Everyone, EVERYONE is bombarded with these crazy notions of what "beauty" is. Men as well as women are bombarded with standards with every commercial, magazine, billboard, and movie we see. You know it's tough out there when fashion and beauty executives think that even a model's body isn't good enough to sell clothes or that a celebrity's natural face isn't up to par, even with makeup.
Now the truth is I've never been a tiny girl. Hell, even starvation diets only put me at 150lbs...which, btw, is STILL overweight for my height. If I'm literally starving myself and maintain a "medically-overweight" status, what hope is there for me?
This challenge is made all the worse for mothers because there are a rare few like Miranda Kerr who bounce back in 2 seconds and never have scar or flab to show they were ever pregnant. Those who aren't...? Well, naturally, they are lazy and ugly and have no self-control or self-respect.
Even without the weight, pregnancy changes a woman's body forever. Skeletal changes make it possible to tell how many pregnancies a woman had. There are the motherhood marks. You know, the stretch marks, deflated or saggy boobs, the soft belly. If you're a mother, chances are you are doomed by fashion standards.
Enters Bonnie Ratliff Crowder, a single homeschooling mom to two children. In 2006, she thought wouldn't it be great if moms submitted pictures of their real, un-airbrushed bodies to help support and encourage other moms coming to terms with their post-baby selves. How DARE she?! And yet, six years later...
*half smile* It's hard not to compare. I'm somewhat grateful that I haven't been able to visit the website. One of the authors who wrote about the site admitted that "I'm normally quite indifferent to my body, but I don't know if I'd have the courage to share my imperfections with the world." Here's my answer:
