In 2009 Sarah Dubbeldam started her own magazine dedicated to women. Sarah was a fan of fashion, makeup, lifestyle tips, etc, but noticed that majority of magazines present these things in a skewed perspective. There isn’t a magazine of the rack that doesn’t have a photoshopped woman on the cover, and a headline giving you tips on how to lose weight, or how to change "undesirable" attributes. Sarah saw a need for a magazine that would encourage women, rather than make them feel insecure. Darling magazine is different from others, because it focuses on empowering women rather than trying to change them. Many magazines want to exploit celebrities, but Darling only showcases celebrities in a positive light. Daring is also different because it never uses photoshop, nothing is retouched.
A few years back, I was shopping at one of my favorite clothing stores, Anthropologie. There were, of course, many items that caught my eye, but for some reason I noticed a magazine laying on the table. The magazine was something I had never seen before. On the front cover was a beautiful photo, of a woman, that looked real and untouched. At the top of the cover, in bold print, read the word Darling.
Darling Magazine is a success because it’s so relatable to women of all ages. I can’t relate to a magazine dedicated to Kim Kardashian’s makeup routine. Darling is real, and raw, and I think women see that an appreciate it. There is more demand for body positivity in media than there ever has been before, this makes Darling Magazine marketable to women like me.
Sarah Dubbledam didn’t create a new idea, but she saw a need for something new. I respect her as an entrepreneur because her creative ideas made a positive change. Women, in the past, have been torn down in the media, and Darling has reversed the cycle. Dubbledam took something she was passionate about, and started a movement.
Source: http://darlingmagazine.org
Word Count: 313
Blog post written by: Abbey Kimball
