Which is why — while I’m proud of the team atWH for making a splashy, body-positive statement like this — I’m not so quick to interpret this as an earth-shattering, needle-moving change in the vast and sinister world of body-shaming messages that women have to deal with daily. Are they still going to run diets inside? Are they still going to help you “target” your “problem areas”? Let’s hope that as the negative messages on the cover begin to dwindle, so do the ones hiding behind it.When I finally said goodbye to the world of print media and came to join the team at R29, one of the most refreshing things about my new gig was Refinery’s take on body image, health, and diet. Specifically, we don’t do diets, we never refer to weight loss as a goal readers should aspire to, and any fitness or nutrition tip-based stories we run are about feeling stronger, happier, more energetic, and all the other great benefits from living a healthy life that have zero to do with pounds on a scale. We literally have a column called The Anti-Diet Project . I can’t take credit for any of this — it was in place long before I started — but after years of being part of the bikini body, drop two sizes industrial complex, I’m really happy to be on this train.Women’s Health, welcome aboard.I asked a few R29 staffers for their take on this news as well. Here are their gut reactions.“My gut reaction was 'Fucking FINALLY.' At R29 we obviously have strong feelings about the idea of a "bikini body" (which we distilled in our Take Back The Beach features this summer). So it's great to see Women's Health so strongly embrace this body-positive attitude.”— Sarah Jacoby, associate editor, health & science“Women's Health has finally acknowledged something that their readers (and all women!) have known for a while now — the ‘bikini body’ is a myth and a construct perpetuated by the media, and has proven to be a source of shame rather than one of inspiration. Placing a moratorium on this term is certainly heartening, but what makes it less so is how long it took. I can only hope the magazine's overarching heteronormativity will be the next thing to go.”— Sara Coughlin, editorial assistant, health & wellness“My first reaction is: awesome. Growing up with phrases like ‘bikini body’ was considered normal, and it's easy to forget that this communicates that one has to have a type of body to wear a particular piece of clothing, which is clearly bullshit. (Not to mention, what is a bikini body, anyway? The phrase only serves to make women feel that their bodies are too imperfect for a precious piece of swimwear. Again, bullshit.) But while I'm all for the sentiment, I can't help but wonder why the magazine feels the need to announce their new stance; why don't they just stop putting the phrase in their magazine without patting themselves on the back? It feels a little bit like the Dove campaign body-positive pandering. That said, it's really a great move on the part of WH, so maybe I should just be thrilled that no more young women will have to face icky cover lines like, ‘Get a bikini body in 2 weeks!’”— Rebecca Adams, senior editor, sex & relationships"I give them major kudos for calling themselves out in this way. I admit, I've felt pretty burned by their constant use of this term. For me, the real issue was that every time you clicked on their website a pop-up ad appeared, trying to get you to sign up for their 21-Day Bikini Body Plan. In order to close the ad, you literally had to click a button saying, 'GET MY BIKINI BODY' or a teeny one that read, 'No thanks, I already have a bikini body.' Of course, it was illustrated with a photo of a thin woman — their definition of a bikini body — and every time I had to click on one of those buttons, it just felt like a slap in my not thin face. Maybe that sounds silly, but I'm a woman who's interested in health, and therefore I counted myself among the target readership of Women's Health. But the emphasis on thinness and the constant message that healthy equals thin was really alienating. I don't expect a miracle, but I do hope this shift in language is more than just appeasement. Rhetoric does matter, therefore this move is important and we should celebrate it. So, high five to Women's Health. Now let's hope they follow through and practice what they preach."— Kelsey Miller, senior features writer and Anti-Diet Project columnist