To not understand how this different from putting an anorexic model on the cover

[Spinderelle]

Cosmopolitan have a morbidly obese model on their cover this month. I am absolutely behind the idea of body positivity - after children my body is far from perfect and it’s nice to see companies like ASOS use larger women and not airbrush stretch marks etc.

But this model is dangerously obese and risking her health. How is that any different from having a dangerously thin model on the cover?

Absolutely agree and I am size 20. Which is unhealthy already imho. She is 26.
How can someone be in such a denial that they will indeed die quite young is beyond me.
I think there should be 8-18 sizes promoted as a healthy ones and that's it tbh. This body positive movement has gone too far. I can hear the cardiologist around the world weeping after seing this Cosmo....

Of course no one is going to go and gorge themselves till they’re this size after seeing the cover but, health wise, it’s not ok to be this fat.
I wouldn't bet on this. Sadly.

Tess Holliday is beautiful despite being fat, not because of it.

rather like Dawn French.

unlike Dawn French though, she has no talent and isn't a nice person. so she will never be famous outside the virtual world.

I think there should be 8-18 sizes promoted as a healthy ones and that's it tbh. This body positive movement has gone too far. I can hear the cardiologist around the world weeping after seing this Cosmo....

You’ve articulated that so much better than I @oftenhangry

It’s true that diet culture has brainwashed most folk to think anything above a 16 is fat and unhealthy but credit folk with some common sense - 9/10 times someone this size is gonna have something wrong that’s directly attributed to their abnormal weight. Sleep apnoea, joint pain, whatever.

I disagree that Tess is beautiful. Beauty is an opinion, not a fact. I think she is lucky that her face isn’t in proportion to the rest of her body and she is very heavily made up with current make up trends of countouring and dramatic eyes etc. It doesn’t equate to beautiful in my opinion. Just like plenty of skinny and normal sized models aren’t beautiful either.

We had all this years ago with Sophie Dahl.

Not really - it caused a stir at the time but Sophie Dahl wasn't very obese, she was around a size 14-16 (and tall) so actually more representative of the upper end of a healthy and normal weight range.

Why can't they just feature a model of a normal and healthy weight

Anorexic = unhealthy
Obese = unhealthy

I seem to remember Beth ditto on the cover of a magazine years ago, possibly with Kate moss?

I would be intrigued to see what their sales are for this month compared to the equivalent month in 2017/2016 or across the year to date.

Just to see if by having a fat cover girl they’ve boosted/reduced or made no impact on their sales.

Old photo of Sophie I found. See her body reminds me of mine. Tess doesn't. I find her body as achievable and desirable as I do a body of someone with anorexia

aren't all magazine sales declining anyway? so they might as well have a play about.

I don't know why they don't just put random women of all shapes and sizes on the cover each month - then all body types could be accepted. But then I suppose they link a story to whoever the celebrity they have chosen is.

It’s gross. Obesity is nothing to aspire to.

A lot of the time when people talk about “fat shaming” they are just criticising society for telling the truth- that fat is unhealthy. Especially when carried in an apple shape, like this model.

I think the truth is important.

There are a huge range of healthy female bodies that could be showcased. Just thinking of my group of friends, we range from size 6 (elfin- like) to size 12 (curvy) to size 16 (very tall and very sporty). Why celebrate fat?

Less than 1% of the UK adult population us underweight
and anorexics are a very small proportion of them

Over 35% of the UK population is overweight

Once body fat goes above 33% (which is around a size 14)
your health outcomes decline

This is not about fat shaming
This is about discouraging early death.

I would guess that anorexia promotes extreme skinniness which society quite likes...so encouraging girls to lose excessive weight. Very few are actively going to pile on the pounds to look like Tess...she is still the token fat girl.

I guess?

I agree op.

It's interesting that people judge Tess to be about 19 stone. She isn't. She's more likely between 25 and 30 stone if you look at multiple photos of her. At least. 19 stone is hugely underestimating her weight. I believe she claims to be a size 24 or 26(US) online and again that is a huge underestimation. She can't get up off the floor without assistance and there is a vile thread on kiwi farms about her which shows her feet - they are becoming deformed thanks to her size with the big toe and the one next to it being splayed.

I do look at her and see a beautiful woman although there are a lot of rumours about her being an aggressive bully, so maybe not so much these days. But photos like this absolutely do encourage people to keep eating and minimise the significant health problems obesity causes. Body positivity is great but this is taking things too far. Body positivity and self- love should actually be about encouraging self-care which means eating well to give you the best health you can have.

