This might sound like the sort of article you’re used to seeing in women’s titles, but it appeared in a publication aimed at girls between the ages of 8 and 13.
The US magazine Discovery Girls, which is reported to have a readership of 900,000 young girls, received criticism online for its feature titled: “What swimsuit best suits you?”
The swimsuits are broken down into “body type”, with the headings “if you’re curvy up top”, “if you’re straight up and down” and “if you’re rounder in the middle”.
They are the kind of body issues more often faced, and worried about, by grown women than pre-adolescent girls. You would expect a magazine for young girls to focus on enjoying a day at the beach rather than making its readers feel conscious of their body type, said critics.
One parent wrote: “I don’t want your magazine telling my nine year-old she needs to feel ‘confident’ in her swimsuit. She has no current thoughts about NOT feeling confident in her swimsuit.”
A survey of 1 600 young people by Sky Academy found that 66% of girls’ confidence is affected by how attractive they feel, while another by the Schools Health Education Unit found only 33% of girls aged 14-15 reported high levels of self-esteem.
Magazine publisher Catherine Lee revealed she was also shocked by the article. “It’s hard for me to believe that an article so contrary to our magazine’s mission could have been published on our pages.”
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