We see the photos in the magazines and catalogs...then we feel inadequate because our stomachs are not toned, taut and flat. We feel ashamed to wear a swimsuit to the pool on a hot day...and we torment ourselves with diets and binges.
I am just as guilty...If you go back through my blog you will find many instances where I beat up on myself because I don't look like I stepped out of the pages of a lingerie ad. I have even been known to photoshop a hockey mask onto Janet Gretzky's body and "try" to pass it off as my own {GASP}!
Do you ever wonder what pictures would look like if photoshop had never been invented? Oh wait...I think it would look something like this...
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| Bathers by Pierre-Auguste Renoir |
No wonder we all feel so bad about our bodies....we are being tricked into believing there is something wrong with ourselves. The reality is that there are a lot more of "us" than of "them"!!
Have you seen this yet? It has been all over the internet the past few days....
Go on over to the XOJANE Real Girl Project and check out the 75 bellies proudly on display. These are actual bellies that have not been photoshopped. They represent what a majority of women's stomachs really look like.
Then join me for my new rally.....
OCCUPY VICTORIA'S SECRET
9 comments:
LMAO at Occupy Victoria's Secret!
www.mommysweird.com
Thanks you for posting this! Love it. I always watch it every year...this year I did not watch...and I am kind of happy I haven’t! Haven’t seen a treadmill in 3 months...and I know it shows! I love the old painting photo...great post!
XO Samantha
www.samanthaelizabeths.blogspot.com
omg I'm SO with you on this one!!!!
I have gained a lot of weight over the last 10 years. The "I will NEVER let myself get like that!" phase happened. And I have struggled so badly with body image the last few years. I used to be thin and had a nice body when I was younger. Curves where they were supposed to be etc. Never watched my weight. Ate whatever I wanted. Rocked that teeny bikini.
Now I am a still an hourglass with extra sand. : -) And then I started hating myself once I hit a certain size (and age...uggh). And I kept hearing (and still do hear) how "disgusting" it is to be overweight. How gross it is. I hear men including my dad referring to overweight women as "pigs." And I see guys drooling over all of these kinds of girls like you showed and it just makes me feel like...well SHIT! It's hard to feel comfortable as a single woman wanting to find someone when all you hear is men going for younger and thinner or criticizing bodies that aren't perfect. I feel like I will never measure up. I have to go through times where I literally have to talk my way through and remind myself that I am still valuable as a person no matter what size my pants are. It's ridiculous.
And if you saw me you would agree that yes I need to lose weight but you would probably think I look like a pretty average gal. (14/16)
Sorry I am babbling. My point is, I used to feel like I didn't want to go swimming or to the beach or whatever. And then it hit me. Screw that. Why should I not have fun because my flappy arms and belly might offend someone? I realized that I was missing out on things like swimming with my 11YO cousin at the beach. Is she going to remember if I had a "Sarong front" on my swimsuit to disguise a belly? Or is she going to remember me riding waves on a raft in the ocean with her? These are the things I tell myself when I feel bad about being seen in a place like that where I can be judged.
If only we could stop judging OURSELVES. Body image is a tough struggle. And something that I am really working on. I am tired of hating myself.
Now to check out the link you posted...
Skinny people will never survive being lost in a snow storm.
Cranky Old Man
bwahahahahaha @ occupy vickie's -- honestly even when i was thinner i couldn't fit into their clothes -- but they do make a killer body lotion... heh!
kycorn
i am with ya though -- the media has askewed our whole concept on what real women (or men for that matter) look like or should look like.
love this post!
you rock!
thanks so much for joining the *no more muffin top* hop!
♥cyn♥
misadventures of a chunky goddess
ohhhh & i am officially your newest stalker & thanks so much for rockin' the button!
LOVE the idea! Occupy VS!
Susan
http://75percenthippie.blogspot.com
http://happyhippieheart.blogspot.com
I think about this all the time over here, where beauty is something completely different than it is at home. With all the amazing art everywhere you turn, it's hard not to wonder how or why rail thin became the new beautiful. Of course there are loads of models in Europe, duh, but the majority of women are just ... natural. There aren't nearly as many size 0s struttin' around, that's for sure! And somehow, in Germany, "shityopants" pants, hightops, Bieber hair, and neon colors is what I see most women rockin'. Don't get it ... but just sayin'.
To be fair, I think women make themselves skinny for other women. Not so much for men. Because every man I have ever asked has always said they prefer a woman with a little meat on her bones, a woman who will actually eat dinner on a date.
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