#stopcomparingUs
An open letter from Honor Code Creative & friends to Us Weekly Magazine
An open letter from Honor Code Creative & friends to Us Weekly Magazine
Dear Us Weekly:
We’ve been troubled. We’ve been wanting to say something for a while. And we’ve kept our mouths shut. But we’re riding the momentum of International Women’s Day. And we’re feeling strong. And we’re speaking up.
You’ve always held a place in our hearts. You’re our escapism. Our fantasy. Our fashion. Our fun. The cupcake at the end of our (sometimes grueling) day. And we’re all for light fare and playful fashion critiques.
But here’s what we’ve come to realize we’re not for: Pitting women against each other. It’s one thing to talk about say, Oscars fashion, and to really make it about the fashion. It’s another to place images of two women side by side and ask passersby or the Instagram community to compare. And then, to essentially pick a winner (and loser), placing a percentage mark beside her body or face. (BTW, we notice that often it’s the older of the women whose “score” is lower.) That is not ok. And we can’t abide it any longer.
You are not about old news. And yet comparing women by assigning numbers to us is very old news. Male artists in music have identified us by the measurements of our bodies. Men (including the president) have long assigned us a number on a scale of 1–10.
That’s bad enough. But you advertise products we’re supposed to buy. You’re OUR magazine. Are you going to be for us or against us?
We’re calling on you, Us Weekly, to rethink your “Who Wore It Best” column. How about “Different Ways to Rock It”? Celebrate women’s creativity with fashion instead of pitting us against each other. Stop inviting comparisons in the places where we live, work and hang out. Stop putting percentages beside our bodies and faces.
Stop or we’ll have to stop. We’ll (painfully) stop our subscriptions. We’ll stop reading. We’ll stop following. We’ll stop Us, something that has long made us feel good. Because this. does. not.
Sincerely,
Rachel & Susanne, Us Weekly subscribers & founders of Honor Code Creative
Join the #stopcomparingUs movement. Clap to help circulate this letter. Share it on social. On instgram @honorcodecreative you’ll find a version you can easily share with Us magazine (find them @usweekly).