Shake that booty

This morning the Today show had a segment on Glamour magazine using "real" women in its latest issue. Two models and a Glamour editor were interviewed about what it is to be "plus size" in our society. In the modeling world, if you are over size 8, you are considered to be a plus size model. The two models (who are sizes 10 & 12) spoke up about growing up being insecure with their shape and curves. Society puts a lot of pressure on girls to be rail thin.  The skinnier you are, the more beautiful and desirable you are. They both explained the realization they came to after high school that there is nothing wrong about having a curve here and there. It's about feeling confident and being happy with what you have. It's important for me to make this clear: these women were not talking about it being ok to be obese or unhealthy. They eat healthy and exercise daily. Their point was that being super skinny is not the most beautiful body - it's being healthy, confident, and happy in what you have. Take a look at the article interviewing a couple of the multi-sized models in the cover shoot for Glamour.

This segment was so good. It is so frustrating how society, Hollywood and the media have shaped the way we define what is beautiful. I have an issue with Adobe Photoshop. On one hand, it's an amazing program to have to edit and create. On the other, it can be so damaging and harmful. Have you seen Dove's Evolution on YouTube? So powerful. It really captures how powerful Photoshop is. Every image in a magazine, online, in a book, etc are edited in Photoshop. Those images are not raw images - unless noted. Dove has done an amazing job at speaking out about what beauty is with its Campaign for Real Beauty. 

 Photo credit: Dove

I had an instructor tell me that he is dreading the day that his little girl is old enough to pick up magazines because he knows the truth behind the "fake" images she will be exposed to. He said he wants her to grow up confident in herself and not affected by the media's definition of beauty. Impossible. This really effects him because he once was the person behind the edited photos you see in the magazines. He knows how shifted, erased, increased, decreased, smoothed those images become after a little Photoshop session.

I think Dove started a trend.  A trend of using real woman of all sizes and shapes. It's been slow for our society to catch on. But I think that the more magazines and other media begin publishing images of women of all sizes, the more it will catch on. It is so inspiring that Glamour is making an effort to change the models they use in photo shoots. I hope the trend continues to build momentum and it become the norm - no longer a trend. 
This issue of confidence and image is important to me. I've struggled with it all my life and continue to. I really try to be confident, but always have my low days. It's important to remember that my hips (love handles are really what I call them) are part of who I am. God has blessed me with good health through my entire life and I need to be thankful for that.


My hope is that this post touches you or helps you touch someone you know that has low confidence or self-image issues. It isn't about how skinny you are or how many sit-ups you do in a day. It's about loving what God gave you. If you have a booty - shake it. If you have some hips - show them off. Your figure is unique to you. Make healthy choices and exercise. Live a healthy lifestyle and love the body you have.

That's it for today. I hope you enjoyed the weekend and feel rejuvenated for this week.

Love.


PS I'm leaving you with some instructions on how to shake your booty. Credit to ehow.com. Enjoy.

Things You'll Need:

• Booty Shorts
• Hip/Hop Music
• Internet Access
  
  
  
  
  Step 1
  Start to stretch first.  Make sure you get in a decent stretch, after all booty shaking is a serious business. Bust it down low.
  
  Step 2
  Make sure your booty is loose. Shaking your booty will be a lot easier once your warmed up. Spread your legs and try to in a sense "vibrate" your booty to the music. Practice makes perfect!
   
  Step 3
  Turn on some music and start to shake that booty the best you can, remember that practice makes perfect! Repeat and Upload to bootykush.com for review and feedback on your booty shaking.