So I'm not the only one who is flipping out mad about Random House and its decision to not only continue with the preposterous use of a clothing size as a character descriptor in the Sweet Valley High series of young adult books being re-released by the behemoth book publisher, but also to lower that number.

The perfect size, it seems, is actually a four, not a six, as it was twenty years ago.

I know my previous post was riddled with more f-bombs than you can shake a stick at. My family is, no doubt, sighing deeply. My reaction was visceral, especially considering that it's been a tough winter, one that's found me struggling with my own body as it continues to adjust to thyroid medication. Five-to-seven pounds may not sound like a big deal to be gaining in three months, but when you work out as much as I do, and adhere to a pretty healthy, moderate diet, it's tough not to have all of your old body image issues surface when all of that effort produces, well, nothing because of the little blue pill you take every morning.

But all that said, I'm still angry about the language in the books. And by the emails and Twitters I received, I'm not the only one out there. Some of you sent emails last night to Noreen Marchisi and Kathy Dunn, and obviously, now, you can too if the spirit moves you.

I'm sure as much as anything that the SVH series isn't the only YA book out there that elects to use something such as a clothing size to describe its main characters. There is nothing inherently wrong with it, and there is nothing wrong with describing the body type of a main character in a book, fat or thin. What irks me is how that size, and therefore that body type, is quantified. In the canon of the series itself, I've never understood the importance of pointing out their clothing size, if only to forcibly hammer home the point that the Wakefield twins are conventionally attractive girls. But the idea of calling it "perfect?"

Really? Do we have to keep using such irresponsible language?

The fact that they've set that standard of perfection to an even lower size, one many girls simply can't fit into, is just cruel. And unnecessary. And as far as I'm concerned, if it is one more contribution to the cacophony of messages that serve to distort and destroy a young girl's self-esteem, no matter how seemingly innocuous, it's one contribution too many. I'm sure there are other books that use similar language, but this is the one that I grew up reading, one that I consider an influence in how I viewed myself. And it's the one whose publicist and publicity manager issued a press release touting the offensive phrase itself.

C'mon, Random House. Drop the the three little words and live with yourself a bit longer and more peacefully. Don't be such simple-minded assholes.

Posted by Erin at 09:21 AM | filed under: Random