Swimsuit Season -- don't run for cover!

“Find out who you are, then do it with purpose” ~ Dolly Parton

If the word swimsuit makes you want to press “fast forward” to cooler weather requiring clothes that yields more coverage, you may need to stop and get a body image boost. Learning to respect our body is one of the most challenging issues for ladies today. Perfectly airbrushed women are constantly flashing before us on television, poised on the cover of our coffee table magazines, and in fashion advertisements.

The problem is they’re telling us what’s hot is something that we’re not. Quite often the images women compare themselves to are those that have been inhumanly airbrushed, have added hair extensions for long locks, botoxed lips and surgically implanted breasts.

Perhaps this is why we hear our friends and ourselves say, “My hair is too thin, my lips aren’t puffy enough, and my breasts are too small.”

There is a culturally induced desire for a “perfect” body that has come before the respect, care, and love of the body we have. I am certainly not immune to the adverse impact of the media when it comes to body image but I have been fortunate to have some very strong women in my life that have shown me otherwise. Women that embrace their curves as feminine beauty are those I look to for inspiration.

Christiane Northrup, M.D., says, “We all have to retrain our eyes to see the beauty in a healthy woman with a healthy body composition. Most supermodels must be about 18 percent body fat or less.”

She goes on to say, “Articles in TV Guide and People magazine have documented that most media personalities have had or will have plastic surgery at some point in their careers. The models of perfection who beam into our global living rooms everyday set up a standard that is impossible for most to aspire to without resorting to measures such as surgery.”

I have friends that have put off wonderful beach trips to avoid being in swimsuits, know women who make love only with the lights off or dress behind closed doors. Some women will not allow their spouses to see them without makeup.

Life is simply too short to worry about the size of our thighs or a belly that shows life-giving stretch marks. It is time we accept our bodies unconditionally in this present moment and kick the media’s idea of sexy to the curb.

I once was feeling self conscious about a trip to the hot springs when my friend said, “Honey, I guarantee you he won’t look at you in that swimsuit and be thinking about the size of your thighs”.

AC/DC sings it best with the line “knocking me out with those American thighs.” I highly doubt he’s singing about perfectly toned muscular legs.

The fact is that we can stand in front of our mirrors all day and pick ourselves to the bone but rarely ever would anyone go out of their way to zone in on that part of our body in a negative way. We are our own worse critics.

Yes, ladies it’s true that a glimpse of the “perfect” woman may turn your man’s head for a moment but let’s see how he feels about the hours it takes to look this way. We can all walk out of a hair salon with beautiful bouncy hair with high volume but it takes them at least 45 minutes and every styling product known to man to achieve it. Do we want to invest time and money in this everyday? Doubtful.

Same with high heel shoes, they may make our legs appear longer and more slender but is an aching back worth the vanity? What works for an hour photo shoot may not work so well for an evening out on the town with real dancing and other real life festivities. A beautiful woman that’s cranky with tired feet may not shine as bright as the radiant chick that’s feeling comfortable in her own fashionable attire.

Coco Chanel once said, “Adornment is never anything except the reflection of the heart.” Perhaps we should find fashion that makes us feel good and sexy, allowing our natural light and vitality to shine.

Make a commitment today to respect your body as it is right now. Women who like themselves and have accepted themselves have such a contagious energy. They are irresistible and a blast to be around. Cosmo may disagree with me but I think a healthy confident woman exudes far more beauty and charisma.