Jackie Frank hits back at critics over unretouched Hawkins cover

Meow!

“Jennifer got cut through where Bianca didn’t. Instead of criticising Jennifer, she should be saying congratulations.”

The only reason people are talking about the Hawkins photos is because no one relates to them as representative of someone with body issues, or as representative of the average Australian woman.

To try and have a dig at Dye and make it look like some kind of jealously is plain weird, but then you are a mag hag and the world of fashion is a strange one. Let’s face it, if she hadn’t commented there wouldn’t be much of a story – ‘model gets kit off sans airbrushing’ (so, so yesterday). Yawn.

Maybe we should be sticking you on the cover nude and ‘untouched’. Surely you’d qualify as a ‘celebrity’ in C-grade happy Australia? That way at least we’d know you were genuine in your desire to connect with your readership and let young women know what really bodies look like.

Jennifer Hawkins is one of the most photographed woman in the world. To allow photographs that show some of her flaws to be on the front page of a popular magazine means that this young lady is willing to show that she would risk her image to show that perfection is not necessary to be successful. Its all relative , if you are an everday woman, its ok to have some flab and cellulite. If you are one of the most photographed woman in the world, the message is huge. be comfortable with who you are. For one so gifted with beauty, this lady is giving a message for all of us who dont feel so beautiful, and it comes across loud and clear, if you let yourself hear it.

Women criticising women? That’s allowed I think – especially if you think someone’s made a bad call. I don’t support ALL women or a woman just because she’s a woman; that would be stupid.

Stimulating debate blah blah blah – I would hope we (female consumers) are wising up to this kind of crap and just steer clear of ‘window dressing’. We have ‘green washing’….what would this be called?

What’s interesting here is we have an ex-magazine editor pitted against a current magazine editor….one who is recanting her old Cosmo-editing ways (and seemingly upset that a campaign she’s involved with has been dissed) vs another who is a tad out of touch with whether real women will be empathetic/identify with Jennifer Hawkins’ minor ‘hip creases’ and ‘dimpled skin’. (BTW, I think your skin needs to crease like that so you can, y’know, walk).

Give me a freaking break. Love yourself, stop competing/comparing yourself with other women and be real.

Now – is anyone going to talk about Maslow’s hierachy of needs? 🙂

What was Jennifer thinking, she looks beautiful with clothes ON, leave something for the imagination. I believe Jennifer has demeaned her “next door girl image” forever.
Jim

The average size for a woman in Australia, according to the Channel 7 report re the unbrushed Hawkins cover, is a 16. Is that considered to be acceptable? I was an overweight child and at age 16 weighed 72kg and was a size 16. At that time in the 70s that was most certainly not acceptable. How times have changed and with them our concepts of body size and what is considered to be acceptable. I am soon to be 50, weigh 56kg and take a size 8 or 10. However many people would consider me to be too thin or skinny, quite a turn around from being called tubs and fatty. As for role models, Jennifer has a great body and should be proud of it but I would never aspire to be like her, I just don’t have the genes. By the same token I don’t want to see images of overweight woman on the cover of magazines just because they are considered to be the ‘average’. I would find that more offensive. Woman should be encouraged to improve themselves and lose weight if they need to. Its one thing to sport the imperfections of the female body but its another to suggest that’s its OK to be overweight just because a certain size is the average. In the 70s a size 12 was probably the average, 30+ years later it is now a 16. In another 30+ years will it be a size 20, and if it is, will we be saying that that is acceptable because it is the average?

The original theme is a boring non-issue – commercial reality pokes holes in the plot. Fortunately they’re not visible from a distance, and I dare say most of the readership doesn’t look that closely. If they did, they’d appreciate the gesture – did the best they could. Far more interesting is the referenced cat fight. I thought the Pac Mags and ACP crew, editors ex and current, all drank Cosmos together of a Friday night. It is high time we were shown the ugly reality. The nicewashing’s over. (And Kirsten, were you looking for the term ‘hogwashing’ – the practice of convincing portions of the population that one advocates the body fat percentage and other physical characteristics of swine?)
(Still love Jackie AND Mia.)

