Magazine cover straight out of the 70s. So depressing

[EmilyDickinson]

I was shopping in the supermarket and stopped to look at the magazines. I bought my husband a running magazine recently and it had lots of useful articles in, so, as I run myself and I’m interested in getting healthier, I stopped to look at the Women’s Health magazine.

So shocked and depressed. It’s like something out of the 70s. The image seems designed purely to titillate any men looking at the magazine - why? No woman would actually exercise dressed like that. Highcut leotard? On a bike? Impractical and uncomfortable. Hair not tied back. Leg warmers?! And high heels, WTF? Plus, of course, the woman isn’t exercising, just posing for the male gaze. It feels like we’re just going backwards in the way women are perceived. We couldn’t possibly actually want to exercise like men do. We’re just sex objects.

Urgh, hard agree! That’s depressing.

Awful..

Ridiculous - what were they thinking of?

Fashion is all about the 90s and it looks like the they are going for the same thing.....I exercise in a sports bra and leggings so not dissimilar! Love the heels tho think our gym would have a fit 🤣🤣

Truthfully I don't think this is an issue of attracting the male gaze more attracting woman who want that body which has likely been obtained through starvation.

I've not read a magazine for year and got it for free on a journey yesterday. Some bits were ok but the heels with that outfit irritated me too and they used "Latinx Country" in an article which also put me off.

God, 1983 is calling .. I thought that was an old magazine..

If you tried to exercise dressed like that, you’d do yourself a mischief. And you’d probably get kicked out of the gym anyway for tottering around the exercise equipment on impractical footwear. Surely they’re not trying to appeal to women here?

The heels were a bad call, but I like the overall 90s aesthetic when the world briefly liked healthy bodies before the heroin chic.

Good god you're right, who works out with a face full of makeup!

Sorry but this is BS, women don't dress like this for other women 🤔

I think Hearst is having a bit of a 'moment' with its covers generally - this is a shocker, too...

No one in the 90s wore high cut leotards and leg warmers - it was all sporty spice tracksuit pants and crop tops.

this is 80s titillation recreation

Don’t see anything wrong with the Joanna lumley cover?

@Maedan I have a home gym and I wear a clinging sports bra and shorts - I lift weights and I can’t have fabric flapping around and catching stuff…

Looks more 80s than 90s, with leg warmers and 'let's get physical' caption.

So not a leotard going up your arse and heels then ...

The model is a Love Island contestant and it looks like they’ve styled her 50% Love island, 50% ONJ.

What's wrong with the JL cover?

Normal fitness wear is leggings, shorts or joggers, and trainers. No self-respecting woman exercises in heels with her bare arse cheeks on show.

True @Clymene but it may also be considered “revealing” as there’s a lot of exposed skin, some cleavage, and it’s clinging.
If I were to go to a public gym, I’d replace the shorts with long (but still tight) and put a sports top (still tight) over the bra.

The cover get up would only work for light aerobics I think.

I think if this was a cycling mag I would agree...but its a woman's health mag. They are trying to attract women to buy it...men getting a slight thrill for seeing this photo on the shelf are not expected to take a woman's health mag to the till and pay for it so I don't think that's their aim.
I think they are just using a 70s photo to link to their take 'lets get physical'.
Maybe they are trying to tap into women in their 50s who remember this song and this era. I am guessing you might be a bit younger so you might not be their target audience.

Me neither?

Early 90s was absolutely the highest cut leotard you could find over cycling shorts made from crinkly lycra, the brighter the better.Thong back was always a bonus. Reebok hi tops to finish the look.
The magazine cover does seem to be trying to recapture the early 90s, pre heroin chic when The Gladiators was very popular. I'm not sure it works now & it seems to give us the message we need to look like Love Island contestant Ekin-Su which could well be impossible!
But this is the trouble with WH magazine, they can never get it right for everyone as we're all looking for different images of what we consider healthy & acceptable.

Terrible, but then again this is 2023 so it’s probably a man.

No one has said anything about her outfit being clingy or revealing. Just that a high cut leotard, full make up and heels is not practical for a spin class. Your gym outfit sounds practical. Hers isn't.

And if this is supposed to be a spin on ONJ's Physical, she wore ballet flats, leggings and a little top over her leotard in the video. Which was a pisstake anyway.

@multivac Please enlighten me? 76 year old fully clothed looking (ab) fab?!