for you!!! You're a bright young lady and I like your blog. -Eva the Diva
I totally agree with you and I hope 17 hears you!
xoxo, Goody (www.fashiongoodies.net)
Oh my goodness, the text on that cover make me remember why at age 15 I took a bunch of teenage-ry magazines and threw them in a a pile and burned them. What are you selling? Self Loathing? Definitely not "major" confidence.
If I had it to do all over again, I would love to read a magazine that gave me ideas how to get into the best colleges, inspire me, help me figure out what I want to be when I grew up and how to set goals and how to sort of ignore boys instead of focus on them as they go through this ridiculously hormonal stage of their life.
Who am I kidding, I'm 27 and I could still use a magazine like that.
I would say wasted (wasted, life, wasted health, wasted looks) in the words of the song "and the drugs dont work they just make things worse". In fact a lot of people who choose drugs are actually skinny and not fat as their health deteriorates. Look at Ian Brown from the Stones Roses. I knew him before the drugs he was beautiful. Look at him now he looks skeletal. Xxxxx
I would say wasted (wasted, life, wasted health, wasted looks) in the
words of the song "and the drugs dont work they just make things
worse". In fact a lot of people who choose drugs are actually skinny
and not fat as their health deteriorates. Look at Ian Brown from the
Stones Roses. I knew him before the drugs he was beautiful. Look at him
now he looks skeletal. Xxxxx
Awesome! I think it should be brought up how seventeen is portraying teenage girls not all of us are like that and when I reread the article on marijuana, I too was shocked how could they leave out something as vital as dropping I.Q. points and not being able to think straight?
roma-thefashionaddict.blogspot.com
Awesome! I think it should be brought up how seventeen is portraying teenage girls not all of us are like that and when I reread the article on marijuana, I too was shocked how could they leave out something as vital as dropping I.Q. points and not being able to think straight?
roma-thefashionaddict.blogspot.com
Awesome! I think it should be brought up how seventeen is portraying teenage girls not all of us are like that and when I reread the article on marijuana, I too was shocked how could they leave out something as vital as dropping I.Q. points and not being able to think straight?
roma-thefashionaddict.blogspot.com
Awesome! I think it should be brought up how seventeen is portraying teenage girls not all of us are like that and when I reread the article on marijuana, I too was shocked how could they leave out something as vital as dropping I.Q. points and not being able to think straight?
roma-thefashionaddict.blogspot.com
Awesome! I think it should be brought up how seventeen is portraying teenage girls not all of us are like that and when I reread the article on marijuana, I too was shocked how could they leave out something as vital as dropping I.Q. points and not being able to think straight?
roma-thefashionaddict.blogspot.com
Awesome! I think it should be brought up how seventeen is portraying teenage girls not all of us are like that and when I reread the article on marijuana, I too was shocked how could they leave out something as vital as dropping I.Q. points and not being able to think straight?
roma-thefashionaddict.blogspot.com
Awesome! I think it should be brought up how seventeen is portraying teenage girls not all of us are like that and when I reread the article on marijuana, I too was shocked how could they leave out something as vital as dropping I.Q. points and not being able to think straight?
roma-thefashionaddict.blogspot.com
Wow, Tavi. I commend you on a very well-written, badly thought out letter.
Firstly, you're criticising seventeen (which, if I may remind you, is a teen FASHION magazine) for publishing fashion and beauty-related stories. And, oh wow, I totally loved this titbit: "By trying to discourage the use of drugs with the threats that it will make someone fat and ugly, you're saying the worst thing that can happen to your average reader, a teenage girl, as a result of drug use, is not that she will have any damage done to her brain or become unhappy, but that her appearance will suffer (again, being fat does not mean bad appearance, but that is what you imply.) Notice anything wrong with this picture?" I definitely notice something wrong with your comment. Yes, the barker may be drawing attention to the fact that "apparently" weed makes you "fat & ugly", but have you (or any of the people who have commented on this post) even picked up the magazine and read the damn article? The stories in that article are from "real girls" and the article makes other valid points as well, like the fact that the drug is addictive, makes you sick and "messes up your mind". Plus, that’s what a barker is for: to draw someone’s attention to the story so they’ll pick up the mag and actually READ it. Bet you didn’t, did you?
