Friday, November 14, 2014

Why does size matter?

Why are women's bodies constantly being measured against pre pubescent girls?  And why doesn't anyone blow the whistle?  LOUD!!!

Who said we are all supposed to be the same?  There are no two snowflakes, stars or flowers alike and that is what makes them all so beautiful.  Homogenizing our bodies to fit into a size 0 dress is unnecessarily painful.  


Surprisingly with all of our progress as women in the women's movement, we are still adhering to an unhealthy vision of beauty.  I am a 6'3" woman who suffered from rejection( due to my unusual stature ) in the two early occupations of my life.  First I was a ballerina and at 5'10" and still growing at 15 years of age I was forced to quit dance.  The corps de ballet needed to be uniform, each dancer had to mirror each other and there was no room for the lone weed who stuck out like a sore thumb.  I got into modeling at the age of 16 thinking that this would be a natural transition from dance.  Well soon enough I grew to be 5'12" as my agents would joke.  I wasn't allowed to admit my true height because models of my time were only supposed to be 5'10".  Verushka, a famous model from the 1960's was the only model that had made it at the statuesque 6'2".  But this was a fluke and only a handful of models who followed in her footsteps were able to work at that height and none of them ever reached her iconic status. 

The fashion trends of women's bodies has become extreme in every aspect.  Now that we have plastic surgery to achieve the unnatural, the sky is the limit as to how far we can go.  Modern science has enabled us to sculpt, suck, inject, nip and tuck the less "perfect" pieces of ourselves.  Like barbie dolls we can transform ourselves to mimic the most esteemed features of our era.  Almost like carbon copies soon we will all lose our unique features and become one and the same.  (At least externally)

It's funny to me to see the waxing and waning perceptions of what's in and what's out.  In the 80's the glamazon models seemed to be forced into extinction with the dawning of Kate Moss.  She has reigned supreme for the past 20 "heroin chic" years.  Although she opened doors for the more petite beauties of our world, she has innocently directed the collective consciousness of the fashion world.
Another beauty Kate Upton has heroically rocked the standard with her voluptuous curves finally awakening the world to once again embrace the full figure of a woman.

I am hopeful and excited for a new acceptance of all the various proportions of women's bodies.
Less homogeny more uniqueness!  It's going to take a village of strong women to literally model self love and acceptance to stop the madness that is reigning and ruling our media.  As a mother of two young women it is my job to accept myself and be a role model for them to see how it's done.  So I don't own a scale, I speak lovingly about myself dropping the inner critic, wear little make up, and am  trying to age naturally rather than obsessing over the wrinkles that naturally occur at the age of 47.
The beauty of growing old is the wisdom that is gained and the loss of caring what people think of you. Not caring wether my jean size is a 28 or a 32, if I am a dress size 8 or 12.  It doesn't matter what the number is, what does  matter is that you are healthy in the mind body and soul.   It's a huge relief!