Love magazine made a name for itself this month by convincing eight of the world’s most famous supermodels to pose nude on its eight covers — along with their measurements.

Kate Moss's cover for the February 2010 issue of Love magazine. (Courtesy of TheLoveMagazine.co.uk)
Even more controversially, Kate Grand, the magazine’s editor, had this to say to Vogue U.K.: “For this issue of LOVE, we took eight women who are generally acknowledged as the most beautiful in the world, got them to show off their bodies – widely regarded as the most perfect in the world – and photographed them all in exactly the same position for the cover … We did this to show how much they differed physically from one another, which is why we also printed their measurements.”
So she’s saying the issue is about body diversity. But how much do they really differ?
For reference, the largest waist measurement in the bunch was 25 inches — barely filling out a U.S. size 2 in most brands. All of the models have the same toned abs, the same slim hips (all in the 34 to 35 inch range), the same commitment to bikini and underarm waxing.
There’s no denying that these eight women are beautiful, but they adhere closely to the conventional standards of beauty and grooming. Indeed, they’ve even participated in shaping it. Ms. Grand’s assertion that these bodies that are “widely regarded as the most perfect in the world” is a done deal, a self-fulfilling prophecy. As magazine consumers, we are being told what perfection is.
So the question is, Are such magazine covers exploitative? Probably not to the models themselves. A supermodel likely views her measurements like a college graduate views her GPA: merely as information that will help a future employer consider her application for work.
But in the murky world of body image in the media, we can’t help but wonder whether putting a model’s assets out there in mathematical terms could only serve to drive young women — who often aren’t yet secure in their bodies’ uniqueness — to comparison.
These standards run deep in the consciousnesses of young women. Clearly deeply affected by such declarations of what’s “perfect”, 23-year-old reality television star Heidi Montag recently underwent 10 cosmetic procedures in one day in pursuit of a total body makeover. Nothing was left in its original form, or even in the first draft: She had her first set of breast implants replaced with DDD “upgrades,” her nose recut to an even more narrow blade. Liposuction shaped her neck, waist, hips, and thighs; fat was transferred to her lips and cheeks. She even had her ears pinned back, an effect she now proudly describes as “sexy ears.”
Such a dramatic transformation landed her the cover of People magazine, which she used to try to sell copies of her new CD. But consumers didn’t bite; the album sold fewer than 1,000 imprints in the first week. Instead, the public was horrified.
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of a young woman surgically altering every part of her body in the pursuit of perfection is that it is so permanent. Ms. Montag’s tabloid exploits were a source of amusement for awhile, but now that she’s turned a dark corner and subjected herself to life-altering cosmetic procedures, the joke suddenly isn’t so funny. That she required emergency interventions to help her breathe post-op is further indicative of the degree vanity can undermine a person’s well-being.
Ultimately, what responsibility do magazines and television and society have to help vulnerable young women see themselves more clearly? Because it seems obvious the time has come to put less emphasis on the “perfection” label and more on cultivating self-acceptance. That would be the real Love magazine.