Putting together our June print issue has been deeply uncomfortable, and I genuinely think that is the first time I have ever said that. This discomfort is surprising when you consider the topics we have covered without a glimmer of awkwardness over the past decade; sex, drugs, death, religion, rights, politics and a long old list of taboos have made it onto these pages without even the raise of an eyebrow. But the topic of weight – and the relationship women have with their bodies – turned out to be the comfort-zone tipping point. Which is as revealing as the content itself.

When we launched Stylist, we drew a red line at talking about weight and body image; we were sick of misogynistic diets that promised an unrealistic, often unhealthy and entirely homogenous body shape, and gave women the stick they already craved to beat themselves with. Women are forever being policed – we see that now more than ever – and Stylist was born into a period when women were humiliated for having cellulite or stretch marks. Our stance was clear: we’d have no part in that.

Letter from the editor: “Why we still need to talk about women and body image in 2022”