Jenice Armstrong: Kudos to 'Glamour'

FORGET SIXPACK ABS. Bring back the carbs, too. Because having a little stomach pooch is no longer a fashion "don't."

The trendsetting editors at Glamour magazine have broken ground by publishing a photo of a model with - gasp! - an obvious belly bulge. Lizzie Miller, who appears in the September issue, not only has a bulge, but doesn't even look as if she's trying to suck it in.

In the photo, Miller is leaning forward, her bare belly grazing her exposed thighs. Talk about a fashion first - folded-over flab on the pages of a fashion magazine.

And Miller looks completely gorgeous and completely comfortable.

It's an arresting image.

This shouldn't be a big deal at all. The photo didn't even run large in the magazine. But editors have been flooded with e-mails from grateful readers.

Tummies like Miller's don't usually wind up on the pages of fashion magazines. No way. Magazine pages are usually no-excess-flesh zones that don't come close to the reality that most American women wear size 14. Exceptionally thin women with stick arms and legs usually are featured on the pages - the ideal the rest of us are supposed to live up to in the same way we are supposed to want whatever the "it" handbag of the season is.

So, hooray for Glamour magazine.

And hooray for Miller for making no apologies for her size. On NBC's "Today" yesterday, she came off as healthy and self-assured.

Self magazine, on the other hand, can go, well, starve itself. No more carrots and celery sticks for the editors who published a cover shot of "American Idol's" Kelly Clarkson that had been whittled down to make her look thinner. Since that particular issue was dedicated to the subject of body confidence, the editors sent their readers a mixed message: Accept yourself, but if you want to be on the cover of this magazine, you need to fit an idealized body type. Shame on Self.

It's time to stop this madness. Women's bodies have curves. Just look around the next time you hit the beach. If you go to the beaches I do, it won't be sixpack city. As long as they're healthy, people shouldn't beat themselves up about it. According to Glamour's Web site, Miller isn't an exercise fanatic but enjoys softball and belly dancing.

"My wife happens to be in that demographic and that's a sexy thing," pointed out Jonathan Slocumb, who hosted Sunday's 10th annual Big Beautiful Women Pageant for sizes 14 and up at the Renaissance Hotel near Philadelphia's airport. "Everybody can't get a sixpack. Some people got a keg. Some people got a 40-ounce. It all can't be the same size. What a boring world this would be."

If this sentiment catches on, Spanx and those other body-slimmers could be in trouble.

Thank you, Glamour magazine, for exposing a real woman's body - pooch and all. Reality is a beautiful thing.

Send e-mail to heyjen@phillynews.com. My blog: http://go.philly.com/heyjen.