Column: It’s Not OK! Magazine Cover Shames Women Everywhere

Confession: if there is a magazine with The Duchess of Cambridge’s smiling face on the cover, there’s a good chance it will grab my attention.

I like Kate Middleton. Many women do.

Social media sites on Monday spoke of little else. The odd disgruntled user moaned about the fuss, and felt the need to remind us all of the number of babies born worldwide every second, in case we weren’t already aware. But, for the most part, there was a swell of well wishes towards Prince William and his wife.

It’s true; the royal family has absolutely zero impact on my life. However, it’s in my nature, and it seems many others feel the same, to see a young couple who have the eyes of the world on them look so happy.

It’s heartening, touching, and a silly break from all the bad news stories in the world. Their PDAs during the Olympics were met with a collective ‘aaaw’ from every woman in this office. It’s sweet, and people like sweet stories. Where's the harm in that?

Well, the harm became clear last night when, one day after the Duchess gave birth, the cover of the forthcoming issue of OK! magazine leaked. We say leaked, of course, but the company have now placed the cover as their Facebook profile photo, so they seem perfectly happy for it to be out there for all the world to see.

The issue, due on shelves on July 30^th, screams from its cover about Kate’s ‘post-baby weight loss regime’, with the promise of an ‘exclusive’ from Kate’s trainer.

I have never given birth. Many wonderful women close to me have, however, and I can safely say that a ‘post-baby weight loss regime’ ranks somewhere below regrouting the kitchen tiles on their list of priorities when baby arrives.

They’re wrecked. When your body has shared everything with another being for nine months, and now that being exists outside of your body and is dependent on you for everything, is the excess skin on your stomach really going to be something you care about?

The backlash has come hard and fast for OK!, but they seem to be going by the old adage of ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’. They have yet to respond to the criticisms posted by their own fans on Facebook, or make any public statement regarding the cover.

There’s no doubt the amount of magazines and newspapers sold off the back of fabricated Kate stories will become tiresome very quickly, but this one is particularly damaging.

This is body shaming at its absolute worst. No mere mortal pops back in to shape after carrying a child for nine months, and that’s all the Duchess, wife of the future King of England, mother of the third in line to the throne, is too.

One woman commented jokingly on this site last night, ‘I had my daughter 19 years ago, and I still haven’t lost the baby weight!’. Who cares? Are you happy? Is your child happy? If so, nothing else matters.

I will continue to follow stories about Kate Middleton, and call her that even though it’s not her title. I’ll think it’s sweet when she and her husband look happy together, and impressive when she handles the world’s press and dignitaries with class and poise.

I will not buy this magazine. I will not read articles about how she’s losing weight, and I won’t support companies who feel that one day after a woman gives birth, that’s where their focus should be. It’s not okay, OK!, and judging by the reaction you’re getting since that cover found its way online, you’re about to learn that many, many women - your readers, feel the same.