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Thursday, August 20, 2009

I Yam Who I Yam

THANK YOU! Finally a magazine got it right!

Have you seen this?

Am I alone in finding this a refreshing departure from the picture perfect bodies I see all day long in advertisement after advertisement in print and on TV?

In all honesty, I cannot name one person among my friends who has six pack abs. I cannot name one of them who doesn't have some kind of issue with her body. So why does the media portray the SuperModel body as the norm for our society?!

I know, I know. This issue has been hashed to death and we have all have an opinion about women and our body images and how those images create issues and how those issues mess or don't mess with our ability to be at peace with who we are.

My opinion on the issue? Well, I'm fat. And I have issues. I'm fat cause I have issues stemming from abuse and they mess with me everyday in some form or another and my body takes the brunt of my emotional issues. One of these days I may get it all figured out and actually end up being a fit, healthy middle aged woman. But it's a struggle. So, yeah...I guess my body image affects my ability to be at peace with who I am, along with all of my other "issues." And I hate having to feel worse about myself than I already do because society says my body doesn't fit the "norm." So please, media...remind me everyday by shoving perfection in my face, okay? I'm pretty sure that will help get me motivated!

You know what actually DID get me motivated today? Lizzie Miller and her picture. You know why? Because this beautiful woman, with her full thighs and flabby belly and stretch marks, looks very comfortable in her own skin. (She's a plus size model at size 12? Gimme a freaking break!) And I for one am glad that she was comfortable enough to let someone take a picture of her in all her glory. Why? Because as fat as I am, seeing this picture made me remember that my body image shouldn't define who I am as a person. Fat, not fat, flabby or toned, I am who I am because of what's on the inside (just like we tell our kids, right?).

Maybe the media is finally getting it. Yes, it's nice to see beautiful, healthy women with six pack abs and a perfectly toned butt in nice clothes and pretend that's how we might look in those clothes. But it's just as nice to see beautiful, healthy women who have left over baby houses on their tummies in nice clothes (or in this case in no clothes). Why? Because it's reality. It's who we are. Yeah, the clothes may not lay as nicely or fit as snugly without bumps, but Lizzie represents the other 95% of us who weren't born with skinny genes and who aren't great about working out 4 hours a day or who have other issues that keep us from becoming a hard body mom. She shows us how clothes will really look - on a normal person. She reminds us that we are great women and mothers and wives and sisters and friends, regardless of the body we come in.

Thanks to Glamour and Lizzie for showing us the true "Normal."

4 Comments:

mylittlepatchofsunshine said...

Great post! May we all feel comfortable in our own skin someday -- cuz I know I'm not there by far!

ktaylorflynn said...

Well if plus size is a size 12, I guess that makes me plus sized! But I agree - it is ridiculous that the "average" woman that they show in magazines and in the media are so flippin tiny. You know what I think is funny, in a sick way? Those women probably haven't felt "full" in years and years and years. They probably haven't gotten any enjoyment out of their meals, since it is very rare for someone to have a metabolism that allows them to eat whatever they want without gaining an ounce. I'd rather be "plus sized" and happy than a size 0 and miserable!

Kristi said...

Wow...if only I looked that good. Her teeny tiny sag is nothin...but at least the magazine is showing a little pooch.

Carissa said...

LOVE this! I wish this were what we normally saw in magazines and ads and movies. Real women. We are all beautiful. Let's embrace it and believe it!

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