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This month, Glamour‘s health section features a short trend piece on how celebrities are now admitting that “staying in Hollywood shape sucks.” Where in the past, thin actresses were prone to tell us that they simply go for walks with their dog and eat whatever they want, today’s are supposedly fessing up to the work it takes to look lean. Glamour finds this refreshing. But Glamour still promotes unrealistic body ideals and warped diet and weight loss tips.
The article features photos of Gwyneth Paltrow, Zoe Saldana, Anne Hathaway and Olivia Munn, all accompanied by quotes from the actresses about how hard they work to maintain their bodies. Glamour contributing editor Shaun Dreisbach observes:
Well, this is refreshing: Instead of claiming “I must have a fast metabolism,” stars are owning up to how hard it is to look Hollywood good.
She consulted Hollywood trainer Gunnar Peterson about the trend, who says “workout honesty is the new black,” adding:
With actresses, there used to be a feeling that if you admitted how much you exercised, you’d seem self-absorbed—when, in fact, these leading ladies have to prep for their jobs the same way business gals get ready for meetings. Pretending otherwise sends a false message to women, who may wonder, I hike with my dog, too—why don’t I look like that?
He also says what I wish every trainer (and magazine) would:
Instead of comparing yourself to treadmill-shackled celebs, focus on exercise that makes you look and feel your best.
Peterson’s comments are invaluable, and I hope that he and Glamour are right about celebrities owning up to how hard it is to look the way they do. I also hope that, now that it’s in vogue, Glamour will start to adopt the same policy; despite having more focus on body image than many women’s mags, their pages are still filled with uniformly thin models, and many of their health articles focus on celebrities (and how to look like them).