Also, you seem to be highly critical of an industry that you so willingly are a part of. Don't think we haven't seen images of you in the front row at the latest runway show (and clothed in the weirdest items, I might add). Plus, your blog is full of skinny size 0 models so don't hate on a health article that encourages girls to take care of their bodies. Because that's what seventeen's Health pages do: they encourage girls to love their body shape but still maintain a good BMI. And I totally agree with Krista Beth that "people should take the time to be well groomed and put together" and "that being fat is unhealthy". People die of obesity, dammit! (Have you not watched Oprah?) And do you know that 1 in 3 teen girls are overweight or obese? Yeah, I got that stat from an issue of seventeen and they got it from the Centre of Disease Control who, last time I checked, is a super reliable source. Add to this the fact that you count Courtney Love as one of your role models (seriously girl, are you delusional?), I would say you’re in no position to judge seeing as Miss Love has been in and out of rehab and is so unhealthy, she makes my habit of 5 cups of caffeine a day seem like a minor offence. Maybe it would have been best to write a “closed” letter to seventeen first or asked one of your “big” friends to proofread it… Now there’s a thought.
Hm, I'm only a few weeks late in weighing in on this...(I was following your advice from the post above and staying off this internet whilst on holiday!).
But anyway. I won't go on about how good it is that you're discussing this issue, because I'm pretty sure the previous 337 comments have addressed that already. What I do want to mention is the interesting reactions of my parents when I mentioned the whole issue (I read the blog you linked, of the girl who followed Seventeen's advice for a month). My dad especially was unclear what exactly people expect the magazine to do-his opinion was that the magazine is entitled to depict beauty in the way it believes is true and as it sees fit, and was scornful of the idea that magazines have an automatic duty of care and should pander to the needs of especially fragile teenagers.
This is not my opinion AT ALL, but I think it is interesting to note the different reactions between different generations. Young people nowadays have responsibilty, equality, freedom of individuality etc. drummed into them as a basic right, so for magazines to depict a certain ideal as the only right one is, for us, shocking. Our parents, however, (or mine, anyway-and bear in mind I'm from England which has embraced the idea of the nanny state with open arms), I think are still a bit opposed to such fervent attempts to put everyone on an even footing.
OK, I'm really not doing a great job of explaining this (I don't have your way with words!) but basically what I'm trying to say is, one of the reasons this might be a problem is because the people in charge of the magazines, who are all from the older generation, have different views than we do. Obviously my own father's is wildly different from theirs (and has been exaggerated by me a bit as an example!), but it's a problem that is bound to come up when addressing problems like these.
Wow, longest comment ever. I'm aware that there are gaping holes, but it would be kind of antisocial to write a whole essay. Anyway I wanted to throw in my two cents.
oh... disappointed tavi. your headline was deceiving. rather than just yet another righteous rant rallying against fat vs. thin, drug use, self-esteem, blah blah blah been said to death boring - I actually thought you were championing the issue of good design. I mean the design of this cover is the equivalent of typographic turrets. And something needs to be done. Subjecting our youth to such vulgar graphic design can only lead to trouble. Please Tavi - focus your efforts on what you do best - commenting on the aesthetic.
respectfully yours,
Go Tavi! You have such a huge (positive) influence on people, and what a great way to use it! I totally admire you, you are my hero!
I think you are completely wrong. Seventeen Magazine is aware of our all too shallow generation, and they also know that Health Class at schools- in which they tell us things like, "This will cause brain damage," and blah blah blah. So, being the smart people they are, they have tried to finally get through to teens, by saying, "Look, you don't understand the consequences of this drug. It can cause heart defects. You cannot see that, so we're going to tell you things that you hate. You want to be 'pretty', like Barbie, so what if you get overweight? What if you lose appeal to the opposite sex?" And that will scare them. So don't shoot Seventeen with your angry fashion bullets, just because they're trying to make a better generation.
