Melissa McCarthy's New 'Elle' Cover Shows Magazines Love Cropping Plus-Size Women

Impact
By Hayley Wilbur

Melissa McCarthy has had a busy past few weeks between revisiting Gilmore Girls' famed Stars Hollow, selling her clothing line's summer collection and traveling on a press tour promoting her upcoming Ghostbusters reboot, set to be released on July 15. 

On Tuesday, McCarthy made headlines once again when Elle released the cover photos of its first-ever Women in Comedy issue, featuring four individual covers, one for each of the film's leading ladies: McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. 

While the film itself has been praised for its female-led cast, one Twitter user was quick to point out something far less celebratory: the publication's decision to only feature McCarthy from the waist up. "Lmao at Elle cropping Melissa again. WHEN WILL ANYONE EVER LEARN," @sadwhitegrrrl wrote. 

The other three cast members have either full body shots or significantly less cropping than McCarthy's. 

Elle Magazine

So, what exactly was @sadwhitegrrrl referring to with "again?" Take a look at some of McCarthy's past covers. Notice any similarities?

Rolling Stone, People, Entertainment

Whether it's a gift box, large coat or an adorable corgi, when McCarthy's full body is shown, she often has something covering up her figure. 

Entertainment, Elle, Good Housekeeping

But as Fusion pointed out last month, McCarthy isn't the only victim to the crop tool. 

Elle, Vogue, Marie Claire, Rolling Stone, Glamour, V, Cosmopolitan, Variety

Although the conversation about body positivity has been rampant as of late — especially with celebrities like McCarthy speaking out and fighting for the representation of plus-size women in media — magazines are still failing their customers when they only show these women from the waist or neck up. 

And it's not just on the covers. In August, Huffington Post reported that not one fashion spread in seven major magazines' September issues featured a plus-size woman. Although Ashley Graham has been working hard to change this, and succeeding with Maxim, Glamour and Sports Illustrated covers, she still is one of the only plus-size models being featured in these top publications. 

Read more: Why Is Everyone Freaking Out About This Zendaya Magazine Cover?

One plus-size model or celeb's full body on the cover or page of a glossy is not going to make up for millions of women that aren't being represented on news stands each month or combat old ideals that only thin is attractive, but it could be a start to some necessary change.

Because if there's anything that inclusive campaigns and increased visibility proves, it's that plus-size women — from head to toe (and not just head to waist) — are just as worthy and fierce as anyone else is.