“Real” Women’s Bodies…What Do You Think?

By now I’m sure a lot of you have seen the unaltered picture of Cindy Crawford in lingerie that went viral last week. I admit when I saw that photo, it made me ecstatically happy to see a “normal” stomach.

If you haven’t seen it, here it is…

The photo, which was a leaked image from a photo shoot for a December 2013 cover story for Marie Clair Mexico and Latin America, depicts Cindy Crawford, 49-years-old and mother of two teenagers, in all her natural beauty without any filtering, touch-ups, or photo shopping. I swear, when I first saw this picture, I literally shouted aloud, “Oh my gosh, her stomach looks just like mine!”

Now maybe this says something about me and my own body-image insecurities because seriously, why should it even matter? But my gosh, it was refreshing to see a real looking body of someone who has aged gracefully, beautifully, and naturally. And if you stop and think about it, what does it mean, as a society, that this image has sparked so much discussion. That we’re surprised or happy to see a “real” portrayal of a “real” body?

I admit, that even at my age (52,) I still look at fashion magazines and still compare myself to the glossy and perfect images I see. I’m not saying that I have such a low self-image I cry every time I look in the mirror but there are parts of my body that I, in all honesty, seriously don’t like. And even though I’m thin, I’m not toned, I jiggle when I walk (or even hiccup,) and have parts of my body that will never, ever, “soar” again or even hover…gravity has taken its toll.

Now that’s not to say I hate my body or that I don’t have times I look in the mirror and think, “Looking good,” but there is one part of my body that I dislike to such a degree, I can let it affect how I feel at times. (Just keeping it honest here.) Last March my husband and I were in Las Vegas and stayed at the Wynn. He was gone during the days, attending seminars, so I lounged around the fabulous pool, enjoyed cocktails and did some writing while enjoying the warm weather and hot sun. I also did a lot of people-watching and let me tell you, for the first couple of hours that first day by the pool, my eyes only honed in on the women who had flat stomachs, high breasts, and absolutely no cellulite. Those are the only bodies I initially saw and then immediately compared myself to those specimens, which by the way, were half my age. I knew that I was being illogical but I stayed in my position there on the lounge chair, with a towel covering my stomach for longer than I wanted. (I had on a 2-piece that I had put on that morning, thinking, at the time, that I looked ok enough.)

At one point I began to notice there were actually women walking around that had bodies similar to mine and they didn’t seem to have any issues about showing their parts that might not be considered “perfect.” In fact, most of these women walked around with an air of self-confidence, or at least gave off a sense of confidence, that for a moment, made me feel even worse about how I was feeling.

I mean, here I was, in one of the most beautiful resorts in Vegas, with the sun shining and nothing to do except enjoy myself and I’m actually spending (and wasting,) time and energy on negative thoughts of how I look. So much so that I won’t even get up and walk over to the pool. How simply stupid is that? Of course the fact that I was looking at fashion magazines filled with bodies that were poreless, hairless, except for all that thick and shining hair on their perfect heads, bodies that made Barbie look dumpy, nails that never chipped, feet that looked as smooth as a babies butt, and so on.

That pool experience happened on our first day in Vegas. That evening I gave myself a good talking to, reminded myself of how fabulous, kind, caring, friendly, and funny I am because damn it, I had another 4 days of sun to enjoy and I WAS going to enjoy it, at the pool, in a bathing suit.

You know, I’m usually a pretty self-confident person but I do become insecure at times about my body. I have to remind myself when I look at my stomach to not see the negative of the scars and muscle loss (I’ve had over 20 abdominal surgeries,) but to know that those are “battle scars” of what I’ve overcome and those are part of my life experiences that have made me stronger in many ways.

I personally wish we could see more real depictions of women with all of our beautiful blemishes, sizes, colors, and shapes in the fashion world, especially in advertisements that are selling to us “real” women. So yes, I was happy to see the untouched photo of Cindy Crawford, if for nothing else, to remind myself that most of the pictures I’m seeing in the media, (and seriously, a lot of touched up photos even on Facebook,) aren’t real.

So here’s my “real” stomach… scars, dimples, stretch marks and all…

And so I ask…

What did you think when you saw the Cindy Crawford photo? Are you totally secure with your body or are there moments you have when a bit of insecurity creeps in? Do you have any “words of wisdom,” for women who might be going through a period of negative body issues?