When I saw the picture of Mindy Kaling on the cover on Elle Magazine next to the pictures of the other cover girls -- Zooey Deschanel, Amy Poehler and Allison Williams -- I didn't think anything of it. Honestly, I looked at all four covers next to one another and thought to myself DAMN. Mindy looks HOT.
It wasn't until the tweets started coming in that I realized Elle showed full-body pics of Zooey, Amy and Allison -- but a close-up of Mindy. Many people said they were hiding her body. As in, they were fat-shaming her. But were they?
Coming from someone who is not fat, but not skinny (like my faux twin Mindy Kaling), I know what it's like to not be as thin as most celebrities. I mean, don't most normal people know what that's like? Amy Poehler, Zooey Deschanel and ESPECIALLY Allison Williams are all thin celebs. We see them on TV and in magazines and think they're skinny. Do you know how much thinner they would be if we saw them in person? REALLY EFFING THIN, PROBABLY.
Mindy Kaling isn't fat. She isn't a tiny little celebrity, but she certainly isn't large. She is normal. An average woman. If I saw her in person (and I'm really hoping one day I will, because I heart Mindy), I'm sure she would appear smaller than she does onscreen. The camera really does add 10 pounds, FYI. Except when you take a selfie with your iPhone from a high angle -- then the camera will take away 10 pounds... Just saying.
If I was going to be on the cover of a fashion magazine, appearing next to other cover girls on fashion magazines at newsstands everywhere, I probably wouldn't want a full picture of my not-so-skinny body on the cover. I wouldn't want my cover surrounded by covers featuring thin models. That would make me feel bad about myself. It would make me feel fat, when I'm not (or at least I think I'm not?). Call me self-conscious (and it's totally fine if you do, because I AM -- I mean, what girl hovering between almost chubby and almost thin isn't?!). Say I should learn to love my body. Tell me to lose weight if I'm not happy with the way I look right now. But when it comes down to it, I'll probably never be happy with the way I look unless my full-time job becomes working out with a personal trainer or my body type magically changes. The more the Internet keeps coming out with new body objectives to achieve such as the thigh gap, having legs that look like hot dogs and now the 'bikini bridge,' the larger average people will appear in the media.
So, Mindy Kaling's Elle cover doesn't feature her stomach or legs. So what? Maybe she's happier that way. Maybe that was just the best picture taken during her photo shoot. Maybe Mindy's face is sexier than the other faces (sorry ladies, love you all, but I've seen all the covers and Mindy OWNED that shoot) so they wanted to showcase it in the best way possible.
Mindy Kaling opened up about the cover herself on Twitter. She is giving people the chance to see more of her body. You just have to go on 13 dates with her.
I personally love Mindy's Elle cover. It's sexy, glamorous and mysterious. And to be completely honest, it makes me want to actually open the magazine. She's like a female Ryan Gosling meme in the picture. It's like Hey boy, want to see what's behind this sexy blazer? Open the mag to find out! Like, if I open it perhaps there will be a full spread of Mindy for me to explore (and I mean that in the least sexual way ever, I love her... writing).
So, let's all leave Mindy alone. Or not. She's on Tinder...