One of the Matisse odalisque paintings.
Okay, maybe it’s just my way of justifying the obligatory holiday weight gain and I’ll admit I need to exercise and eat healthier. But even at my skinniest I’ll never be Nicole Richie thin. And frankly, I don’t want to be. When did bellies & butts and looking like a woman go out of style? When I look at a Matisse painting I see myself. Beautiful, ripe, juicy womanhood was once considered to be the stuff goddesses were made of. There has been an attempt to acknowledge women come in all sizes and shapes and I applaud that even if it’s only a marketing ploy to sell more soap.
Art nouveau vases from the Lightner Museum.
These days, even the alien tribes of Avatar are anorexic. I found the Na’vi beautiful artistic creations, but it bothered me that there was no variation within the tribe. All Na’vi were the same height, weight, and pretty much the same youthful age without seniors and babies and people-in-between. I’m sorry, but one chief and his shaman wife do not make up a demographic of wise elders.
BTW, men are being pressured to conform to certain standards of beauty now, too. Case in point: Sean Murray who plays “McGee” on tv’s popular NCIS show has been often teased about working out in several episodes over the years. This last season, it was evident that he had lost the slight double chin, about 20 lb. His face actually looks haggard now that he’s lost weight. He’s always been cute. It’s just now he is more in line with Hollywood’s standards. I’m looking at his “before” pic and scratching my head…is THIS fat? I don’t think so…
To have good feng shui for our tribe–the human race–we need to embrace our own inner beauty, each and every one of us. Andy Warhol said “If everyone’s not a beauty, than nobody is.”
New thinner McGee.
Are you conflicted about your beauty? Please share your comments.
Feng Shui By Fishgirl 
I love this! Even though I lost 40 lbs in the last 5 yrs., I loved my body even when i was 30 lbs heavier. (I have to admit..I was pushing the beauty and health envelope above that!) My wish was to be vibrantly healthy..just feel good. I accepted myself just as I was and the weight came off only because I stated my intention to move to my most vibrant and perfect health with ease, grace and dignity. I loved my body when I was heavier and I love it now! Just a note about Hollywood’s skewed vision of beauty. When I was 28 and pretty HOT, I was told I would not make it as an actress because I was not a “babe”. I was in SHOCK. I knew I wasn’t Pamela Sue Anderson..NOR did I want to be! Thank GOD, I did not succumb to someone ELSE’s vision of what I should look like! 27 yrs later, I can honestly say that I do NOT want to have the body of an Avatar! Not that their bodies are bad but they all look the same! I applaud you taking this stand, Katy as I think you are GORGEOUS..inside and out! We as women, need to first embrace ourselves no matter what shape or size we greet this world…for we are all Goddess Queens!
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Here’s a link to an article about “gainers”. This is an extremely unhealthy thing to do and I was horrified to learn that they do it to attract more men:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/03/worlds-heaviest-woman_n_942546.html?ref=mostpopular#s337433&title=Donna_Simpson
And here’s another article on the woman with the world’s smallest waist–she agreed to go along with her husband’s corset fetish but that put her own health at risk. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/02/vogue-italia-cover-ethel-granger_n_946236.html?ir=Weird+News
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