As the mother of a young daughter,and a regular reader of Marie Claire,I am disappointed. To use a shot that would look more appropriate on the cover of “Playboy”,and try to pass it off as something to “liberate women” horrifies me. I pity my daughter and the girls her age as they turn into women.Where has all the hard won progress gone? I won’t be buying that mag anymore.

pix please?

🙂

This is an insult having Jennifer represent the “average woman”
just to sell your magazine
Did she do it for FREE?

You have helped create more problems

Thanks for nothing, I have respected your views in the past but this is just
a “feature” in competition with Sarah Murdoch!!!

What happened to truly empowering woman in Australia, not comparing them to this person or that as an average? Everyone is individual and should be valued and celebrated as such. If you want to sell more magazines promoting healthy body images take a closer look at the “biggest loser”. Never before have I witnessed a stronger move in the right direction and all the accolades for achieving a “healther you” then that show. An image that your happy with, as an individual. It promotes working together to “get to a better, happier place that an individual is happy with” which is what we are…not Jennifer Hawkins, model extroadinaire, oh an btw Miss Universe! How about inviting a healthy supportive competition for average Australian woman on a large scale? I’m betting readers would tune in then and buy magazines?? Just like the weekly tv show. The images on the mainstream mags we have been selling our younger generations for years now, is nothing short of shameful. This article isn’t the worst example but it backs up all the other falacies we inundate our female population with on what a “womans body should really look like” as opposed to appreciating the Gifts God gave us. Lets pull together Australian woman and get innovative (Jackie Frank I hope your listening cause reality sells magazines as well as aspirations) lets focus on how we get to be a healther nation of woman while watching a variety of “real woman”on the covers instead of living in “hope sells and models are the mainstream”. Debate is healthy yes, but Australian woman (and men) are making a point Jackie, I really hope your listening?

Model gets gear off for money. Magazine gets model to get gear off to make money. Females everywhere are exploited and devalued once again. Deceived females talk about how wonderful it is.

People really need to complain less…

Based on the heat in some of these remarks, Jen’s just contributed to global warming.

what is the big issue? All this rubbish about creating body disorders is absurd! It’s the age old story of fat,chubby,ordinary girl hating pretty, slim girl. Jen Hawkins is the archetypal image of a healthy, obviously stunning girl. If more people actually aspired to look like her and maintain a healthy body and lifestyle, then maybe we wouldn’t be the country with the highest level of obesity. It’s shocking, it’s nothing to be proud of. Models aren’t perfect ideals, they just happen to look good in print, we don’t buy magazines to see reality, we buy them to enjoy a fantasy, and if people find fantasy offensive, they should read a newspaper instead!

And who ever thought of the Photo-retoucher in this debate? When looking good on print without the Retoucher’s helping hand is now a mark of “real” beauty, where will they find work? They might be forced underground hiding the fact from their families that the porn industry is their only saving grace or they’ll throw away their self respect by using their finely tuned retouching skills to “cartoonise” Facebook profiles.

From all this, Plastic Surgeons now have a new selling point, so when celebrities choose to “bare all” in support of body image issues, they’ll look flawless without the need for a virtual airbrush. But really what’s more fun – partaking in the fantasy or watching everyone dance crazily around it?

My view?

1. Take your own self esteem and body image issues into account and understand that it is a bias when seeing an article like this. If you care enough to become emotional about someone else doing their own thing, then you have a issue with yourself. instead of critiquing and accusing others, just nurture yourself a bit more so you can get to a point where you can congratulate and appreciate every body, even Jens. She looks the way she is genetically, and by caring for herself.

2. There are many women who look like her – Jen is definitely not a complete alien that is unrepresentative of anyone – she represents HER size. if you dont like it, refer to point1.

