A tween magazine in the US has apologised after it was criticised for publishing an article entitled ‘Which Swimsuit Best Suits You?’
Discovery Girls is a publication which is aimed at girls aged between 8 and 12. On its website, it claims to provide “tips, advice and strategies to get more confident!”
However, it was accused of doing exactly the opposite with one of their latest articles which recommended which swimsuits young girls should get, based on their body shape.
It reportedly made suggestions like “coverage is key” for those who are curvier on top and how girls could “add curves with asymmetrical straps and bold prints.”
As you might expect, people on Twitter had a lot to say about it…
This is ABHORRENT. Magazine for 8 year olds @DiscoveryGirls reducing their focus to flattering swimwear. Do better. pic.twitter.com/3PYyegNr7H
— Kathryn HowellDalton (@curlyhairday) May 10, 2016
.@DiscoveryGirls You’re definitely not giving young girls the advice, encouragement and inspiration you claim to be giving. What a shame.
— Sam Fazz (@SamFazz) May 11, 2016
@DiscoveryGirls what were you thinking with this? 50,000 angry physician moms, remove from our waiting rooms ASAP! pic.twitter.com/eGWWFvaIrs
— carla carvalho (@littlegirlsrule) May 9, 2016
.@DiscoveryGirls I hated my legs in 3rd grade, dieted in 5th grade, eating disorder in 6th. Girls are vulnerable. Your message is dangerous.
— Lyndsey Marie (@Lynds_Peterman) May 10, 2016
Discovery Girls has since responded to the controversy with a statement, aimed at their young readers. It reads:
“Hi Girls,
“We’ve had a lot of comments on the swimsuit article in the April/May issue. Some of you thought it was helpful, but some girls also felt that it made you feel bad or self-conscious about your bodies. We hope you know that this would NEVER be our intention. If you ever read an article that makes you feel bad in that way, it is not a good article and should be questioned—no matter where it appears.
“When the article was originally planned, it was supposed to be about finding fun, cute swimsuits that make girls feel confident and secure when they wear them. If you have been reading Discovery Girls for a while, you know how hard we work to help girls develop a strong, confident body image. If you are new to Discovery Girls, we hope you will read a few more issues to let us show you how great our articles are, and how much they will entertain and help you.
“We believe that making mistakes is part of the process of growing. We never look at it as failing, but as an opportunity to learn and get even better. Remember, we love hearing from you. Your letters and comments are what continue to inspire us and keep us going. Your voice is the voice we’re most proud of at Discovery Girls.”
The publisher, Catherine Lee, also wrote an open letter which was published on the magazine’s Facebook page. She wrote:
“First, I want to thank all the parents and my amazing readers who brought this swimsuit article to my attention. As the founder of Discovery Girls magazine, and even more importantly, the mother of the first Discovery Girl in 2000, I am in total agreement with all of you regarding this article, so much so that I wanted to make this letter as public as possible. We want to make sure that our girls know that any article that makes you feel bad about your body is not a good article, and should be questioned.
“It’s still hard for me to believe that an article so contrary to our magazine’s mission could have been published on our pages. I have been a loss for words for days. The article was supposed to be about finding cute, fun swimsuits that make girls feel confident, but instead it focused on girls’ body image and had a negative impact. Nobody knows better than Discovery Girls how impressionable our girls are at this age and we are ALWAYS mindful of this.”
She finished by saying:
“As much we like to think that something like this would never happen to us, it did. We’re not immune to making mistakes, but we are always willing to get better and learn from our mistakes. We’d like to thank the readers who contacted us to let us know they couldn’t believe we could make such a mistake. It means a lot to us, because it means you hold us to a higher standard, which we hope you will continue to demand from us. And for those of you who don’t know us as well as our regular readers, our reader’s comments are what keeps us improving. This is what makes Discovery Girls the magazine that we’re all so proud to be a part of. I know with certainty, if you hang in there, you’ll find that no magazine works harder to ensure the well-being of your daughters than Discovery Girls.”
You can read her open letter in full below:
What do you think of the article and the magazine’s response to the criticism? Let us know in the Facebook comments or get in touch on Twitter (@HerFamilydotie).
