YOU are an amazing resource – thank you all, each and every one of you!
I loved reading the comments & emails you wrote on my last post.
What? YOU can’t read the comments? Well, that’s because I didn’t publish them.
They are filled with EXCELLENT comments and information (and opinions) about the proposed cover-in-process for History on Two Needles, but some of the comments are a bit personal about the physicality of the model and I prefer not to share what might be construed as inadvertently hurtful remarks.
I know most of them weren’t meant in a personally negative way, but I’ve learned that once a negative comment is made about someone’s appearance, it’s easy for other folks to ‘pile on’ and it can turn into something ugly. I won’t allow that to begin in my comments.
The girl on the cover – Ellis – is a lovely, wonderful, beautiful, kind, intelligent girl who is also a very good friend. As far as I know she doesn’t read my blog, but the last thing I want is for her to wander onto a casually negative comment about her personal appearance.
Ellis will be whatever she wants to be, she’s THAT smart. Part of her wants to be a model, and if that’s what she wants, she WILL make it work!
I chose her for the Egyptian piece in our test photo shoot because she was close, she was free, and I love her mixed heritage look. She is also very thin– it’s just how she is – some folks are thin, some are heavy.
Your comments were [mostly] non intentionally hurtful. Please know that I AM considering other cover options for the book (which I’ll reveal for your feedback in future blog posts.)
You guys are invaluable in helping me keep track of general feelings about the book. Thank you!
EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL
Hannah often will get upset at the media when a very thin person is presented as an “ideal” of beauty, and I hear her! Idealizing one body type isn’t helpful in the goal of allowing every woman to feel as healthy and lovely as she can be.
But I stress to Hannah that the idea that anyone is beautiful also must, by definition, include everyone.
Ellis happens to be thin, I happen to be heavy (no, that bowl of chocolate chips had NOTHING to do with it, look away…) and most folks fall somewhere in this spectrum.
The ridiculous idea that one can’t be ‘too rich or too thin’ is prevalent in our society. Girls and women (and, less often, men) diet and purge themselves to the point of death to achieve some bizarre ideal of skinny beauty.
There’s a LOT of judgement out there against folks who aren’t thin, we’re easy targets [insert large bullseye joke here]
But that doesn’t give anyone permission to even the scales by saying hurtful things about someone who’s just naturally thin, or calling folks names because they’re different (some – not all – of the comments did call names and make intentionally mean remarks.)
Try this experiment today; look for SOMETHING beautiful in the physicality of every person you see today. Hair, eyes, grace of movement, smile, finger length – look for the beauty and you’ll see it!
Thus endeth my sermon for Sunday – thanks for reading!
You ROCK!
I must have missed your last post. I personally think your model looks like Queen Nefertitti – gorgeous.
Very well said and something we should work on every day!
All that you say is true, but the point here is, you want a cover that grabs readers: That’s gorgeous! I could knit that! I could wear that! Your lovely model doesn’t provoke that reaction, as I gather the unpublished comments told you.
There actually weren’t that many unpublished comments, but the point of this last post was that the emails and comments I didn’t publish were so vitriolic about Ellis’ personal appearance, based solely on her thinness.
I felt this was as out of line as if I were to feature a plus size model on the cover, and received insulting comments about her large size.
Not every cover is going to appeal to every person, but one can make a point without being personally insulting.
Sadly we women are often our own worst enemies. This cover is lovely. The whole composition is lovely. The knitted garment is shown very well, and probably because the model looks so good in it. That is the point of the cover. It is absolutely true that we can all look good. It is also true that we cannot all look good in the same things. This model looks great and makes the garment look wonderful. The cover is very good. Personally, I think it is a go. Best,BER
I too think the cover is gorgeous — as is your model. She looks perfect in the garment. I agree that you need to pick the right body type for the garment to show it at its best and in this case a slender person enhances it which really is the point. That being said, it is a shame that people can’t get past the body issues but as we all know the media perpetuates the problem. Good for your daughter recognizing that rather than buying into what our bodies “should” look like. Too often teenagers don’t understand and strive for an unhealthy weight or get depressed because they don’t fit the unrealistic image.