3. You, and your daughters, should get to a point where you are simply not affected negatively by another body type. Grow up. Think beyond. And remember you just look jealous and unsatisfied if you want to spare time and breath complaining about a complete stranger, really.

For a body issue, so much of this is in the mind.

And by the way…. if you are a size larger than eight, can you please notice your tactless teasing of those women who are smaller? ‘You look anorexic, eat something” is just as offensive as ‘You know, you’re a bit fat darl, you need to lose weight?”

Try putting on womanly curves when you have a hyperactive metabolism – that’s much more stressing than being an ‘average’ woman, complete with boobs and a tush.

Quit complaining.

If you quit complaining about complaining, I’ll quit complaining about complaining about complaining

I Dreamed a Dream

I have to agree with Size Whatever. Why do larger people think that its ok to tell smaller people that they are too thin and need to eat more, when they would be offended if a samller person told them they were fat and needed to lose weight. It is also amusing when bigger people say to a smaller person “you’re lucky you can eat what you want”. The perception is that if you are thin you can eat what you want without puttng on weight. Apart from being offensive that simply isn’t true for most people. Its quite simple really, if you over eat you put on weight, if you don’t eat enough you loose weight and if you eat just right, you stay the same. Everyone is different and unless there are medical issues most people should be in control of their body and what they consume.

I predict that our society is about to stop objectifying women – ALL TYPES of women and holding up one ideal over another.Since It’s all about selling women a look and then the products to achieve that look , it’s very transparent and it’s looking quite primitive now – i believe it all began back in the day when women were considered property. We made a big boo-boo when we allowed the production of magazines for pre-teens..effectively primping and influencing the next generation to ensure consumers! PRIMITIVE!
Leave beauty to the varied and marvellously individual perspective of the artists that bless our society with their inspired talents and insights..put that variation onto the catwalks and mags (if we must have them) and honour the beauty of difference that makes life interesting!
Our time and energy could be better spent on deeper more constructive and creative pursuits..which would include all shapes sizes colours and ages as the multi-faceted images of humanity.
I don’t have any fashion mags in my house, but occassionally one finds it’s way in (i know people in that industry) and i flick through it and they seem to be all the same magazine with the format and contents slightly altered..Boring.
The issue of real woman or unreal woman is really strange when you give some extra thought. We are talking here of perspective and not a common reality.
Here it comes, the awkward truth of the human psyche.

hmm the idea of a common reality is a bit dicy Anonymous – are you claiming authority on that one? Think it’s all fairly subjective really. Maybe the whole debate about fantasy versus reality / the authentic body over the inauthentic really misses the mark anyway but none the less it’s been churning out artistic pursuits, as you’ve mentioned over many millennia and who knows if anyone’s really figured it out? Think about it though – if everyone looked like Jen, Jen would be Mrs Average and Roseanne Barr would be the hot “archetypal image…” Maybe we’re all just racing around like headless chickens trying to claim our little pedestals in vain hope everyone will one day look up to in awe and say: that person’s really unique.

Maybe then the appreciation of difference rant is not so far from the “everyone is equal” one because while clinging to these ideals, were still throwing all our interest / resources / adoration into objects that are hard to attain to the majority – all the while the whole industry and system pockets bucket loads of cash from the whole endeavor. Perhaps that’s the awkward truth of the human psyche? But who really knows…

@Susan Boyle. Please tell me that they are going to keep airbrushing you on your album covers. I think the real deal would be just too much for me to handle.

There’s are marketing strategists out there that ‘really know’
That’s right, if people didn’t buy the products, they would stop churning out this crap and that is the bottom line….We are sold images and products that cater to our fears and desires. Fear of not being good enough and the desire to be someone other than who you are. The psychology of consumerism is alive and well and cleverly understood. It’s big bucks to know your market.
It’s at the heart of every popular image or product ever presented, not just to women, but to the whole of mankind. The ‘awkward truth of the human psyche’ is very much known and used to the tune of billions. Know your market!

