Let the body image revolution begin

I know this is a political blog, but it is also an opinion blog so I wanted to talk about something today that was very close to my heart.

Yesterday I was doing my normal girly thing, getting my nails painted and getting my hair trimmed.I knew I would be having a date with my boyfriend the next day and wanted to look perfect for him.  Well there is one thing that has bothered me all my life and that is my tummy.  Where I mostly have a firm body I have never in my life been able to totally get rid of my tummy.  My mother had it and so did my grandmother so I basically decided the only thing I could ever do was hide it the best I could and hope that the man I care about just doesn’t notice.

Every day the ladies of this world are bombarded with Magazines and TV shows that show the perfect “skinny” figures that make us ladies think, “If only I could look like that and have a figure like that.”  Well I have a very special boyfriend who told me from the beginning that I was beautiful and when I shyly mentioned “all but my tummy” he proclaimed that I was still beautiful and that my tummy was too.  We even agreed that my tummy was my problem and it was not a problem that was coming from him because he liked me the way I am. At that at that point I would love to admit, that I decided to not worry about my tummy any more, I can’t.  I still tried to hide the tummy and even tried to go on yet another diet.

Well, then we come back to the part that I was doing my girl thing and getting all pretty for my sweetheart.  As I was sitting in the nail salon waiting for my favorite nail tech I picked up an old copy of a fashion magazine and started flipping through it.  I was caught off guard by a picture.  Now they say a picture is worth a thousand words and “NOW” I know exactly what that felt like.  The picture wasn’t of a celebrity. It wasn’t of a supermodel, but she is a model. It was of a woman sitting in her underwear with a smile on her face and a tummy that looks…wait for it…normal.  I absolutely loved the picture from the moment I saw it. Actually I can truly say I was blown away.  In the article they described her as a “plus-size” by modeling industry standards, but at size 12 she is actually “normal”.  I am a size 12 and have been most my life and I can truly say for the first time in my life “I am beautiful” and feel it through and through.

Let the body image revolution begin….with a picture.

Possibly Related Posts:

• THE RACE: US presidential politics is lurking just offstage as Obama hosts 2 world summits
• Politics stall West Virginia’s invitation to Big 12
• Politics in the Diagnosis of Addiction
• Religion and politics
• The Politics of Anambra Central Senatorial Zone [analysis]