Oops. SELF magazine started quite the sh*t storm this week and it stems from their newest issue. Monika Allen received a phone call from SELF asking her permission to use a photo of her running in a tutu. She’s smiling and dressed as Wonder Woman in the photo. No biggie, right? Pretty sweet to have a magazine want to run a photo of you. Well by itself it’s a cute photo and a fun opportunity to be in a major fitness magazine but when you put it into the context which it was used… well that’s where things get ugly.
The photo runs in the magazine’s “+BS METER” which states the page is “Our SELF-y guide to what’s legit and what’s lame this month”.
NEW RUNNING TULLE
“A racing tutu epidemic has struck NYC’s Central Park, and it’s all because people think these froufrou skirts make you run faster. Now, if you told us they made people run away from you faster, maybe we would believe it.”
After seeing how her photo was used, Monika was understandably upset. She told a San Diego news station she wore the outfit during the marathon because it gave her motivation and came in the middle of chemotherapy. Yes, Monica is a cancer survivor and part of GLAM RUNNER. Glam Runner was founded in 2011 as a way to “bring more fun and GLAM to running while raising money for Girls on the Run of San Diego.”
Their website’s about us says, “Girls on the Run is a life-changing 12 week program for girls 8-13 years old that encourages positive emotional, social, mental, and physical development, all while training the girls for a 5K race.”
After this news went viral SELF POSTED this on their Facebook page.
The messages of support for Allen on the Glam Runner Facebook page continue to pour in. The Glam Runner Facebook posted their response.
The folks on twitter haven’t been as forgiving and kind…
.@SELFmagazine you should "applaud" all women & get rid of the BS Meter. A mag about empowering your body doesn't need slam book columns…
— Jessica Marzipan (@JessicaMerizan) March 28, 2014
No respect for @SELFmagazine.. asking permission to use a photo with intentions of mocking that person? cancer or no cancer, shame on you.
— allyssa griffiths (@allyssaamarie) March 28, 2014
I thought this was appropriate considering the article in SELF (ish) Magazine today #tutusrock #tutusformonika pic.twitter.com/YU2IHpoN6e
— Run Nerds Rock (@runnerdsrock) March 27, 2014
Screen capture via www.nbcsandiego.com.
Photos via Glam Runner.
