Story by Deb Peterson | Photographed by Brian Roelands. M! Jun/Jul 2011.
Life can, at times, take you somewhere that no longer feels true to who you are and who you strive to be, and causes you to ask questions and make changes that lead you to a more marvelous self.
When I find myself bumping into obstacles or meeting resistence from people I respect, it’s time to pause and take another look at the path I’m on.
I had just such an occasion while creating this issue of Marvelous!
In a former position, I received training from a national media company on how to create a successful women’s magazine, a magazine upscale women want to read. Research shows that women’s magazines are primarily about aspiration. Women want to be, do, or have the people and things they see in magazines. They buy to be inspired.
The research also shows that women do not want to see images of people they don’t aspire to be like. They don’t want to see men and children, or women who are too old, too young, too fat, or too skinny.
You can probably guess how I found trouble taking this path.
How many of us fit that formula? I certainly don’t. And yet, I meet marvelous women every day.
Confusion set in, and I confided in several friends, who confided in several of their friends. The controversy stirred emotions and resulted in upset feelings all around.
It was time to alter the path.
Margie Roelands, one of my confidantes, and I sat down with 15 women on the veranda at Blue Lady Resort and Raimondo Winery and asked several questions.
What does it mean to be beautiful? Or marvelous?
To what do we aspire?
How much does weight affect our idea of beautiful?
What about health? Mental health?
Shouldn’t we love ourselves no matter who thinks we’re beautiful, or not? Overweight, or not?
Shouldn’t we strive to be our best, healthy selves?
Would you pick up a magazine that depicted a woman on the cover you consider unattractive?
Some said yes. Some said no.
After a three-hour discussion, we came to the conclusion that magazine beauty has to do with style.
It doesn’t matter to this group whether the woman on the cover is fat or skinny, or anywhere in between, if she has style—she takes care of herself, wears clothes that flatter, follows her own inner marvelousness, exudes her own form of beauty.
We found that even though we have different versions of what beautiful means, we have far more in common than not.
Because we chose to put it all on the table and talk about it honestly, the confusion dissipated. Because we took the journey, none of us walked away bitter. You can see from our smiling faces that we made new friends and gained greater understanding.
We took a new path as a sisterhood of supportive women. That’s a beautiful thing in and of itself.
We found a desire to gather more often to discuss other issues that affect women today. We’re starting a list, and your ideas are welcome. Write to me at deb@marvmag.com.
On the following page, you’ll find a story about our current cover girl, a young woman from the next generation who has chosen a career in modeling and acting. Her attitude toward it may surprise you.
My hope is that the sisterhood we have formed will embrace girls like Nancy Mariana Pop and support them on their own journeys in ways that protect and nurture the marvelous women they are already becoming.
M!
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