Oh I thought marketing strategists, magazine editors and a few advertising executives were really disguised aliens on a quest to infiltrate “mankind” by feeding us more and more images of alien-like models thus grooming our collective acceptance of them before their official arrival.

This is ridiculous, sorry no matter who u r size or shape attacking Jen is just pathetic, she is a modek, she is stunning and deserves to be on the cover! She would have her own body issues and I think Dye has missed the point! Bianca, as someone who puts themselves out there as a “natural” woman why is it that you have hair extensions, fake tan, fake nails and get botox??? R u presenting an achievable natural image to the average woman?? Maybe it is time to celebrate and support All woman and not pick and choose who deserves it based on their looks as after all we R ALL faking something!

Madison and MC have all just jumped on the bandwagon. Glamour in the US ran a real women naked story and sales soared. Now these Aussie mags are trying the same thing. It’s as simple as that. If Glamour had seen a similar uplift by running celebrities with sunglasses and Uggs on, then Madison and MC would have blindly copied that too.

People want to look at (and look like) healthy, attractive people.

So what?

They look better, they are more sexy, they are more appealing and they will sell more products because of it.

Sure, they aren’t the norm and not representative of ‘average people’ but commerce isn’t based on presenting the ‘average’ just to improve peoples self esteem. If people feel great about themselves then they won’t buy as much.

If you have body image issues then maybe you should work at it, or be comfortable knowing that plenty of people look like you. Plenty of people have cellulite and expanding waist lines, but that doesn’t mean we want to see it on a billboard or on the cover of a magazine.

Let’s not use ‘body image’ as an excuse to justify being unhealthy.

Why is she wearing makeup?

Jen looks amazing on the cover and she works hard to look like that (combined) with amazing genes. However if the point is to represent the average Australian, Jen probably isn’t it, but she does represent some of Australias fabulous looking women. I think its great that she isn’t retouched, but would have liked to have seen her without make up too, but thats a small point.

Maybe Jackie Frank should do the same with Kate Cebrano who probably represents a larger proportion of the female population, who is also stunning and body confident.

We shouldn’t slag people off because their size. Most people work their arses off to be slim and shouldn’t be dammed for it – thats not promoting positive body image! And by the same token some larger women are also incredibly fit, will never be a size 8 should not be berated. At the end of the day women should care more about being healthy and confident and be passing this on to their daughters.

Everyone is missing the point. Jennifer Hawkins is beautiful, she’s fantastic. But SHE DOES NOT REQUIRE ANY IMAGE RE-TOUCHING. Hence the whole purpose of the supposed exercise (no not selling mags – yeah right!) was wasted.

Was Marie Claire out to trump Madison for some reason?

The biggest FAIL here is that Jen is presented as the “isn’t great that the the average girl can get here gear of for a magazine and she’s comfortable with her flaws”
I’m sorry but Jen is not the average girl, shes one of the most recognised women in the world, she is blessed with great jeans, has time to maintain excellent diet and fitness and is a lingerie model for god’s sake!

Had this been presented for what it is “Jen gets her gear off like never before” and not wrapped in some sweetness wrapper about the average body image, then there would be little to be discussing and Marie Claire would have sold just as many rag mags.

All the power to Bianca Dye et al for standing up for women and what is acceptable, beautiful and healthy. Its all more than skin deep and if the young women rising up in today’s world can be confident and happy with who they are it will be a better world.

I think there’s a lot more to come on this subject.

And….as always…..all the fuss fades into the flurry of yesterdays’ dramas, superceded by time, lulled by the futility of popular opinion on the subject of the ‘ideal woman’. So now we know again, deep down, that she is very slim, she is young and she is ideally…almost flawless (whatever that means) Oh and i forgot…in australia she is white.
heh heh!

Aaaaah forget the details.
This is purely and simply a PR exercise.
That has worked very very well.
Evidenced by all the discussion above!