Diversity and Representation in Finally Legal Magazine
Finally Legal Magazine was founded in 2018 as a platform for aspiring young adult models to showcase their talents and pursue careers in fashion. The magazine quickly gained popularity due to its provocative, sexy, and sometimes controversial portrayals of women's bodies and styles. While primarily focused on youthful appearance, the magazine has made efforts to include diverse representations within its pages, reflecting a broader spectrum of beauty. This includes models from various ethnic backgrounds and body types, giving voice to underrepresented groups while staying true to its brand identity. By including more diversity in its models, the magazine has shown sensitivity to changing cultural attitudes about representation in media.
Representation is important because it provides opportunities for people who have been traditionally excluded from mainstream media outlets. Including different skin tones, body sizes, ages, sexual orientations, and gender identities allows Finally Legal to appeal to a wider audience and challenge traditional ideas about what is considered beautiful or desirable. It also helps to create a space where everyone can feel seen and valued, regardless of how they identify themselves. For example, featuring models with disabilities challenges ableist stereotypes that perpetuate prejudice and discrimination. Similarly, featuring models from non-Western countries helps dispel myths about those cultures and fosters greater understanding between different communities.
However, Finally Legal still focuses on youthful appearance, so the magazine must balance diversity with its core identity. This means that older models may not be featured as prominently as younger ones. Additionally, the magazine's niche centers around attractive young adults who are often thin and able-bodied, making it difficult to include a truly representative range of body types without compromising its brand image. The magazine could do more to highlight its commitment to diversity by explicitly stating this policy in its mission statement or creating special issues devoted to showcasing diverse models.
Despite these limitations, the inclusion of diverse representations in Finally Legal Magazine is commendable and reflects the larger trend towards increased representation across all forms of media. By including models from various backgrounds, the magazine demonstrates an awareness of changing cultural attitudes and shows that beauty comes in many shapes, colors, and forms. This inclusivity helps the magazine appeal to a broader audience and represents the modern world we live in.