This Week’s National Enquirer has a story about how 23 year-old America Ferrera has lost weight, and if you compare pictures of her recently with those from several months ago, she seems to have lost about 10-15 pounds and she’s looking great. She doesn’t look like a stick though, and she certainly doesn’t look like she does on the new cover of Glamour Magazine.

Remember when Faith Hill was airbrushed to hell on the cover of Redbook? She looked great before, at a healthy low weight with some minor eye wrinkles. On the cover of Redbook herarms were made to look even thinner and her face was given virtual plastic surgery.

Jennifer Hudson made history as a rare full-figured woman on the cover of the march issue of Vogue, but many bloggers and commentors pointed out that her pictures, taken at the Apollo theater by Annie Liebovitz, were unflattering. She was bending over with her mouth hanging open and baring her cleavage on the cover.

At least Ferrera’s boobs aren’t made the emphasis of this cover, but it looks like her skinny younger cousin, not her. Features listed on the cover of the magazine include “101 ways to dress your body better” and “the secret reasons women gain weight” as if it’s something we’re all striving for behind closed doors. They also declare that it’s the “1st Annual Figure-Flattery Issue!” They sure flattered Ferrera’s figure with the clone and airbrush tools.

Women are told to work with their curvier figures and dress sexy, but the real message is that we’re not acceptable unless we’re a size six or below. Even gorgeous famous women can’t make it on the cover of magazines unless they’re heavily edited.

Oh and America is said to have lost weight the old fashioned way with exercise and by eating more vegetables. She didn’t starve herself, but surely the fashion magazines would have preferred it if she did.