We don't need no stinkin' thigh gap

Thigh Gap? Seriously?

I've seen though gap in photos of models, and assumed that they were airbrushed.
But more recently, with the popularity of skinny jeans, I've seen it in person. And it isn't pretty. Only because it means that women are bending their minds and bodies to meet unrealistic expectations of fashion magazines. I refuse to do this. More accurately, I couldn't conform to that if I tried.

Some women are naturally built that way, but it's a small percentage. The rest of us are left dealing with the fallout from these images in the media. Personally, I don't look at fashion magazines because I find most of the images unattractive. But it's part of the mainstream, and it's affecting teens and adults.

Maybe I'm old fashioned. Not maybe. In a lot of ways, I am. But women are biologically engineered to have babies. Whether we choose to, and with whom, is another question. Well, that's two questions. But because we are designed to incubate the next generation, we have unique qualities. And I am learning to embrace them and enjoy them despite the media.

Woman Are Meant to Be Shapely

So we are supposed to have an extra layer of fat. We have estrogen. It's what makes us women. It's what makes us softer to the touch than men. it's what makes us curvy. Shapely. Feminine. Female. So why does the fashion industry want us all to look like teenage boys with breast implants? No wonder those models look so angry and sullen all the time. They are perpetually starving.

I celebrate my thunder thighs! Finally! After being teased as a teen, I have made friends with my shape. At 16, I weighed 105 pounds, and I was an hourglass/pear with hips and thighs and a waist. My skeleton is built that way. I'm a girl. It's supposed to be that way. I didn't understand that, and was on my way to anorexia, even though I was already underweight. And that's rampant now with even more media focus on skinny. Not to mention all the Photoshopping on those media images.

Stick Thin Isn't Feminine

But back then, I didn't know then that that was a good thing. I weighed 105 and I believed others when they said I was fat. Twiggy was popular back then. Looking back at high school year book photos, I realize that the girls who were teasing me were built more for today's fashions - straight torso, and skinny arms and legs. That's great for them but I wish I hadn't believed their taunts.I'm glad I have accepted and learned to enjoy my own feminine shape.

Appreciate Your Beauty

I learned to ignore the media images and others' opinions about skinny being beautiful. Most of the time. My body is changing with age. So it's a constant adjustment and acceptance of the beauty I was given. A constant acceptance that I will never look like I did 20 years ago. I've learned to see that I look darn good for my age, even with a few extra pounds.

How About You?

If you haven't seen Dove's Real Beauty commercials -- or even if you have - check these out. And let me know what you think. (If the links don't work, go to YouTube and search these titles.)

Dove Real Beauty Sketches
Dove Beauty Patch
Dove Beauty Evolution
Dove Body Evolution