I'll Tell You What You Can Do With Fashion Magazines

Things were going well with Cathy. We were working on her management skills at her office. She was bright, happy and excited about the changes that were occurring and so was I. She was smart, energetic and competent.

Anyone who says business and personal are two separate things is wrong. You cannot be a jerk at home and be a different person in the office, so when I have the chance to work with a real sweetheart, it's very rewarding.

But when Cathy came back from lunch, her mood had changed. She seemed a bit down and I inquired what was wrong.

"Oh nothing really. I just need to lose some weight and I was feeling bad about it."

"OK, Cathy, what the hell changed?" I asked. One moment she was fine and now she was sad.
She looked around and tried to brush it off. I wouldn't let her.

She sheepishly opens her tote bag and pulls out the enemy of all women.

A woman's fashion magazine!

I gasp, she turns red and I grab it from her.

"What the hell are you doing reading this?" I ask as I shake the magazine. I think she thought I was going to pop her on her nose and truth be told, I thought about it for half a second.

"I was bored and needed something to read, so I grabbed this. That's not why I'm bummed. It has nothing to do with it," she says as she tries to take the magazine away from me. I won't let her.

"Oh really? You think it’s just a coincidence that you're doing fine one moment and then the next moment, you feel bad about yourself? Yeah, right, there's no reason for that, now is there?"

She knew she was busted. She nodded her head.

I open the magazine and start to point out a few things.

"Cathy, first of all, no one wears make-up like that and if they did, we would scream when we saw them. If you walked in here with your make-up like that, I would send you to the ladies room to wash it off because it would be too damn scary to look at you all day."

She sighed.

"No one is that skinny and if they are, they are ill."

"OK, Susan, I'll agree with you on that. I just wanted to lose some weight."

I looked at her. She wasn't skinny but she sure wasn't fat.

"Cathy, if you want to lose weight, go ahead and do it. But don't do it because you think it makes you a better or more valuable person. Do it because YOU want to do it and not to look like some skinny, malnourished bitch that gets PAID not to eat."

She agreed.

"And another thing," I said since I was on a roll and my blood was boiling "You see these women? Do you see any cellulite on them?"

Cathy groaned, but she looked. "No."

"That's because they've been photo shopped!" I said as I took the magazine and threw it against the wall. This caused my assistant to come rushing in.

"You guys OK?" she asked and then looked around. Before I could say anything, she saw the magazine on the floor and looked over at Cathy. "Oh, I see. You brought in one of those magazines and Susan found out. Never mind," and she closed the door.

I stood up. "Cathy, would you call me slender or thin?"

"Yes, absolutely. I know you work out and watch what you eat."

"Would you say that I'm healthy or at least look healthy?"

"Yes."

I nodded, stood up and pulled my skirt up to my butt. I pinched my thigh.

"You see that?" I asked.

She nodded.

"It's cellulite and 90% of us have it. Why? Hell, I don't know. Maybe it's God's payback for the Garden of Eden. Who knows but we're stuck with it. Might as well accept it." With that, I pushed my skirt back down and sat down.

If Cathy ever read another woman's magazine after that, I do not know. If she did, she was smart enough not to bring it near me.

Don't look to others for who you are or what you should be or even how you should look. I'm all for dressing nice and checking out the latest fashions but I won't allow anyone to dictate to me that I'm not tall enough, or thin enough or that I need plastic surgery because God forbid I should get older.

And I sure as hell won't listen to some idiot who has no clue what most of us women have to deal with 24/7 and it's not being worried about the size of our thighs. Most of us work too damn hard to put food on the table and pay our bills.

Besides, you won't always have your looks, so you might as well start now on developing your mind and your spirit because no matter where you go, there you are.

Do you agree with my viewpoint?

Do you think women's fashion magazines are more helpful or destructive?