Tavi, you kick butt. Thanks for this. Thanks for always putting yourself out there and using this platform you have for good!
Heck YES!!!
Once again, your letter shows how mature you are beyond your years. If only young girls would look up to you, seriously :)
Anyway, I really recommend you to actually post the letter to Seventeen Magazine. You've raised a lot of important issues, and you never know, they might even take some suggestions from you.
Thanks for posting this, and good job on this letter!
OK, with 345 comments, I'm guessing that you already feel supported in this, but I had to say that it was AWESOME to get a surprise does of size acceptance while catching up on your blog. Simply put, you rock.
it's articles like this that make me wish you girls, *(meaning the younger generations)* still had Sassy Magazine!
Great job! Thanks, for bringing it to my attention and you are so very right that have a moral obligation to stop berating teenagers for there weight and physical beauty!
You so ROCK!
xoxo,
Maria
Dear Tavi,you are 100% right!!!-Beauty is intelligence and teens need support ,truth and hard facts to guide them to a healthy adulthood.Seventeen magazine is way too superficial and I find is letting down its clientele to senstionalism and "cliche" mentality!
keep on the fight!
Tavi you're awesome. Keep being you.
you're way too awesome Tavi!!
As a girl who is not, and has never been "skinny" it has always been hard to determine who is right when talking "beauty". To see the words fat and ugly used to scare away teens from drugs is pretty scary, not to mention, just stupid. I couldn't have put together a better and well thought out letter.
Sincerely,
kirstine
Although I don't usually read Seventeen, I did manage to read this article after seeing the very 'interesting' headline. Although you make very valid points in your letter (and I sincerely hope they will acknowledge their mistake) I have to disagree on a few things.
Firstly, I think that 'fat' is not synonymous to 'overweight' or 'bigger' but seems to me more of a pejorative word to describe 'overly overweight people' shall we say (in other words, obese). Just because a girl does not resemble a anorexia-ridden model does not mean she's 'fat', it COULD possibly mean she's normal, or healthy, or even in the bigger case, slightly overweight', but let's move on.
Secondly, I believe the phrasing of the headline would like to draw in the most readers possible, and perhaps that the public that Seventeen wishes to draw in happens to be the mass of dim-witted girls out there who happen to think that 'being fat and ugly' is a priority (I am not saying that Seventeen readers happen to be shallow and thick, although a teenage often tears herself up over these matters doesn't she?)
Thirdly, the fact that their morals should be at all strange is the fact that they are a magazine, and when looking at the title of the graph you have joined to your letter, it does happen to be the case for EVERY magazine out there. You could easily erase the 'Seventeen' part of the title and replace it with 'Marie Claire', 'Vogue' or 'Glamour'. I don't think that Seventeen happens to be 'up there' on the scale of valuing looks over happiness or intelligence, just that their sense of marketing happens to be well into some/many of their readers' ideals.
Final point being that I read the article and can't remember the content, but I think it was just a basic mom's overview of 'don't do pot, it's bad'. I wouldn't expect much more from Seventeen.
But that's just my opinion. ;)
Have a lovely day everyone, and don't do pot, as it will make you fat and ugly -says Seventeen. :D
Big Hugs.
@Krista Beth
The fact that you work for the government makes your comment about women no more relevant than if they worked at the mall. However, calling these same women greasy slobs and then saying that "even intelligent women are treated like morons" seems a tad hypocritical, not to mention completely unprofessional.
Anyhow, fat is not always unhealthy. The word 'fat' has become this vulgar descriptor when the connotation is purely societal, stemming from articles like this. A person should not have to feel ashamed or ugly or unhealthy, nor is it a label to be called as part of scare mongering for drug usage. That's what is wrong with this article.
Not to mention the biggest article on the page: Get Your Best Bikini Body: The Ultimate secret to a Great Butt, Flat Abs & Major Confidence.
There's a secret way to get major confidence? Oh wait, you can only achieve it through a great butt and flat abs. No wonder I never had confidence in my body when I was a teenager. All of their articles are screaming: You can only be confident if you are beautiful. And you can only be beautiful if you are healthy and FIT.
