Letters to the Editor

To the Editors:

I truly gave a chance to your article entitled “The Beauty Hunter” in the July/August 2009 issue. I have always been impressed with your publication. However, I found your article and cover of July/August 2009 issue outdated. When will Eastern European women be seen as intelligent and not just soulless beauties to be used as models and trophies?

As a registered nurse and licensed mental health professional, I believe stories like yours (complete with “appropriate” bodily measurements for beauty which are considered underweight by any body mass index scale) promote low self-esteem and eating disorders among women. I think it is time that esteemed publications such as yours cover the stories of every day women in Russia making a difference in their communities.