Spray Tanned and Photoshopped

Let me start by saying that I don't subscribe to fitness magazines.  I don't follow fitness sites on Facebook, and I don't have any sort of "fitness inspiration" board on Pinterest. Why? Because most of them focus on image. It's not exercising for better health (lowering blood pressure and reducing risk of diabetes and heart disease for example).  It's not exercising to feel better (boosting energy, better sleep, improved mood).  It's not exercising for self-confidence. It's about exercising for image. It's all about wearing "the right" clothes, doing the newest exercises, and continually striving for the image of the "ideal body" that is plastered throughout magazines....striving for images that have been spray tanned and photoshopped. And there definitely are people out there who exercise for image. I see them going to the gym in full make-up, with their hair down and fixed. They have fallen for the exercise image hook, line, and sinker.
I am sure that some of you will think by reading this that I am overweight, out of shape, and wanting everyone to be like me. Well, no I am not any of those. Am I overweight? No, I wear a size 2. Am I out of shape? I admit I'm not as in shape as I once was, but I work out a few times a week and stay active with my family. I grew up in a world obsessed with and focused on body. I was a dancer and eventually a teacher with several ballet schools.  We grew up wearing plastic shorts to make us sweat more in ballet classes. We slept with Saran Wrap around our thighs because, god forbid, thighs touch in our leotards and tights.  I heard teachers tell girls to lose a few pounds. I saw the most talented girls in the class not get parts because they were a couple of inches bigger around the middle. I left one school because of it.
Recently, SELF Magazine solidified my dislike of fitness magazines. They posted a picture of a woman running a marathon on their BS Meter page and made fun of her for wearing a tutu. On SELF's website, they say this "SELF is passionate about women supporting each other, learning from each other and respecting each other." Yes, SELF, ideally this is what you should be. However, your hypocrisy is alarming.
A fitness magazine making fun of two women running 26.2 miles is ridiculous.
A fitness magazine making fun of the clothes that the women wear while running A MARATHON!! is ridiculous.
A magazine that misleads a woman to get permission to use her picture is ridiculous.
A magazine that does no research on a photo before posting it, and that later finds out that the woman is a brain cancer survivor who owns Glam Runner tutus and donates half of her proceeds to charity is ridiculous.
I am glad to see the backlash that SELF is enduring. To those of you who actually subscribe to their magazine, ditch the subscriptions and unfollow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. This magazine isn't improving you in any way. This magazine is a bully in a spray tanned, photoshopped body.