I applaud you for writing such a specific and precise letter. I, on the other hand, would have exploded with anger and frustration by the time I had written "Dear Seventeen." There's too much on this front page to address, let alone the individual articles which are no doubt even more agonizing.
Listen, teenagers. You're beautiful because you're confident, not because you're thin/fit/have a great butt. Look at Anna Della Russo. Okay, she has a great butt BUT honestly, kind of ugly. But CONFIDENT. So, she's beautiful: http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/62310ADRwhite_5070Web.jpg
You all are beautiful so give it a rest and PUT DOWN THE MAGAZINES.
And marijuana is great. All you haters should just try it.
ah ha ha NO!
most of it is pads and tampon ads in the magazines it's really annoying, and skinny is healthy as long as you eat fruit and work out every week you will have strong muscles and being skinny is so much more healthier then being fat with diabetes, i'm underweight and i have trouble GAINING weight, most of the magazines don't even tell you how to do that without hurting yourself or gaining it in the wrong places.
Hey Tavi
You are right ! I'm from Brazil and there is a magazine who tries do copy seventeen and it does the same things that seventeen does . And a lot of girls try to have style , but they don't . And this stupid magazine sometimes write about fatness , and it looks like beeing fat is a crime .
Bye :D
( PS ; my English isn't good , i'm just 14 , sorry about the wrong things )
great to read something as good :)
Very well said! I posted this on my blog!
http://junkfoodisthenemy.tumblr.com/post/1149564523/an-open-letter-to-seventeen-magazine-also-why-are-you
I did an analysis of Seventeen Magazine when I was in college in the late 90s. I tabulated the number of articles on how to impress boys and compared that to the number of articles on education, community service, general happiness, that kind of thing.
I think I will have to dig out that paper (got an A) but I remember it was pretty sad how much the magazine promoted doing things to impress boys.
Seventeen has gone soooo downhill. Shame on 17!
This letter blows. For many reasons. Here are some:
1. It's a for-profit magazine; it doesn't have to pursue an agenda
that you, or anyone, approve of.
2. This fat = beautiful and healthy crap is laughable. Excess body
fat is disgusting, unhealthy, and a sign of a weak character. Being
anorexic is unhealthy too. One isn't better or worse than the other.
I take that back. Being fat is worse.
3. You claim that people value looks over intelligence, seemingly
citing the existence of this magazine, that as far as I can tell
doesn't hide the fact that it is a fashion/style/beauty/lifestyle, and
not a scholarly publication. The implication would be, I guess, that
this convinces young girls to ignore scholarly pursuits, favoring a
single-minded obsession with food and body. But this isn't reality,
is it? Take the state of Arkansas, for example, where approximately
97 percent of the population is obese, uneducated, and toothless.
Contrast this with a state like, say, Connecticut, where every young
girl is expected to go to college, choose a profession, and throw up
her dinner. So...it ain't one or the other.
Cheers!
*love*
Tavi, to say "I'm impressed" is an understatement. Brava!
You. Go. Girl.
You are refreshing. I wish I had the words to write that letter at 13 or to have the insight to realize those truths at a young age. I know you'll go far with your message as you grow older. Don't stray from your passion on this issue, you will help so many young girls, teens, and women. Fashion needs a healthy attitude, and you have it. Don't let go of that & stay true to yourself!!!
Okay have you even read an article in the magazine you cant judge it by one cover headline like seriously seventeen knows that most teenage girls have already heard from adults the brain damage and stuff from drugs but everyone still does it,and teen-aged girls all want to be skinny so telling them not to do the drug cause it wont help them be want they wont is the only way most girls will listen and I know promoting not eating is bad but that's not what seventeen magazine is doing if you look inside every issue has a section on eating healthy and staying fit and thats whats good for your body, and unlike your vogue magazines they use modles that girls can relate to body shape more so before you go ahead and criticize you really should become a teenager first and unserstand there issues and also read the magazine and maybe that article about the drugs cause i you cannot judge a magazine just by its headlines!
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