Size and Beauty

Skinny-minnie Jennifer Anniston bared it all on the cover of GQ this month and dang girl!! It’s a given, Jen is hot. She has achieved our culture’s idea of the “perfect body” through a reported combination of yoga, cardio, and The Zone diet. But are teeny tiny size 2 bodies the only thing we consider sexy anymore? I certainly hope not, considering the average American woman sports a size 14. But apparently our small size=sexy mentality is affecting young girls. According to the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, 71% of girls with low self-esteem feel their appearance is not good enough. And since a girl’s self-esteem is more strongly related to how she feels about her body and weight, rather than how much she actually weighs, it’s crucial we embrace models and celebrities of all shapes and sizes. Take Whitney Thompson for instance. Miss Thompson, the gorgeous gal selected as the winner of America’s Next Top Model, is considered a plus size model, as she fluctuates between a size 8 and size 10. Sure, Whitney is still several sizes below the national average, but she does represent a much more normal, attainable image than do most other models. It really all boils down to this, beauty is not size. It doesn’t matter if you’re a size two or a size 14, beauty is confidence. Beauty is loving yourself and being the absolute best YOU that you can be. Need a little inspiration? Check out this book I found by Rosanne Olson called “This is Who I Am” --Beauty in all shapes and sizes. It’s a collection of photos of women and their “imperfect” bodies: rolls, scars, wrinkles, and all.