I was recently lucky enough to be a participant in an important panel discussion sponsored by Girls, Inc. Along with Dana Buchman, designer; Shelly Lazarus, Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide; Cindi Leive, Editor-in-Chief of Glamour; and Dr. Jennifer Wider, a women’s health expert, author, and radio host, I addressed all-too common issues facing young women today.

From the stress to be perfect to the gender stereotypes we still face in school and in the workplace, nothing was off-limits, and the discussion was fast and furious! It made me realize how fortunate I am to be in a space where I can affect change, and I am excited to hear what you have to think about the solutions we offered! Click here to watch the footage and then comment below to make your voice heard!

Thank you Glamour Magazine! Thank you for taking a step further to break the “magazine beauty” stereotype and empowering the FACT that beauty does not come only in one size!

Did you guys see the new glamour magazine this month? click here if so, then you probably couldn’t help but notice the six beautiful fuller-figured models (and by that I mean ‘not emaciated’) draped around each other in nothing but the beautiful curves God gave them! The picture in and of itself is revolutionary for a mainstream women’s magazine. But what’s even better is that the editorial powers that be are choosing to buck fashion convention and begin featuring a more diverse size (and color) of models for their fashion spreads. Have you ever wondered why you don’t see models larger than a size 4 doing a spread like that? Well glamour explained why:

It all starts with the clothes. Designers only send sample sizes to magazines to photograph. And usually those sizes are between a 0 and a 4. Actually, did you know that is almost impossible to find a clothing piece larger than a size 6 to showcase in a photo shoot? So because magazines can’t typically go to the rack and buy clothing that isn’t even out on the market yet – they have to accommodate what is being sent to them and find models to fit the clothes! But now glamour says they will begin to work more (and publicly celebrate) designers who offer a more diverse sizing (even in sample sizes!) and I happen to think that this kind of industry accolade (and pressure) could actually work!

My question to you guys is: would you buy clothing from a designer whose line looked like it could be worn by more than a walking coat hanger? Do you like seeing more realistic bodies in magazines?

I think these are steps toward the celebration not of a dress size or a number on a scale, but confident beauty; fabulous diversified beauty.

Believe it or not, it does take a lot of guts for a woman’s magazine to make such a bold move and declare it publicly. It means they get to be held accountable now going forward to continue to embody what they promise in this month’s issue. Let’s all keep watching. And who knows – maybe glamour magazine will end up as our next featured actionist. What do you think?