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It's not entirely the patriarchy either -- magazines like Vogue have long had female editors-in-chief, like Diana Vreeland or Anna Wintour. Often I feel that it is women ourselves who are our own worst enemies.
One thing I learned when I worked as a stripper is that men actually don't give a damn if a woman has ten extra pounds. Bloody hell, they don't even notice. If fashion magazines really were about fulfilling male desires, we'd be seeing a lot more curvy big chested models, and they would be wearing mostly garterbelts, bikinis, and lingerie.
WOMEN are the ones who want the hyper skinny models and the clothing that only looks good on fourteen year old ectomorphs. Beauty magazines are bought by WOMEN and the editors (many of whom are also women) are well aware of this.
In addition to my gig as a stripper, I worked as an editor on many "alternative" magazines which had the goal of writing about fashion and style with "real women" in mind-- without exception every one of these magazines folded due to lack of readership, or they became more like Vogue.
One of the things you learn in marketing is that what people say they want is not always the same as what they actually buy (e.g., most polls indicate that people overwhelmingly prefer and want healthy breakfast cereals with less sugar; but when you try to actually market such a product, guess what? They don't buy it).
Everytime this issues comes up, there is a pandemonium of women saying that this is not what they like or want-- oh they are outraged! The letters pour in! The prtests are organized!
Yet, when they are in line at the magazine rack at the grocery store, what do they actually reach for? Well you tell me: what is the best selling beauty magazine worldwide? Come on... You can say it... Come on....
