Less is More

I'm flipping through the pages of More magazine (tagline: celebrating women over 40). I admit it ... I bought a one year's subscription pre-layoff. I'm not intending to renew the subscription. As I mentioned before, I'm cutting unnecessary "stuff" and More would qualify in that category.

I have a hate/love relationship with More. On one hand, I do appreciate its focus on empowering women by providing inspirational stories of real-life women as role models. But on the other hand, nowhere in the pages of More will you see any over-40 models carrying that middle-aged spread, or be graying, wrinkling or sagging. Even the models who are in their 50s can pass for being in their 30s under certain lighting conditions.

Yes, I know, the business of beauty (and despite More's mission statement) is to push the standard of beauty that sells products. So their models are glammed up, made up and brushed up. But would it destroy their bottom line if the editors of More take a little bit of a risk in selecting models that the majority of women can identify with?

As an average-looking woman in my mid-40s (and soon to be on the late side), I like to see at least a selection of models that reflects the women in my neighborhood, community and city. More prides itself on choosing "real" women as models, but based on what I have seen in the pages of the magazine, I can't help but wonder if More's criteria are:

1. A More model doesn't have to be catwalk thin, but still slim and toned enough for any type of clothes to hang well and not show any mid-life rolls in the usual places (dare I say belly and back shoulder fat).

2. A More model exudes a healthy glow that can only come from spending 3 times a week at the gym, having once-a-month facials, participating in healthy, physical activities, such as yoga, golfing, and tennis (do over-40 women really have all that free time for themselves).

3. A More model has bright, glossy hair without one strand of gray hair to be seen (requiring a monthly visit to the salon for such high maintenance).

4. A More model is allowed subtle and discreet cosmetic interventions (a la Demi Moore).

5. A More model's smile must show off the brightest, whitest, pearly teeth imaginable (for nothing ages a woman than yellowing, stained teeth).

In spite of the perception that More projects, I say kudos to those women selected to be More models, for they have realized their passion and interests, whether that involves expressing it on the pages of More or in their life.