Take a squiz at my latest cover. It’s book one in The Goddess Grind series with Total-E-Bound. Why is it called The Goddess Grind? It is a four part series that revolves around four friends – ordinary, everyday women. They have jobs and they work hard. They are average women with everyday issues who get swept off their feet by their heroes in the wildest ways. I got an interesting reaction from friends that I showed the cover to. Overwhelmingly women in both the US and Oz liked the fact that the woman on the front did not have the standard perky breasts. Her breasts are perceived as real and therefore a good image for a book cover. That started us on a talk about body image and perception.I will admit I have body issues. I stood in front of a mirror in a fitting room recently and made a sacred vow that no one would ever see me naked again. I know it’s a crazy vow but it is one I plan to stick to until I find a sufficient, glorious, hot male reason not to then I will throw that vow to the wind. I am not perfect nor do I want to be and I do not expect a lover to be either. However every so often even I, who is incredibly confident in who I am, look at my flabby thighs and think oh yuck! And this is crazy as I refuse to judge anyone on their looks so why do I do it to myself? I believe there is no perfect woman or perfect man. I don’t believe one skin colour is better than another. Nor do I agree with the view that everyone of a certain height must be of a certain weight otherwise they are deemed obese. I don’t like that the media glamorizes blonde air heads or persists in air brushing out wrinkles or shaving away lumps and bumps on the photograph of a model just because that model is not perfect. Who needs perfection? What we need are real people with real thoughts and feelings. We love with our heart and mind and not our eyes alone.
So I am going to make a concerted effort not to scream if I catch a glance at my cellulite thighs or flabby arse in the mirror. Wrinkles I have and I could care less about. Scars I have but I wear them as a badge of experience. My weight fluctuates as does the smoothness of my skin. But after all I am woman, I am real and I am never going to be perfect. So why drive myself crazy?
I asked some smart women I know what they thought about body image:-
My body is something that I live in. It can be a mansion, a teepee, or even a shack. How the world perceives my body is how I perceive it. Just like a house, if I keep it pretty and in good repair it is admired. If I let it run down people cluck their tongues. My body is just like that.
www.charleneleatherman.blogspot.com
Body image is what you make of it. You can either succumb to what society thinks you ought to look like or take control of your self-worth. It's a choice we make everyday when we look in the mirror. So it's up to you. Do you prefer to feel worthless or like you've got a secret bit of sexy waiting to get out? www.kkirch.blogspot.com
Ultimately, the body is the housing for our heart and soul. What the house looks like has no bearing on what it shelters. Some of the plainest houses shelter some of the most beautiful hearts and souls. If I had to choose, I would choose to have internal beauty over external beauty. www.annycook.blogspot.com
Our society is so convinced that thin is perfect that even if you work out two hours a day and eat nothing but salads, people think you’re lazy and stupid if you’re two pounds overweight. And the USDA has admitted to artificially adjusting their standards so that many healthy people are now officially classed as overweight. Humans are not meant to look identical and people should get over it! www.cindyspencerpape.com
A reminder that our Emmeline, twin, peeler, zucchini missile sage will be back again Monday. If you missed the last episode go immediately to www.annycook.blogsplot.com and laugh your socks off. On Monday wake up bright and early and go to www.kellykirch.blogspot.com and see what happens next.
Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?
www.freewebs.com/janetdavies
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9 comments:
A wonderful blog, of course. Don't you wish we could translate our logical understanding of body image into an emotional truth? I would like to claim that I wake up every morning with the confidence of my statement when the fact is, I don't. I have my moments where I lift my nose at what others think of me. More often than not, I hear that voice in my head telling me I have nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about for not being a perfect image and go about my day feeling worthless despite it. I know it's not true as do you about yourself, but it's the inner nag we put on. Silence the nag.
I am always shocked when I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror. That is not who I am internally. That is not who I feel like externally. Who is that woman who really resembles the ancient mother goddess offerings? You know that one with voluptuous sagging breasts and big belly? Is that really me?
That voluptuous mother goddess was worshipped in another time. Just born in the wrong era if you're looking for social praise. But Anny, it truly doesn't matter because the depth of your spirit is far more valuable than the shallow offerings of an airbrushed image.
heh-heh. Worship, eh? Nah, too much responsibility from the faithful. Not really into airbrushing either. Sad when we can't just be us.
No one ever said life would be easy...here am I up at 4am to exercise before work to keep my weight in saome vague order. Why? Not because I care what anyone thinks. It's because I want to have to quality of life when I am older. Mind you when or if I hit 80, I'm just letting it all go to pot
That's the way to do it too. Work now, rest later.
And don't we all sound wise on this blog? Bunch of clever women we are.
I always thought so
After spending all day yesterday with my thin brother who thinks that makes him better than me, I'm inclined to be really snotty about this.
Being healthy is important. Very few physicians are now admitting that the links between weight and other health factors may not be as straightforward and causal as they once believed. In other words, the weight issues may not be the cause but a symptom of the other problems.
In our society it is so very easy to look at the outside and make all kinds of judgements--especially about ourselves. Don't.
I'm lucky enough to have a husband who thinks I'm the hottest thing on 2 legs. He's insane, but that's okay, it works for me, even though he refuses to understand why I won't wear a bikini in public. On the other hand, I refuse to wear long pants when it's over 80 degress. People can cope with my pudgy legs. And I'm damn sure not giving up swimming, so I gues they'll have to deal with me in a swimsuit, too!
Damn straight Cindy
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