Under viral fire, Oprah Magazine apologizes for body shaming comment

By Digiday • July 9, 2015 •

“You get body shamed! You get body shamed! Everybody gets body shamed!” ~ Oprah Winfrey, probably.

Oprah Magazine is under heavy fire for creative director Adam Glassman’s recent style tip to a reader on wearing crop tops: “If (and only if!) you have a flat stomach, feel free to try one.”

Blogger Tamar Anitai was the first to spot the offending post — and was swift with the first dose of outrage.

It didn’t take long for positivity advocates to pile on. Plus size fashion blogger Sarah Conley of “Style It” shared her thoughts in an eloquent post urging readers to respond.

Surprised to see this level of #bodyshaming in Oprah magazine. The feature is about women feeling healthy. Part of health is self-esteem and that’s intrinsically connected to body image. Stop telling women what they CAN’T wear. We can wear and do and be ANYTHING that makes us feel strong, powerful, passionate and in charge of our own destinies. I hope young women and women of any age don’t feel like they’re restricted by editorially imposed fashion “rules.” The only rules are there are no rules. Wear what you love, what makes you feel confident, and own it. Confidence is power, and it’s contagious.

A photo posted by Tamar A (@tamaranitai) on Jul 7, 2015 at 4:27pm PDT

“I was shocked to see this kind of body shaming language from any magazine, much less one named after a woman who has had her weight scrutinized throughout her career,” wrote Conley, rallying women to share photos of themselves wearing crop tops along with the hashtag #rockthecrop.

The movement has gained steam, particularly on Instagram, with women of all shapes and sizes driving the campaign. The hashtag has seen over 1,600 posts since July 7. It is also gaining momentum on Twitter, with more than 500 mentions of the hashtag #rockthecrop between July 8 and 9, according to social analytics firm Topsy.

Fat girls, skinny girls, girls who can’t stand up (c’est moi) – we all #rockthecrop Stop the #bodyshaming y’all pic.twitter.com/3Pxeuimvr1 — Vicky Kuhn (@curlywurlygirly) July 9, 2015

The movement has made enough noise to elicit a response from the magazine.

“We support, encourage and empower all women to look great, feel confident and live their best lives – in this case, we could have expressed it better,” Oprah Magazine wrote in a statement to BuzzFeed. “We appreciate the feedback and will be more mindful going forward.”

The viral campaign, also spurred other hashtags, like #pullingoffacroptop which itself has seen more than 100 mentions in the last day.

Here are some of our favorite Instagram reactions:

#rockthecrop oh dear @oprahmagazine you really pissed the Internet off! @Oprah I think you need magazine staff that aren’t ass holes. There is nothing wrong with wearing a crop top when you have a belly. #tbt #art #bodyposi #bodypositive #comic #copic #chubby #draw #design #fatty #fashion #feminism #feminist #fatpositive #feministart #girlpower #graphicdesign #instaart #illustration #kawaii #lgbt #mentalhealth #photoshop #sketch #selflove #yesallwomen #oprah A photo posted by joannathangiah (@joannathangiah) on Jul 9, 2015 at 9:09am PDT

It’s sort of unprecedented to have @oprah tell you that you CAN’T do something. Sorry @oprahmagazine we can #rockthecrop and look terribly chic. Thanks for your amazing round up @styleit

A photo posted by Kellie B. (@itsmekellieb) on Jul 8, 2015 at 8:27am PDT

#rockthecrop A recent article in O magazine said that you should ONLY try a crop top if you have a flat stomach… False!! My stomach is far from flat but crop tops are one of my fav things to wear!! Wear whatever you want!! #bodypositive #styleblogger #curvescurlsandclothes A photo posted by Megan (@curves_curlsandclothes) on Jul 9, 2015 at 6:52am PDT

#adamglassman can suck it. Me and my definitely not flat stomach look great in a crop top. It took me way too long to be comfortable with wearing one to hear somebody say I shouldn’t because of the shape of my body. #bodyshaming #rockthecrop #oprahmagazine #omagazine #behealthy #loveyourbody

A photo posted by Chelsea Farrell (@chelsealiana) on Jul 9, 2015 at 8:55am PDT

So I felt uncomfortable to get this because #mombod but then I see this shit in #omagazine and now I want to wear all the crop tops. No one has a right to make anyone feel shamed for wearing something that makes them feel good. #rockthecrop A photo posted by Niki Stephens (@alchemistmom) on Jul 9, 2015 at 8:36am PDT

#rockthecrop #effyourbeautystandards #WabiSabi #TheBeautyofImperfection

A photo posted by Sarahfina A (@thebeautyofimperfectionblog) on Jul 9, 2015 at 7:43am PDT