This doesn't bother me. But I had the following thoughts.


Sports Illustrated still puts out a swimsuit issue? (I subscribed to the magazine back in the 1970's-80's. A highlight of the week was when it showed up in my mailbox.)

It used to be sort of fun to read the letters to the editor in the weeks following the swimsuit issue. "I have two young children, and I won't subject them to this sort of filth. I'm cancelling my subscription immediately!"

I thought the swimsuit issue came out earlier in the calendar year? Sort of a ray of light in the dark days of late winter.

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"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

It doesn't really bother me, I just can't make much sense of it.

I mean, I am somewhat bothered by normalizing obesity for all the obvious reasons, but I just don't get who they think this appeals to, given the target market of the magazine, and this issue in particular.

The swimsuit edition was a genius marketing tool, using sex to sell copies. That, I get, from a marketing perspective. Broadening the pool of models to include some plus size models also makes sense, but not without some level of risk. Those models were classically beautiful, curvy in the right places, but heavier. I would imagine the calculation was that they can flex their social responsibility credentials with their inclusion without their flagship edition taking a big hit.

Now, they're selling the image of a morbidly obese postpartum body, and touting her "confidence," which is clearly code for not being ashamed of showing a body most women would not want to showcase.

A lifestyle magazine with a 18-35 female demographic target audience, sure, I get it.

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

I wonder if they are doing it because more articles are written about the models who are obese, old, have caesarian scars etc... versus the typical models.

Probably a last ditch effort to stay relevant at a time when someone can do a google search for hot women in bikinis and have instant gratification.

Didn't they include a male gay swimsuit model in their swimsuit issue a couple years ago or something? Same questions and points came up and were discussed here on this forum. Who is their target audience by doing that vs just virtue signaling, etc...

There was a pretty big thread in the LR on it if I recall.

I would think that SI is trying to reach a broader audience.

Last fall I was in search of a good strength training program for middle-aged female triathletes (50+). In my search I looked at different Instagram accounts of certain programs. I noticed there was quite a bit of "health shaming" and complaining by women who didn't like seeing very fit women in the photographs promoting these strength programs. They felt it was unrealistic. But I disagree. If you spend most of your adult life racing and training for different types of endurance sports or if you focus on fitness and exercise, most likely you will look pretty strong and fit (yes there are outliers).

You can't please everyone, especially in 2022. Maybe the solution is to showcase all kinds of body types.

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Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.

I vaguely recall that discussion.

Even so, I’m guess “confidence” wasn’t used as a selling point, and I’ll also hazard a guess that those men weren’t morbidly obese. I could be wrong.

The Venn diagram overlap just isn’t obvious to me here.

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

gender fluid male

With you on the many medical reasons not to promote obesity.

As far as the title goes, how is this any different than “morbidly under-nourished, survives on coffee and cigarettes, non-athlete in SI….”? Are any of the models athletes, besides the obvious athlete edition?

This was in SI?

Yeah, I don’t get it. I suspect their attempts to appeal to everyone comes at the expense of actual sales, but it may be a dying product anyway in today’s media universe.

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

Yea that individual was featured in the SI swimsuit edition maybe two years ago? I don't remember when exactly. Nor do I "get" it.

wtf does that mean?

*That's* offensive.

I’m not an aficionado or historian of the swimsuit addition, but most of the models I recall generally seemed fit and healthy, and the biggest criticism I can think of is that they had unattainable physics, not that they were Kate Moss level malnourished.

Call me crazy but I think it’s reasonable to expect a magazine like sports illustrated to promote a fit athletic healthy body type. Putting aside the politically correct bullshit, that is the most socially responsible position, in my opinion.

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

Sports Illustrated is still being published? Or is this online?

Does anyone consume hard-copy magazines anymore? Why get something on paper that's only going to end up in the recycling bin two weeks later?

I know there was a time when SI, Rolling Stone, and MAD Magazine were worth far more than the paper they were printed on; when they had top quality writers, artists and editors

Alas, that is a time long-passed

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I would guess their average subscriber has a wife/ girlfriend who looks more like her than the other models they have.

Probably so.

Do you think those men buy that edition to see women who look like their wives?

I doubt that.

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

[/quote]

US obesity prevalence was 42.4% in 2017 – 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/....7%25%20to%209.2%25.


They are marketing to America. I don't know if it will be a successful marketing campaign, but the business standpoint argument is easy to see. Identify a target audience, and sell them a product that makes them feel like they are desirable.


They are not trying to create a market or persuade people to change themselves to become part of a market. They have identified a pre-existing market and are trying to find a way to make their product relevant to it.

I don't think men buy that edition anymore. Would you? (with any type of pictures)

Which may be the root of the answer to your question. Searching around for relevance in an age where you can get a billion pictures of women in swimsuits or less for free.

Hells yeah!

It means mom is just another one of the girls, no judgement, very little parenting. Whatever is fine.

Not my cup of tea but some folks like that.
The thing is morbid obesity is horrible for your general health and longevity.
Normalizing obesity with all the health issues out there ridiculous.

The readership is 77% male, average age 38.

They are not in the business of making women feel anything whatsoever, practically speaking.

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The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

plus, takes off her clothes for SI!

signed,

bitter regular mom

It’s a line from the Mean Girls movie. The mom who dresses like her teen daughter and friends, talks like them, tries to buddy up with them, etc, Anyway that’s how the scene played out in the movie.

I can only assume they’re alluding to that “hip” reference.

Let's clear up a few misconceptions.

This is at least her 4th or 5th time to appear in the SI swimsuit issue, but the first after giving birth.

She started as a straight sized model. She was 6' tall and 114 pounds, size 2 and was told she was too fat. Her mother was a model, as is her sister. She models (pre-pregnancy) at size 16. The average American woman today wears between a size 16 and 18.

After the instance of being told size 2 was too fat, she said, "Fuck it" and quit modeling. Later, she found the plus sized modeling world and had been successful there.

Since when has SI swimsuit issue used athletes? Yes, on occasion but the vast majority of the swimsuit models are MODELS (print/plus/gender/whatever), not athletes.

She is not morbidly obese if you look at the definition of such. Her BMI is 32.3. Class III obesity, formerly known as morbid obesity, is a complex chronic disease in which a person has a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher or a BMI of 35 or higher and is experiencing obesity-related health conditions.

Do you know her health history? No. She may be perfectly healthy.

Why does her weight/body shape matter to you?

Also - re long time female endurance athletes as healthy icons? Hell no. But I'll not go there re commenting on other women's looks.

And yes, there is a definite blowback on fitness influencers and their wildly unrealistic online life.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com