Oh and someone mentioned Bodyposipanda as an inspiration. Whilst I think aspects of what she's preaching are wonderful, her weight is going up dramatically. Hers is a complex case as she's a recovering anorexic and the most important thing is she's getting her health on track. But if you look at her photos over just the last 2 years she's gone from maybe a 10-12 to an 18 and is still getting bigger whilst at the same time telling people 'gaining weight is neutral.' I have been down a path of getting steadily bigger and unfortunately the bigger you get, the less likely you are to ever be in shape and have good physical health again. Which is sad. Life is far more fun when you're healthy. That's what counts.

Very thought provoking thread.

I agree with the posters that say the cover shot is unlikely to make many people want to rush out and hit the pies in order to look like Tess; I genuinely can't see that happening. However ..... I also agree with those who claim that people may see the cover and think it's fine to be so big. From an aesthetic point of view, no probs. But it simply isn't good for the body and is likely to lead to a myriad of health problems later in life. And .... later comes all too quickly: you can take that to the bank

Is it an inspiring cover? For me, no: I don't particularly like it and it wouldn't encourage me to buy the magazine. But I do accept that I'm merely one of several billion people on this planet and other views are available.

This is not about fat shaming. This is about discouraging early death

Isn't trying to hang on to what's left of the NHS something to do with it as well? Given that those in a position to know are telling us obesity is a massive, unsustainable burden to the health services I'd say that's something to be concerned about

And as I've said, if her risks were around smoking instead of obesity she'd be criticised to hell and back

Tbh I think all women who are overweight il or obese know how utterly socially unacceptable they are. I don't think one magazine cover is going to change that.

There are some really nasty smug people on here. People are overweight for a massive range of reasons. I really wonder in obesity would be at the epidemic proportions it is at if it was purely about individuals being lazy and stupid so they eat bad food.

You can need to lose weight to be healthier but does that mean you should be disgusted with yourself and not care how you look and hide away in the meantime? Are you only worthwhile if you are a healthy weight? So if she was for example a scientist who was being profiled (you know if you can imagine the magazine was interesting) would she still be a terrible role model and disgusting? Or would it be ok for her to be successful despite of her weight?

For all of the self proclaimed radical feminists on here you all seem to be into hating on other women's bodies.

Don't be silly. She's really unhealthy and that level of obesity shouldn't be held up as something to admire.

Sorry but I think she's disgusting physically, morally and ethically and she shouldn't be on a magazine. She's just as dangerous as an ultra-anorexic model, if not more so.

More people are over rather than underweight. It's normalised. When I was at my lowest & over-eating, I would have used an image like that to validate my eating; logic such as I was fat but I wasn't as fat as Tess on the front of Cosmo, ergo it was ok for me to have another bag of crisps & a double portion of pasta. I am losing the weight (some of it from ill health, too) and I have never been above a 16 at my largest. I'm likely not alone. But extremes like Tess have normalised people like me when actually, I needed a kick. Case in point, my GP stating that some people are just fat and are ok with it/embrace it and he thought I looked ok- couldn't I be happy? No mention of health implications. Bearing in mind that he probably gets people in nearer to Tess's weight, I probably didn't "look bad" (and luckily kept my waist and limbs slim) in comparison . I was still fat though and risking a host of health issues. That Tess appears to have done this to herself and is celebrated for it does so many women a wrong. The Pp upthread who mentioned bariatric patients possibly trapped in the event of a fire- that's exactly why I want to invest in my body from now on.

Also anyone who thinks body positivity should embrace the damage Tess doing to her skeleton, organs and body functions in general... by celebrating her weight, will be partly responsible when she's inevitably forklifted into her early grave.

What’s being beautiful or not got to do with it - isn’t it health you are concerned about?

Absolutely nothing and that's my point @SerenDippitty !! It should absolutely be about health, but when it comes to overweight women it's considered taboo to bring up their weight and health issues, instead they're told "you're beautiful no matter what" which may be the case, but that doesn't help or encourage them to become a more healthy weight does it??

A lot of posters are still missing the point, no the cover photo doesn't encourage women to become obese, but it's sending the message to those who already are that's it's ok to be! More people in the UK are overweight than underweight so for a magazine to be promoting it as ok is ridiculous.

Don't worry, come next month's issue of Cosmo when the usual Skinny White Girl is on the cover, no one will even remember that Tess was ever on it. She is the exception, not the norm.

that's not plus size, that is grossly obese. Health is so important and so many don't have it. Glorifying this is horrible. Doing that to yourself deliberately is horrible. If she has mental health issues which are causing that level of over-eating, she is very ill and I really hope she gets help.

Somebody mentioned Dawn French, who has a very pretty face. Still didn't make up for her 'wider than tall' phase which hopefully has now gone. Damaging your body is not a matter of pride.